Joan Sawicki An inventory of her fonds In The Library of the University of British Columbia Special Collections Divisio n Prepared by: Alex Richmond August, 2001 1 Table of Contents Fonds Description Title / Dates of Creation / Physical Description Biographical Sketch Scope and Content Notes Series Descriptions Issues Files Series. – 1988 – 1999. NDP History Series. – 1944 – 2000. 1977 – 1989 predominant. Government Publications Series. – 1991 – 2001. Newspaper Clippings – Environmental Issues Series. – January 1991 – August 1993. Natural Resource Subject Files Series. – 1980 – 1992. 1986 – 1991 predominant. Six Mile Ranch Series. – 1993 – 2001. File List Fonds Description Joan Sawicki fonds. – 1944 – 2001. 1986 – 1999 predominant. 2.16 m of textual records. Biographical Sketch: Joan Sawicki was born in Burnaby, British Columbia in 1945. The family moved to Terrace, B.C. in 1956. In the 1960s Sawicki attended the University of Victoria earning a B.A. in Education in 1968. She majored in both history and geography. Sawicki was a secondary school teacher in Williams Lake from 1968 –1969 and in Armstrong from 1971 – 1972. Sawicki gradually developed an interest in environmental and agricultural issues. She eventually worked in Ottawa and in British Columbia for the Ministry of Agriculture and the British Columbia Agricultural Land Commission. Prior to her career in civic and provincial politics Sawicki was a partner in a land-use consulting firm, dealing with natural resource management issues. From 1987 to 1990 Sawicki served on the Burnaby City Council. She chaired the environment and waste management committee and sat as a municipal representative on both the Greater Vancouver Regional District waste management committee and the Metropolitan Board of Health. Sawicki also served as the director of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities. In 1985 she was nominated to run for the New Democratic Party for the riding of Burnaby-Willingdon in the 1986 provincial election. Although she was defeated in 1986, Sawicki ran again winning the same riding in 1991 and 1996. She served as MLA for Burnaby-Willingdon from 1991 - 2001. Sawicki was elected speaker of the Legislative Assembly in March 1992, serving for two years. She then served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Municipal Affairs from April 1994 to May 1996 before assuming the same position for the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks from June 1996 to January 1998. She eventually resigned from her position over issues concerning a proposed land development project that was to take place on protected land under the Agricultural Land Reserve at Six Mile Ranch near Kamloops. From July 1999 to November 2000 Sawicki served as Minister of Environment, Lands, and Parks. Sawicki currently lives with her husband, Gary Runka, near Haggensburg British Columbia. Scope and Content: The fonds consists of newspaper clippings, correspondence, handwritten notes, news releases, reports, minutes, government brochures, and maps collected by Sawicki during her years on the Burnaby City Council and as an MLA for the riding of Burnaby-Willingdon. The majority of records relate to issues on the environment and agriculture which reflect Sawicki’s major interests while serving at both civic and provincial levels. At the civic level the fonds includes records from Sawicki’s work on several environmental and waste management committees. The fonds also includes a series on the Six Mile Ranch affair which relates not only to Sawicki’s role as an MLA for the New Democratic Party and her position as 2 Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment, but also to her long-term commitment to, and participation with the Agricultural Land Commission. The fonds includes numerous reports and submissions regarding the Six Mile Ranch affair. Notes: The materials arrived in four boxes. In general, a clear order was evident. The creator had divided up the materials into six distinct series and where possible original order has been maintained, with the exception of the Six Mile Ranch series in which no order was evident. The series titles were supplied by the creator. Further accruals are expected. Series Descriptions Issues Files Series. – 1988 – 1999. 36 cm of textual records. Series consists of newspaper clippings, correspondence, memoranda, and maps collected by Sawicki during her years as MLA for Burnaby-Willingdon. The materials cover mainly environmental issues such as Delta Crown Farmlands/Roberts Bank backup, Big Bend development, the Alcan Kemano Completion Project, and Clayoquot Sound which reflect Sawicki’s interest and involvement in environmental legislation. The series also includes materials on issues relating to the Burnaby-Willingdon constituency such as the Willingdon Youth Detention Centre. Boxes 1 – 3, 18 NDP History Series. – 1944 – 2000. 