unconstitutional, and it never became law. Métis Population Betterment Act The Métis Population Betterment Act (Bill 6) was a statute passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the seventh session in 1938 that created a committee of members of the Métis and the government to plot out lands for allocation to the Métis. Twelve areas were mapped out for this purpose, with the idea of creating ongoing cooperation between the Métis and Crown representatives toward the improvement of quality of life for the Métis. It came to light that certain lands given to the Métis were insufficient to create a living for the people placed there, and these settlements were rescinded. By 1960, only eight of the original lands were still in the hands of the Métis. The Act came as a result of the findings of the Royal Commission on the Condition of the Halfbreed Population of the Province of Alberta (Ewing Commission) chaired by Justice Albert Ewing and included members James McCrie Douglas and Dr. Edward A. Brathwaite. The Commission recommended that Alberta's Métis should have land reservations for farming colonies/settlements, homes, and schools. Additionally, in recognition that the Métis were the original inhabitants of the proposed land allotments, the Commission acknowledged group rights and acknowledged that settlement Métis should have preference over nonresidents in harvesting fish, fur, and game. The Recall Act As part of Aberhart's mandate, the Social Credit government sought to bring recall petitions to Alberta. The Speech from the Throne on February 6, 1936 included a statement promising the government would introduce recall provisions for Members of the Legislative Assembly. On March 13, 1936, Provincial Secretary Ernest Manning introduced An Act providing for the Recall of Members of the Legislative Assembly (Bill 76) and subsequently passed third reading on April 3, 1936. Recall did not last long in Alberta, by the fifth session in 1937 a recall petition had started against Premier William Aberhart and members of the opposition unsuccessfully introduced motions in the house to reduce the percentage of the electorate required to successfully recall a MLA. On September 30, 1937 backbench MLA Ernest Duke introduced An Act to repeal The Legislative Assembly (Recall) Act (Bill 11). The bill passed on October 5, 1937, and was retroactive to invalidate any previous recall activities, protecting Premier Aberhart from the active recall activities in his constituency. Composition at election References Further reading External links