"Structures" found 2 records | Heritage Burnaby

History: Thomas Clement “Tommy” Douglas served as Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961, leading the first, and only, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) government in Canada. Trained as a Baptist preacher, he became a skilled politician, witty orator, and advocate for social justice, believing political action was the best way to improve Canadians’ lives. As Premier, his government pioneered publicly-funded hospital insurance, which laid the foundations for a national medicare program. He became the first leader of the federal New Democratic Party in 1961, a position he held until 1971, and wielded significant influence defending human rights and strengthening Canada’s social welfare programs. Tommy Douglas was born on October 20, 1904, in Falkirk, Scotland, to a religious, working-class family, who encouraged him to debate politics, religion, and current events while being open to other perspectives. The family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1911. His commitment to civil liberties was reinforced after witnessing ‘Bloody Saturday’ during the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, where several strikers were killed and leaders arrested. He would go on to become an ordained pastor in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, and, in 1933, helped found the CCF, a political coalition of progressive and labour groups with a platform centered on economic reform. Douglas won a federal seat with the CCF in 1935, serving two terms before entering provincial politics. First elected premier of Saskatchewan in 1944, he would serve five terms. His government’s ambitious platform included new administrative structures for economic planning and an innovative program of social reform. It introduced labour and human rights codes and pioneered a new approach to relations between Indigenous Peoples and government. Douglas was also an important influence on the development of medicare in Canada, building on the Saskatchewan tradition of co-operative values to implement the first publicly funded, universally accessible hospital insurance plan in 1947. This was followed by a plan to cover physician services, which concerned doctors worried about regimentation and interference in the doctor-patient relationship. A disruptive 1962 doctor’s strike delayed its implementation, but a compromise was reached and, despite some lingering hostilities, both programs would set the standard for other provinces. This led to federal cost-sharing to facilitate universal, Canada-wide public health care, which remains deeply tied to Canadian identity and values. In 1961, Douglas returned to federal politics as leader of the newly-created New Democratic Party, an alliance between the old CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress. As the third party in Parliament, it was able to use its position to influence minority governments in pushing for the adoption of national social welfare programs, such as medicare and old age pensions. Often the conscience of Parliament on civil liberties, Douglas was one of the few who spoke against the invocation of the War Measures Act during the October Crisis of 1970. Douglas remains a much-admired political figure and the namesake of one of the branches of the Burnaby Public Library. Even those who disagree with his politics admire his pragmatism, oratory skills, integrity, and commitment to social justice. But most of all, Tommy Douglas is an icon for medicare. For his lifetime of service, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1980. Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2019/03/thomas-clement-tommy-douglas-19041986.html.

Media Type: Textual Record

Planning Department fonds

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription102

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1940-2016

Collection/Fonds: Planning Department fonds

Description Level: Fonds

Physical Description: 80 m of textual records and other material

Scope and Content: Fonds consists of those records created during the regular conduct of business by the Planning Department and its predecessor agencies according to their mandate of providing professional and technical advice to Council on the current and future uses of City land and resources.

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1940-2016

Collection/Fonds: Planning Department fonds

Physical Description: 80 m of textual records and other material

Description Level: Fonds

File Class: 71000 10 (add. 2020); 71000 20 (add. 2020); 71000 30 (add. 2020); 71000 40 (add. 2020)

Access Restriction: Subject to FOIPPA

Reproduction Restriction: Reproductions subject to FOIPPA.

Scope and Content: Fonds consists of those records created during the regular conduct of business by the Planning Department and its predecessor agencies according to their mandate of providing professional and technical advice to Council on the current and future uses of City land and resources.

