In 1949, the federal government established the Royal Commission on the Arts, Letters and Sciences under the chairmanship of Vincent Massey. Its broad purpose was "an examination of the activities of agencies of the Federal Government relating to radio, films, television, the encouragement of arts and sciences, research, the preservation of our national records, a national library, museums, exhibitions, relations in these fields with international organizations, and activities generally which are designed to enrich our national life, and to increase our consciousness of our national heritage and knowledge of Canada abroad." MacKenzie, Arthur Surveyor, Georges Henri Leveque and Hilda Neatby served as commissioners. Hearings of the commission were held in major Canadian cities (August 1949 - July 1950), with 462 submissions filed. The resulting report played a significant role in shaping the government's cultural policies.
The series consists of the actual working files developed and maintained by MacKenzie while he served on the Massey Commission. It includes correspondence, working papers, briefs presented to the commission, the documents of various special subcommittees, the Royal Commission's report, extensive newspaper clippings and miscellaneous printed material.