SASKATCHEWAN 



5214 



SASKATCHEWAN 



The teaching of a foreign language one hour a 

 day is allowed in districts having foreign popu- 

 lation. 



Government. The lieutenant-governor, ap- 

 pointed by the Governor-General of Canada, 

 is the chief executive officer of the province. 

 He is assisted by an executive council of seven 

 members, each of whom is the head of a de- 

 partment of the provincial government. The 

 premier is the head of the council. The legis- 

 lative department consists of an assembly of 

 lift y-f our members. Saskatchewan sends six- 

 teen members to the House of Commons at 

 Ottawa, and is represented by four members in 

 the Dominion Senate. The judicial system 

 comprises the supreme court and district courts, 

 nique feature of local government is 

 found in the Saskatchewan local government 

 board, consisting of three members. The board 

 deals with separate school board appeals and 

 assessment appeals, but its most important 

 duty consists in passing upon all proposed 

 municipal loans before they can be authorized. 



History. Saskatchewan was a part of the 

 vast territory which, under the name of Ru- 

 pert's Land, was controlled by the Hudson's 

 Bay Company. Long before there was any 

 attempt to found settlements in the country 

 north and west of the Great Lakes, this com- 

 pany had established trading stations around 

 Hudson Bay and far inland to the south and 

 In 1817, a permanent settlement was 

 founded in the valley of the Red River under 

 the direction of the Earl of Selkirk, who had 

 obtained a controlling interest in the Hudson's 

 Bay Company. This settlement, which was in 

 the present province of Manitoba, constituted 

 the beginning of the political organization of 

 the great Canadian Northwest. Soon after the 

 organization of the Dominion of Canada, in 

 1867, measures were taken to secure control 

 of the Hudson's Bay Company's rights, and 

 these rights were purchased in 1869 for $1,500,- 

 000. 



The entire region north and west of the prov- 

 inces of Ontario and Quebec became known as 

 the North West Territories and was divided 

 for the purpose of administration into a num- 

 ber of districts. In 1870 the province of Mani- 

 toba was organized. With the completion of 

 the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 immigra- 

 tion began to flow into the vast fertile region 

 north of the United States. With the increase 

 of population came an increasing demand for 

 responsible local government, and in 1905 the 

 provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were 



organized from the districts of Alberta. Atha- 

 baska, Saskatchewan and Assiniboia; Sas- 

 katchewan being formed of Assinibohi 

 katchewan and the eastern part of Athabaska. 



A local rebellion occurred after the opening 

 of the country to settlement, headed by Louis 

 Riel. It is described under the title SAS- 

 KATCHEWAN REBELLION. 



The province was organized in 1905 with 

 Hon. Amedee Forget as the first lieutenant- 



NORTH WEST TERFUTdjRIES 



FORMATION OF THE PROVINCE 

 The area in solid black was Saskatchewan be- 

 fore the organization of the present province. The 

 dotted lines through the black area show the parts 

 of the old province which were given to Alberta 

 and Manitoba. To the north and south the shaded 

 areas are the parts of former Athabasca and 

 Assiniboia which were included in the new 

 province. 



governor. Hon. Walter Scott was chosen pre- 

 mier, and he continued at the head of the gov- 

 ernment for more than ten years. The organi- 

 zation of the province was followed by a rapid 

 increase of settlers, and the first decade of Sas- 

 katchewan's existence as a province was char- 

 acterized by unusual growth in wealth and 

 population. 



The assembly has shown foresight and liber- 

 ality in the enactment of laws for promoting 

 agricultural, industrial and educational interests. 

 In 1915 a prohibition law, valid during the War 

 of the Nations, was passed. The province has 

 made large contributions of men, money and 

 supplies towards supporting the allies in tho 

 war. 



