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Things to beware of in 1997:
Goverment to plan release of 'sensitive' material to internet in order
to claim national security neccessity for control and regulation.
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UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
01/10
[Compiled Text]
June 7, 1995 12:15pm
UFO UpDates - Toronto
Synchronicity! I was about to U/L the following when I came across this
exchange.
Cathy Johnson keyed to Mark Squire:
CJ> There was a research station near Ottawa, Ontario during the
CJ> '50's, that had an interesting encounter recorded in
CJ> electromagnetic frequencies. The detailed report of the
CJ> sighting was released to the public by the gov't. Eventually,
CJ> the scientific project was closed when funding disappeared
CJ> as did the cause of the recorded anomalies.
To which Mark responded:
MS> Now that's interesting! In fact I would love to visit this
MS> place if it still exists.
-----
* This may be cross-posted providing that this line and the subsequent
text remain intact and un-changed.
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The following was published with the author's permission, in the
January & March 1995 issues of 'THE MUFON ONTARIO NEWSLETTER'.
Copyright David Haisell - 1981 and MUFON Ontario - 1995.
All correspondence should be addressed to:
Victor Lourenco, Publisher & Provincial Director,
MUFON Ontario,
3058 Fifth Line W. #7
Mississaugua, Ontario, L5L 5W4
Canada.
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[HAISELL1.TXT]
UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future
by David Haisell
Part One
Presented to BUFORA's 2nd London International UFO Congress,
London, England, May 25, 1981
Ufology in Canada has evolved over the last thirty years in much
the same way as in many other countries, namely a disorganised and
fairly erratic manner. This comes as no surprise to most people,
since those attracted to the study span a wide spectrum of backgrounds,
interests and motivation, and thus much disagreement has existed among
them, the general public and that group of persons to who I shall
refer as 'the authorities', being comprised of those to whom the
media seem to turn for comments on the phenomenon we now call UFOs.
Unfortunately for Canada, these problems are compounded by two
additional factors, namely its immense size and sparsely distributed
population. The area per interested and capable
investigator/researcher adds up to many thousands of square miles.
Also, basic extrapolation, if valid, would imply that most UFO related
events in Canada would go unnoticed and hence unreported because of
the large areas of the nation with little or no population.
To put things in perspective I shall compare Canada's size and
population with those of the United Kingdom. The UK. has an area of
94,212 square miles, with a population of 55,534,000 (1976 figures).
This averages out to 590 persons per square mile. On the other hand
Canada covers an area of 3,851,809 square miles, over 40 times the
area of the UK. With a population of only 21,489,000 this averages
out to 5* persons per square mile. Thus the UK, has over 100 times
the population density of Canada.
When one considers that 13,730, 000 or 64% of Canada's population
live in Ontario and Quebec which cover 1,007,442 square miles or only
26% of the nation's area, this means that only 36% of the population
or 7,759,000 people live in 74% of the area, namely 2,844,367 square
miles. Thus the other 8 provinces and two territories have only 2.7
persons per square mile. The UK then, has 200 times the average
population density of 3/4 of Canada.
.- continued...
UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
02/10
.- continues...
The situation goes from the sublime to the ridiculous when one
considers that the two territories (the Yukon and the N.W.
Territories) which are almost 40% of Canada's land area, (or 16 times
the area of the UK) have a total population of only 51,000 people.
That's 30 square miles per person! Imagine having a back yard
measuring 5 miles by 6 miles! That's a lot of grass to cut - or snow
to shovel! To compound the problem even further there are only a few
active UFO groups in Canada, far fewer than in England.
Nevertheless, ufology has had quite an interesting and productive
history in Canada, and I shall now relate what I hope are some of the
highlights as well as some of the little know, but significant,
happenings which have occurred over the years, particularly in relation
to the involvement of the Canadian Government.
Canada's initial involvement in UFO investigation, or flying saucer
investigation at the time, apparently came more than three years after
the Kenneth Arnold incident in the U.S., and the accompanying 'flaps'
of 1947.
