Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
On-to-Ottawa Trek Committee
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
[ca. 1983-1987]
History
The On-to-Ottawa Trek Committee was formed in 1985 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Trek. The On-to-Ottawa Historical Society was established in 1988 as a non-profit organization to preserve the memory of labour rights movements, specifically the On-to-Ottawa Trek of 1935. The 60th Anniversary of the Trek occurred in 1995. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour organized a week-long commemoration of the Trek, which included a declaration of good will from the Mayor, a walking tour of the area where the Regina Riot occurred, and various speakers and workshops. Several men from the 1935 Trek attended as well as Jean Sheils. Scope and content: This sous-fonds consists of material generated by the On-to-Ottawa Historical Society and its predecessor organization, the On-to-Ottawa Trek Committee. The material was created and used between 1985 and 1995, corresponding with the 50th and 60th Anniversary of the original Trek. This Trek grew out of discontent about the poor wages and working conditions that were present at military-run relief camps. In the 1930s unemployment was rampant and 20,000 men across Canada were stationed at relief camps throughout BC interior and Northern Ontario. Dissatisfied with pay (20 cents a day) and working conditions, workers began walkouts and left the camps to come to Vancouver to make their demands heard. There were many protest and rallies in Vancouver which led up to the Trek. At the time of the Trek, Arthur Evans was District Organizer of the Workers’ Unity League, and was leader of its affiliated union, the Relief Camp Workers’ Union (RCWU). He was instrumental in organizing the plan to travel to Ottawa to voice their concerns to Prime Minister R. B. Bennett. The Trek set out from Vancouver on 3 June 1935 with an estimated 1,000 men riding on top of railway cars.
They made several stops along the way in communities such as Kamloops, Field, Golden, and Moose Jaw, picking up more supporters as they went. 2,000 Trekkers arrived in Regina in mid-June and were detained there for several weeks. They were not allowed to travel onwards to Ottawa nor were they allowed to leave. On 22 June Evans led a delegation of eight men to Ottawa where they met with Prime Minister Bennett. These discussions did not go well and the group returned to Regina. On 1 July, at a peaceful protest, this tension culminated in what is now known as the Regina Riot, in which 3,000 Trekkers and supporters engaged in hours of street fighting with local police and the RCMP. The Riot left one police officer dead, several hundred people injured, and thousands of dollars of damage to downtown Regina.
The Trekkers returned to Vancouver and four men, including Evans, were charged for belonging to an unlawful organization, the Relief Camp Workers Association. Charges were later dropped, due in part to massive public protest against the Riot.