1977 – 1989 predominant. 24 cm of textual records. Series consists of articles, policy books, campaign literature, convention resolutions, materials from the Renewal Commission, and books. The materials document policy change and development within both federal and provincial elements of the New Democratic Party. The series also includes several campaign pamphlets from the 1986 and 1991 provincial campaigns including election pamphlets for Joan Sawicki, candidate for the Burnaby-Willingdon riding. Boxes 4 – 5 Government Publications Series. – 1991 – 2001. 24 cm of textual records. Series consists of government publications - predominantly brochures – published by various ministries and collected by Sawicki while serving as an MLA. The brochures are mainly general information brochures to inform the public on recent changes in ministry services or as updates for ongoing projects. Examples of some ministries represented in the series include the following: Ministry of Employment and Investment, Ministry of Skills Training and Labour, Ministry of Environment, Lakes and Parks, Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Housing, Recreation and Consumer Services. Ministry of Finance publications include a report on the 1999 Provincial Budget. Ministry of Forests publications include Forest Practice Codes. Boxes 6 – 7 Newspaper Clippings – Environmental Issues Series. – January 1991 – August 1993. 12 cm of textual records. Series consists of mounted newspaper clippings on numerous environmental issues. The articles are from the Vancouver Sun and the Vancouver Province. Box 8 3 Natural Resource Subject Files Series. – 1980 – 1992. 1986 – 1991 predominant. 60 cm of textual records. Series consists of reports, newspaper clippings, correspondence, minutes and memoranda from Sawicki’s years as a Municipal Councilor for the City of Burnaby. Sawicki sat as a representative for the City of Burnaby on numerous environmental committees and her participation in the work of those committees is reflected in this series. The series includes records from the City of Burnaby’s Environmental Waste Management Committee, the Waste Management Committee of the Greater Vancouver Regional District [GVRD], and the Metropolitan Board of Health. Sawicki’s work and concerns in the field of waste management and the environment are reflected in the numerous subject files contained within this series. Subjects covered include forestry management, water contamination, Chlorofluorocarbons [CFCs], recycling technologies and strategies, and Sewage and Drainage issues. Boxes 9 – 13 Six Mile Ranch Series. – 1993 – 2001. 60 cm of textual records. Series consists of newspaper clippings, newsletters, press releases, correspondence, reports, submissions, and copies of legislation generated during debate over the proposed development of the Kamloops on the Lake project. The series includes copies of the Kamlands Holdings Inc. (Pagebrook Inc.) application for the rezoning of lands which were protected under the Agricultural Land Reserve [ALR]. Other records include reports and correspondence from the Agricultural Land Commission, as well as copies of reports from consultants who researched the agricultural and economic “value” of the land in question. The series includes the initial Rankin Report on the Six Mile Ranch property and the French Report which critiqued the findings published in Rankin’s provincial-government initiated study. The series also includes documents from the Perry Commission including Commissioner David Perry’s final report to the provincial government and numerous submissions made by members of the public to the commission. Sawicki resigned her position as parliamentary secretary over the decision of the provincial government to invoke the Provincial Interest clause as means of overriding ALR legislation. Once the issue was put to a public inquiry, Sawicki’s resignation enabled her to participate in the ensuing debate. The series contains correspondence, personal notes, and speeches reflecting Sawicki’s participation in these events as well as correspondence to and from other NDP MLAs and ministers. Of special interest are the caucus briefings which outline both the Cabinet’s position and Sawciki’s. Boxes 14 – 17 Joan Sawicki fonds -- File List Box 1 Selected Issue Series 1-1 Newspaper Clippings re: Willingdon Youth Detention Centre 1993 – 1996 1-2 Correspondence: re Willingdon Youth Detention Centre 1993 1-3 Correspondence: re Willingdon Youth Detention Centre 1995, 1999 1995 predominant 1-4 Briefings, Notes, and Reports re: Willingdon Youth Detention Centre 1992 – 1997 1-5 Correspondence and Reports re: Wildlife Viewing 1995 – 1997 1-6 Newspaper Clippings