It happened in an inauspicious manner, but was destined to be plague
by the usual amount of intrigue and double talk which seems to be
characteristic of most government sponsored projects surround
controversial material. The initiator of the investigation was one
Wilbert B. Smith, a senior radio engineer with the Canadian Department
of Transport. Smith's area of research was in radio wave propagation,
a study which eventually led him into fields such as auroras, cosmic
radiation, atmospheric radio-activity and geo-magnetism. (1) It was
the latter of these fields which really attracted his attention and
caused him to speculate that the potential energy of the Earth's
magnetic field might be extracted and used. He had already progressed
to the stage of developing a crude experimental model to demonstrate
his theory, and successfully tested the unit which, in his words,
"demonstrated the soundness of the basic principles in a qualitative
manner and provided useful data for the design of a better unit." (2)
He believed, and I again quote, "that we are on the track of something
which may well prove to be the introduction to a new technology." This
"is borne out by the investigations which are being carried on at the
present time in relation to flying saucers." (3)
The investigations he was referring to were those being carried out by
the US Government at that time. In late 1950 Smith had attended a
North American Radio Broadcasting conference in Washington, D.C., and
while there, made enquires through the Canadian Embassy staff who were
able to inform him that:
a) the matter of UFOs was the most highly classified subject
in the US, rating higher than the H-bomb,
b) UFOs exist,
c) their modus operandi is unknown, but concentrated effort
is being made by a small group headed by Dr. Vannevar
Bush, (Editor: Of 'MJ12' fame)
d) the entire matter is considered by US authorities to be
of tremendous significance. (4)
A concerted effort is now being made to discover the identities of
these Canadian Embassy officials in the hope of identifying their
sources for these claims.
Smith felt the preliminary result of his work in geo-magnetism
correlated with the available data on reported UFO behavior, and that
they were fairly close to some of the answers. And this was
thirty-one years ago! The Defence Research Board liaison officer at
the Canadian Embassy in Washington evidently agreed with Smith for he
was extremely anxious for him to get in touch with Dr. Solandt,
Chairman of the Defence Research Board upon Smith's return to Ottawa,
to discuss with him future investigations along the line of
geo-magnetism energy release.
Consequently, upon his return to Canada, Smith met with Solandt on
November 20, and obtained his support. Solandt agreed that work on
geo-magnetic energy should proceed as rapidly as possible and offered
DRB's cooperation in providing laboratory facilities, acquisition of
equipment, and specialized personnel. (5)
On November 21 he outlined his proposal in writing to the Controller
of Telecommunications, indicating DRB's support and requesting that a
project be set up and carried out on a part-time basis "until such
time as sufficient results would warrant more definitive action". (6)
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UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
03/10
.- continues...
The proposal outlined seven avenues of investigation, all dealing with
geo-magnetic research, none dealing with UFO investigation. (7) He
proposed the work be classified since he felt that the lesser known
and little explored aspects of magnetism might hold the key to a new
and significant technology, and its impact on our civilization would
have to be assess if his suspicions proved correct. Commander C.P.
Edwards, then Deputy Minister of Transport for Air Services gave the
project his blessing, requesting that he be kept posted from time to
time. It is curious that the avenues of investigation Smith proposed
made no reference to UFOs. Could it have been that Smith willfully
omitted such reference in order to ensure a greater probability that
the project would be approved? Or was he only interested in UFOs
because they seemed to be demonstrating that some of his concepts were
apparently being applied, whereas his main interest was indeed in the
new technology which he felt he was on the verge of initiating?
There seems to be evidence for both points of view, but since I don't
want to analyze Smith's career at this time I shall not pursue that
issue any further. It is enough at this moment to recognise that
Smith's curiosity was responsible for Project Magnet's initiation in
November 1950, and for its relatively secret progress for a few years
at least. It is significant, though, that the official 'Magnet'
report, when eventually released many years later, dealt only with UFO
sighting analysis, and made no mention of Smith's geo-magnetics
research.
Curiously, the Canadian government in all its wisdom, saw the need for
still another project to analyze UFO reports, less classified than
Project Magnet, but still confidential. During the early months of
1952 there was a noticeable increase in the number of UFO incidents
covered by the Canadian Press. (8,9,10) Several of these involved
reports of disc-shaped craft over Royal Canadian Air Force bases, many
reported by service personnel themselves.
