Saskatchewan. Dept. of Public Works

Primary Agency

Saskatchewan. Dept. of Public Works

• Department of Public Works

1905-1972

The Department of Public Works was one of the original departments created upon the formation of the Executive Council of the North-West Territories in 1897. The department, with headquarters in Regina, was headed by a commissioner and deputy commissioner.

Upon the formation of the province of Saskatchewan in 1905, the provincial department's mandate included the inspection and regulation of coal mines and steam boilers; surveying; the construction and maintenance of bridges; the operation and maintenance of ferries; the construction of fireguards; the provision of a water supply; road improvements; the organization and administration of local improvement districts and the collection of arrears in taxes.

Also in 1905, the department purchased eleven existing buildings, including the jails (gaols) at Regina and Prince Albert from the Dominion Government. By 1906, responsibility for the administration of the jails and their inmates was shared between the department and the Department of the Attorney General. In 1915, Public Works assumed full responsibility. Wardens of the jails reported to the Deputy Minister of the department. A new jail building was constructed at Moosomin (1909) and jails were replaced at Regina (1914) and Prince Albert (1922). Between 1931 and 1941, female inmates were housed at the North Battleford Women's Gaol until the women's facility at Prince Albert was reopened. Responsibility for jails was transferred to the Department of Social Welfare in 1947.

Responsibility for the construction and maintenance of public buildings was added in 1906, and construction of new facilities, including court houses and the Legislative Building in Regina, began shortly thereafter.

In 1908, responsibility for local improvements was transferred to the newly established Department of Municipal Affairs. In 1909, the commissioner and deputy commissioner became known as minister and deputy minister. From 1910 to 1911, the department administered The Factories Act and mediated wage disputes. Around 1912, administration of The Factories Act and The Coal Mines Act was transferred to the Department of Agriculture.

Several significant departmental changes occurred around 1914. Responsibility for surveying, bridges, ferries, fireguards, water supply, and road improvements was transferred to the Board of Highway Commissioners. The department assumed responsibility for the administration of psychiatric hospitals, and detention facilities. The administration of the estates of persons, with no other guardian, detained in a mental hospital in Saskatchewan, was transferred from trust companies to the department. The department also became responsible for landscaping the grounds of public buildings.

In 1928, the administration of The Steam Boilers Act was transferred to the newly established Department of Railways, Labour and Industries. The function was returned to Public Works in September, 1934 and remained there until 1945, when it was transferred to the Department of Labour.

In the early 1930's, responsibility for the administration of the two psychiatric hospitals (North Battleford and Weyburn) and the Industrial School for Boys was transferred to the Departments of Public Health and Education respectively. Public Works retained responsibility for the maintenance of the psychiatric hospitals and also maintained the new School for the Deaf in Saskatoon after it opened in 1931. In 1936, the department stopped administering the estates of the mentally incompetent.

Around 1941, the department began purchasing and maintaining vehicles for use by government employees. Around 1943, the department began operating a plant to supply electricity and steam power to the Legislative Building. In the late 1940's, responsibility for the maintenance of psychiatric hospitals, schools for the deaf and boys schools was transferred to other departments. Public Works started to provide a government mail and messenger service in 1947 and began to operate a machine shop and government garage for servicing government vehicles around 1949.

By the early 1960's, the department's primary functions related to the provision of accommodation, transportation and mail services to government agencies. The department's operation and maintenance of government buildings included space planning, leasing, and management of construction projects. In 1966, the Central Vehicle Agency (CVA) was established to provide vehicles and aircraft for use by government departments and agencies. CVA also assumed responsibility for the province's air ambulance service.

On April 1, 1972, the Department of Public Works was reorganized into the Department of Government Services.

The primary function of the Department of Public Works throughout its existence was the construction, operation and maintenance of public buildings.

The Public Works Act (S.S. 1906, c.10)

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Rules for Archival Description (RAD)

Final

Authority record created on 2008-10-30. Approved 2012-03-06. Last modified on 2017-11-29.

AMICUS Authorities - no entries found.
Department of Public Works Annual Reports.
Government Administrative Histories (Internal SAB Document).
SAB Clippings File - Saskatchewan - Executive Departments - Public Works.