| Description: |
Allan was interviewed on August 21, 1976 in La Ronge, Saskatchewan. Allan Quandt was Malcolm Norris' and Jim Brady's closest political associate during their time in northern Saskatchewan and was a close friend as well. Quandt gives a brief description of when and why the men came to Saskatchewan; the initial motives of the new CCF government in the north; the difficulties of both government and Aboriginal leaders in dealing with a completely colonized population; the problems of implementing a set of progressive programs in a top-down manner, having failed to secure the active support of those programs among the people affected. He describes the various jobs the two men had with the government and when and how each man came to leave the government. He touches briefly on other matters: the gradual entrenchment of conservative, professional bureaucrats and the negative affect on policy; Brady's and Norris' personal traits; efforts to fire both men. In the second tape, Quandt talks about the original excitement and progress in the north under the first minister of DNR, Joe Phelps; the gradual entrenchment of conservative, professional bureaucrats from 1949 onwards and the disappearance of democratic, people-oriented policies. He describes the failure of the education initiative; its disruptive effects. He explains the government's initiative in the marketing of fish, fur; the reaction of private enterprise and of Aboriginal people to the programs; the establishment of the government trading posts to complement the marketing services. Allan Quandt was Jim Brady's closest political confidant in his years in La Ronge and in the first part of the third interview, he discusses Brady's disappearance and death, giving his opinion that Brady was murdered. Quandt was perhaps the only person in La Ronge who was an active CCF supporter consistently over the years from 1949-1970. He talks about the CCF, the nature of the elections and the attempts to get the CCF-NDP to develop more progressive policies toward the north. In Allan’s fourth interview he discusses Malcolm Norris and Jim Brady focusing on their relationships with the CCF party. Throughout these interviews Allan talks about family, school, crimes and punishments, food sources and work. |
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