The Defence Research Board (DRB) noted this increase, and DRB chairman
Solandt asked staff member Harold Oatway to get a committee together
"to see if we can make anything out of these flying saucer reports".
(11) Had Solandt forgotten about Smith and Magnet? It's doubtful.
Oatway was a friend of Smith and knew of his involvement. As we shall
see Smith had not been forgotten, but the reason for setting up a
further project remains unclear, unless, of course, Smith was too busy
with his research. Why they didn't merely enlarge Magnet remains a
mystery.
On April 22, 1952, the committee gathered by Oatway held its first
meeting, with Peter Millman, head of the Dominion Observatory, as its
chairman. Smith, Edwards and Solandt were also among those present.
It was agreed that there was a need to formally investigate UFOs, and
that a committee should be formed to lead this activity and to
standardize procedures, etc. (12) From the minutes of this meeting we
read, "This committee was to prepare a brief of instructions for
observers; examine interrogation; and to establish a standard method
of recording and indexing for subsequent analysis." (13) (And if I
may be permitted, I would like to note that thirty years later, we are
still doing the same thing!) It was also decided that "the function
of DRB should be mainly advisory as the collection of reports could
best be done by field organizations."(14)
Two days later, the newly formed committee assembled, classifying its
work as 'confidential', and identifying themselves as 'Project Theta'.
On May 19, 1952 they met for a second time and among other things,
re-named themselves 'Project Second Storey' since 'Theta' was
apparently not on the list of valid names for projects of this type.
I hope I am not boring you with these details, but it is quite
interesting to not how the activities of 'Magnet' and 'Second Storey'
dovetailed at this time, how each affected the other, and finally and
more significantly, when public awareness of their activities
developed, how they rapidly came to a close.
On June 25, 1952 Smith submitted an interim report on Project Magnet
in which he stated that it appeared evident that flying saucers are
emissaries from other civilizations and actually operate on magnetic
principles, magnetic principles which we have failed to grasp due to
our not paying enough attention to the structure of fields in our
study of physics.(15) One wonders what reaction Smith caused!@ One
can almost hear the hurried whispers, and see the startled faces and
raised eyebrows.
.- continued...
UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
04/10
.- continues...
On July 31, Project Second Storey held their third meeting where,
among other items of business, a letter containing several of Smiths
motions, presumably based on his progress in Magnet, was tabled and
discussed. Also, the final form of the 'Project Second Storey
Sighting Report was approved, and distribution of same was determined.
There was no mention in the minutes of any reference to Smiths
decisive statement in his interim 'Magnet' report.
The fourth meeting of Second Storey was not held until November 17,
followed by the fifth on March 9, 1953. Smith had been working on
some 'weighting factors' to be applied to witness testimony to help
arrive at some measure of report significance. At the fifth meeting
his system was adopted temporarily without alterations. At this
point, though, it was probably felt irrelevant since Chairman Millman
noted "that evidence to date (and note that this was not Second
Storey's evidence to which he was referring, since they had so far
only managed to standardize their procedures) did not seem to warrant
an all out investigation by the Canadian Services but it might be well
to continue to collect at some central location all forms which may be
submitted to the Services." (16) Millman reached this conclusion
following discussions with the chairman of DRB on the future
activities of the committee. They seemed to be again ignoring Smith's
statement in his preliminary report on Magnet; or were they trying to
play it down?
And as it turned out, Millman's conclusion was based on activities in
the U.S. in the wake of the Robertson Panel, which is now know to have
been a CIA whitewash. So here is further evidence of top level U.S.
Canadian inter-relationship in the UFO field, and if we assume this
inter-relationship continued after the Robertson Panel, it is safe to
assume that investigation of UFOs in Canada was placed under the
control of some branch of Canadian Intelligence. We have more
evidence for this from none other than Prime Minister Trudeau, as I
shall relate later. We can only guess that Smith's interim 'Magnet'
report probably played a significant part in this assumed decision.
