A Guide to the Medical Relief Committee fonds
Collection Number: MS-13-49Processed by Heather McCorriston
Collection Level Description
Title: Medical Relief Committee fonds
Dates: 1918 - 1918
Extent: 1 cm. of textual records
At the time of the Halifax Explosion, in 1917, there was no government agency in place capable of coping with such a disaster. To fill this void, the Halifax Medical Commission (HMC) was established in 1918 by the Acts of the Canadian Parliament and the Province of Nova Scotia. The Medical Relief Committee was part of this government commission. Its purpose was to care for the dependants and disabled of the Halifax Explosion. It provided restitution of property losses and continued medical treatment.
The responsibilities of the Halifax Medical Commission were transferred to the Canadian Pension Commission in 1976 to care for those still alive. It is estimated that $30 million was disbursed over this 60-year period which included grants from the Imperial Government and the Government of Canada. In 1976, approximately $1.5 million was handed from the HMC to the Government of Canada to defray the cost of pensions.
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Accession 73-84. The records were donated by Dr. M.G. Burris, of Dartmouth, in 1944.
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Fonds consists of a single notebook that contains committee minutes which discuss the care of patients following the Halifax Explosion in 1917.
[Identification of item], Medical Relief Committee fonds, MS-13-49, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
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