History: The City of Burnaby Planning Department was established on October 9, 1956, when the City Council unanimously carried the motion to create a distinct department to deal with planning issues within the City and appointed Mr. William John Blakely as its head. This decision followed a report and recommendation made by the City’s Chief Administrative Officer which indicated that the role of the Planning Engineer and his staff had quickly expanded to become a separate division within the Engineering Department and that they were functioning as an independent unit in all but name. The proposed separation of the Engineering and Planning departments had been in the works since the early part of 1956 when staff changes and restructuring within the Engineering Department’s Planning Division illustrated the undermanned condition of the Planning Engineer’s office. As a result, Council asked the Chief Administrative Officer to undertake a study examining the feasibility of creating a distinct Planning Department. This report was delivered to Council on July 3, 1956, but was laid over until a Committee of the Council had the opportunity to study the functions of the Planning department to determine the necessity of the proposal. The Committee’s findings were in line with the initial report and the Planning Department was established with a staff of nine (the head Planning Engineer, an Administrative Planner, three Research Planning Assistants, a Draughtsman, a Subdivision Control Clerk, a department Clerk and a Clerk Stenographer). This new department was to offer advice and carry out the work intensive in matters such as zoning and rezoning applications, subdivision control, traffic and transportation planning, and general City planning schemes. Prior to the creation of the Planning Department, a number of bodies within the City had been responsible for fulfilling the functions carried out by this new unit. In the earliest years of the City, the members of Council were responsible for matters of planning and were assisted in their job by the City’s Engineer or any number of hired consultants (e.g. surveyors, cartographers). By 1906, however, the provincial laws surrounding the subdivision process had changed, and local governments were charged with the task of approving all private subdivision plans in their respective Municipalities. In Burnaby, the City Council passed a bylaw decreeing that all subdivision plans were to be submitted to Council for review and the City Engineer was responsible for ensuring compliance with the law. After the first Town Planning Bylaw in 1924 which restricted the type and size of construction that could occur in certain City areas, the Engineering and Building departments were to work together to oversee the enforcement of the Bylaw and the development of City plans. The scope and competence required to carry out this work grew as Burnaby’s population expanded, and in 1930 Council passed the Town Planning Commission Bylaw (No. 1028) that saw the creation of a permanent body – the Town Planning Commission – which was to serve as an advisory body to help direct the planning activities in the City while the actual work continued to be carried out by the Engineering Department. This body was comprised of the Reeve, the Chairman of the School Board, the Chairman of the Park Committee (later, the Board of Parks Commissioners), and six appointed citizens who served three-year terms. Council referred all matters of subdivisions, transportation planning, and rezoning to this Commission, which was later supported in its work by several other special or standing committees such as the Subdivision Committee, the Apartment Committee, the Transportation Committee or the Town Planning Board of Appeal. By 1953, it had become apparent that the advisory committees that were dedicated to these planning issues needed a permanent staff to carry out the work intensive, so a restructuring of the Engineering department resulted in a permanent Planning Engineer’s office being created. The Town Planning Commission continued in its advisory capacity even after the determination came in 1956 to create a separate Planning Department. When Bylaw No. 4473 was passed in 1963, the Town Planning Commission was disbanded in favour of a new Advisory Planning Commission that would turn over all routine matters such as subdivision and rezoning applications to the Planning Department but would offer advice and community input into the more complex planning schemes within the City and act as an intermediary in cases where Council and Planning staff were in disagreement. A new Advisory Planning Commission Bylaw (No. 7600) was adopted in 1980 which allowed for even greater community participation in the planning process. The Planning Department was initially responsible to report directly to Council, but in 1957, the administrative structure of Municipal staff changed with the introduction of the Burnaby Municipal Manager Bylaw (No. 3859) and from that point on, the head of the Planning Department held a direct reporting relationship to the Municipal Manager, who in turn was responsible for reporting the activities of the Department to the City Council. Over the years, the internal structure and the scope of responsibilities of the Department have changed during periods of staff reorganizations. Under the larger umbrella of the Planning and Building Department, Planning has come to be comprised of two divisions: the Current Planning Division and the Long Range Planning Division. The functions of the Current Planning Division include rezoning, subdivision, development plan areas, preliminary plan approvals, urban design, heritage planning, and urban trails and bicycle routes. The Long Range Planning Division is responsible for environmental planning concerns, transportation planning, housing, neighbourhood area planning, social planning and planning information services. In 2022, the Planning and Building Department was reorganized to better align functions with delivery of services. The Climate Action and Engery Division moved from Corporate Services to the Planning and Building Department, while Indigenous Relations and Facilities Management moved to Corporate Services and Lands and Facilities, respectively. The position of Director of Planning and Building was changed to General Manager, Planning and Development. The following individuals have served as Planning Engineer and/or Director of the Planning Department and/or General Manager, Planning and Development for the City of Burnaby: William John Blakely 1954-1956 (as Planning Engineer) 1956-1963 (as Head of the Department) Anthony P. Parr 1964-1993 Don G. Stenson 1993-2001 Jack S. Belhouse 2001-2006 Basil Luksun 2006-2012 Lou Pelletier 2012-2019 Edward Kozak 2019-present

Formats: Microforms exist for some records. See series descriptions.

Media Type: Textual Record; Photograph; Moving Images

Creator: City of Burnaby

Notes: Title based on contents of fonds

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Planning Department fonds

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