In concluding the fifth meeting of Second Storey, it was agreed that a
further meeting would take place after the Department of Transport had
completed its analysis. That is, after the Magnet Report was
finished. This was accomplished on August 10, 1953 but there are no
minutes available of any further Second Storey meetings, although
there is evidence that further meetings did take place. One wonders
why the minutes were nod made public. Recent correspondence between
Canadian ufologist Arthur Bray and Dr. Allen McNamara (without even
having been asked the question) that the Project Magnet Report was
submitted to Second Storey in 1953. (This from a letter dated July
25, 1979.) (17) So it was 26 years before any indication of further
Second Storey meetings surfaced.
During the summer of 1953, Wilbur Smith obtained approval from the
Department of Transport (DOT) to set up some UFO detection equipment
at Shirley's Bay, near Ottawa, and by the end of October the
installation was complete. The instruments included a gamma ray
counter, a magnetometer, a radio receiver (to detect the presence of
radio noise, and a recording gravimeter. (18)
News of Magnet finally leaked to the media presumably because of the
conspicuous nature of the Shirley's Bay installation. (19) As
expected, denials were attempted; on the very day the station went
into operation Dr. Solands was quoted as saying reports of the
station's establishment were completel untrue. However, he was forced
to back down on this, and later claimed he actually had only said that
such a station was not being operated by his department, and that he
personally had no knowledge of its existence. (20) Even this was
difficult to accept since the installation was located next to DOT's
Ionosphere Station on Defence Research Board (DRB) property, and in
fact, the building was loaned to Smith by DRB. (21)
Public awareness of this project was to be a source of frustration,
annoyance and embarrassment to DRB and DOT, and it put Smith in an
awkward position since he was still officially a member of the Second
Storey Committee. This was probably a contributing factor to the
contents of Millman's Novembe 21st summary report of Project Second
Storey. He announced that Project Second Storey's forms and
instructions for filing of sighting information were available for any
government department seriously interested in pursuing the matter
further, but the committee felt that, owing to the impossibility of
checking independently the details of the majority of sightings , most
of the material did not lend itself to a scientific method of
investigation. (22)
.- continued...
UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
05/10
.- continues...
Could it be that they were not aware of the scientific study being
conducted in the U.S. at that time by the Air Force on UFO reports
collect from June 1, 1947 to December 31, 1952? The study was
initiated in 1952 and continued through 1954, and proved beyond a
doubt the existence of an unidentifie phenomenon, even though the
conclusions were worded in such a way as to divert attention from the
evidence. The study to which I am referring was known as 'Project
Blue Book Special Report #14' which is probably the most constantly
referred to in the literature of Stanton Friedman, and more recently
was the subject of a paper by Bruce Maccabee in the Journal of UFO
Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, entitled the 'Scientific Investigation of
Unidentified Flying Objects'. I will be referring to this report
later in my presentation.
I therefore find it difficult to believe Millman's statement, and feel
more inclined to think his remarks were designed to appease 'somebody'
in the event Smith's association with Second Storey eventually became
public knowledge, and also to save face in view of the
Adamski/contactee activity now in the public eye.
There is more to the Second Storey/Magnet fiasco, but I feel I have
related enough to enable you to judge for yourselves concerning the
apparent ineptitude of the Canadian government to handle the UFO
problem.
Perhaps I should mention one more thing, though, before moving on.
At 3:01 in the afternoon of August 8, 1954 the instrumentation at the
Shirley's Bay installation registered an unusual disturbance. In
Smith's words "the gravimeter went wild", (23) as a much greater
deflection was registered than could be explained by conventional
interference such as passing aircraft. Smith and his colleagues
rushed outside only to find a heavy overcast. Whatever was up there
was hidden in the clouds. The only evidence they had was the
deflection registered on the chart recorder paper.
Two days later the controller of Telecommunications issued a form
letter, which was also authorised as a press release, admitting that
the DOT had been engaged in the study of UFOs for three and a half
years, that considerable data had been collected and analysed, but it
had not been possible to rea h any definite conclusion, and since new
data simply confirmed existing data, there seemed little point in
carrying the project any further on an official level.
Project Magnet was to be dropped, but Smith would continue to receive
and catalogue data on an unofficial basis.(24) In Smith's words,
Magnet went "underground"(25) probably joining Second Storey. By the
way, isn't the fact that "new data... confirmed existing data."
supposed to be what you would expect of a positive scientific
experiment?
