A2 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 21, 200] Cyril Shélfard Former cabinet minister passes away in Victoria IT WAS a large and unruly crowd that greeted Social Credit cabinet ministers at a New Westminster rally in May 1972, Premier W.A.C, Ben- nett, in power for 20 years, was taking his cabinet on a tour around the province in preparation for an elec- (ion campaign. That crowd, made up of unionized construction workers unhappy at legis- lation passed to end a strike, closed in on the ca- binet ministers, chanting “Sieg Heil” and jabbing them with ends of picket signs. One protester, though, carried a two by four, He swung it, hitting agricul- ture minister Cyril Shel- ford not once, bul twice. Shelford suffered a bro- ken collarbone and a cracked arm in the assault, The incident was just one of many characteriz- ing Shelford’s career as a politician representing the northwest in Victoria. He died Nov. 8 in Vic- tora. First elected in. 1952 as a Social Credit MLA for the Omineca riding of Burns Lake and area, Shelford was only defeated 20 years later when his party was swept from power and replaced by the NDP in 1972. For four of those years — 1968 to 1972 - Shelford was agriculture minister, He moved to Terrace after his defeat where he bécame the manager for the Northwest Loggers As- sociation. He was also elected as a Terrace city council member in 1974. In 1975, with the NDP government in deep trou- ble because of a declining economy, Shelford won the Socred Skeena riding nomination for the election of that year. Elected with 50 per cent of the vote, Shelford returned to the provincial legislature, becoming agri- culture minister again in late 1978, His second defeat as a provincial politician took place in the spring 1979 election. , Shelford became a con- sultant and lobbyist, work- ing for the hospitality in- dustry and then for Alcan. Ironically, it was Shel- ford’s opposition to the ori- ginal Kemana hydro-elec- tric project in the early 1950s which drew him into provincial politics. The Shelford family settled in the Wistaria area south of Burns Lake in the early part of the century by establishing a ranch, Shelford was born in 1921 to Jack and Sarah Shelford, the youngest of four sons. Ironically, it was Shelford’s cpposi- tion to the original Kemano hydro- electric project in the early 1950s which drew him into provincial poli- tles. “Because of the remote location of our ranch, I never went to a school in my life and took all of my education by correspon- dence with the assistance of my mother and father,” recalls Shelford in his 1987 biography, From. Snowshoes to Politics, Alcan officials began to visit the Ootsa Lake -area of Wistaria in the early 1950s to tell residents of their plans. to create a re- servoir sufficient for hydro- electric pawer to run its “Beoling diaboles and treoling diabetes both depand on wesoarch. CDA tunding makes Il possible.” HELP SOMEONE YOUKNOW, CANADIAN 1 ASSOCIATION. - Oradetes CAHAOIENUE ASSOCIATION | OU DlAbEtE » www.dinbetes.ca : planned aluminum smel- ters in Kitimat, Creating the Nechako Reservoir meant raising Gotsa Lake and that meant flooding land belong to settlers and natives, Unhappy with Alcan’s first compensation offers, Shelford and others went to Victoria in 1951 to meet Premier Byron “Boss” Johnson of. the Liberal- Conservative coalition government. That meeting didn’t go well with Johnson offering no assurance of better of- fers. Shelford then went to see Harold Winch, leader of the CCF (the predeces- sor to the NDP), who was in.a grumpy mood and also wasn’t helpful, That left only W.A.C. Bennett, whe was on the verge of creating the So- cial Credit party as a poli- tical force. Shelford went to a meeting hosted by Ben- nett, liked what he heard and signed up as a Social Credit member, Bennett gave him some membership booklets to take back home and within a short period, Shelford was the Social Credit party candidate for the Omineca in the provincial election of 1952. He and 18 other Social Crediters won seats that election, That -was one More than the CCF and with the Liberals and Con- servalives way behind, the Socreds were able to form a minority government. ‘What made this situa- tion even more interesting Cyril Shelford was Shelford’s reception by CCF leader Winch in 1951, “Had Winch been his normal self, there’s a Strong possibility that I would have run as a CCF member in order to defeat the coalition; there seemed to be no ather place to go,” wrote Shel- ford in his autobiography. In other wards, had Shelford run as a CCFer and had he won, that party would topped Social Cre- dit and it would have then formed a minority govern- ment, A backbencher for years, Shelford took on the oil and gas companies when he pushed for the es- tablishment of a royal commission on gasoline pricing. Shelford got the impe- tus for this by wondering why paS was so much higher in the north than in the south, even after tak- ing transport into account, He wanted to separate major refiners from the re- tail market. And he wanted Th Trace Stat ison wvuleraestandani.om Il you've got EMAIL, you can reach us electronically. We welcome lettars, news tips, sports and community... contributions, and feedback of all types. standard@kermode.net (Chach oud our ela or ead G0U-728) lor achverttsing Ieforenzoot one wholesale price for all iE at the refinery gate. That way, Shelford, reasoned there'd be com- plete and apen competi- tion and better prices. The hearings dragged on in the early 1960s and Shelford attended every one at a considerable cost to himself. A final report in 1963 didn’t come close to meet- ing what Shelfard wanted. It advised the government to stay with the status quo. But he stuck with the government, saying il was doing good in other areas. There was acknowledg- | ment of sorts when the So- creds passed Bill 102, The Cyril Morely Shelford Re- imbursement Act. It gave Shelford $5,000 as partial compensation for his efforts at the hearings. It was a first in terms of provincial legislation and unprecedented elsewhere as well. Married to Barbara Cassidy in 1948, they had four children and, in 1998, celebrated their 50th wed- ding anniversary. Shelford was a veteran of the Second Warld War, ° serving overseas in the First Canadian Division. In his post-political life, he turned into an author, publishing his own auto- biography. He also edited a collection of his father’s letters. Cyril Morley Shelford. Born Southbank, B.C., April 8, 1921. Died Victoria, B.C. Nov. 8, 2001. Rancher, veteran, poli- tictan, author. check out our website @ warehouseone.com for a location near you. : t 2002 Ford Focus Focus is Canada's . 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