The detection of "whatever it was" two days before had evidently
inspired rapid action. Does it seem likely that a project, which had
finally apparently detected what it was looking for, would be
terminated?
That doesn't make sense to me - instead it seems pretty good
justification for changing to a 'Top Secret' classification. It is
apparent that pressure was applied to Smith to downplay or even deny
the Shirley's Bay incident.
Researcher Greg Kanon writes: "In an abrupt about face, Smith
announced, before the May 17th 1955 session of the Commons' Special
Committee on Broadcasting, that no UFOs had ever been detected at the
Shirley's Bay Station. At about this same time, Captain Edward J.
Ruppelt (who earlier served as chief UFO investigator for the U.S.
Airforce) was reportedly told by RCAF Intelligence officers that only
'officially' had the Shirley's Bay Station produced negative results.
These developments led so e UFO researchers to conclude that Smith had
been successfully silenced by officialdom."(26)
Whatever the case, Smith kept busy over the next few years, and we get
a glimmer of what he was up to from a presentation he gave about five
years later to the Illuminating Engineering Society's Canadian
Regional Conference during which he stated:
.- continued...
UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
06/10
.- continues...
"We know that gravity is not all Newton visualised. Far from being a
basic force in nature, it is really a derived function, and is the
consequence of a dynamic condition, not a static one. We know what
goes into its makeup; we know its formula and we have a pretty good
idea of how to go about bri ging it under control. We have conducted
experiments that show that it is possible to create artificial gravity
(not Centrifugal force) and to alter the gravitational field of the
Earth. This we have done. It is Fact. The next step is to learn the
rules and do the engineering necessary to convert the principle into
workable hardware." (27) That statement was made 22 years ago. The
question is, what has been achieved since then?
Smith died of cancer on December 27, 1962. The respect he commanded
was reflected in his being posthumously awarded the Lieutenant-Colonel
Keith S. Rogers Memorial Engineering Award for dedicated service in
the advancement of the Technical Standards in Canadian Broadcasting.
This award, presented y the Canadian General Electric Company, was
well deserved. Smith was one of the foremost thinkers of his time - a
well respected ufolofgist - one of the first of our breed.
The Canadian government was publicly drawn into the UFO controversy in
a different way less than five years after Smith's death. This was
caused by an unusual and significant encounter with a UFO by one
Steven Michalak, a Winnipeg mechanic and part-time prospector. Some
of you may be familiar with the case since it has received wide media
coverage - even the BBC reported on it. It left many experts and
government officials in four separate departments completely stumped,
or at best, unwilling to divulge their opinions publicly.
On Saturday, May 20, 1967, 52 year-old Michalak claims he not only saw
a UFO, but actually touched it.
The following account of the incident is taken from a series of
articles written by Brian Cannon, then Director of the Canadian Aerial
Phenomena Research Organization which is no longer in existence. The
articles were published in Canadian UFO Report, Volume 1, numbers 3, 4
and 5. Also referenced s a report written by Michalak himself
entitled 'My Encounter with a UFO'. (28)
At 5:30 a.m. Michalak entered the dense bushland of the Whiteshell
Forest Reserve, 80 miles east of Winnipeg on a weekend prospecting
trip. He eventually came to a section of rock near a large swamp and
beaver dam by Falcon Lake. As he approached the swamp, several geese
became aware of him, gaggled violently at first, but soon ignored him
as he went about his task chipping at a formation of rock crystals.
At 11:00 a.m. he stopped work and ate lunch. He had only just
returned to work when, at about 12:15 p.m., his attention was again
drawn to the frightened cackling of geese on the nearby swamp. At the
same instant his eye was attracted to two scarlet lights in the clear
sky above. He watched them escend and take on a definite cigar shape.
In his own words: "Two cigar-shaped objects with humps on them about
halfway down from the sky appeared to be descending, glowing with an
intense scarlet glare. As these 'objects' came closer to the earth,
they became more oval-shaped."(29)
One of them descended to the ground 130 feet from Michalak, while the
other hovered above the tree tops for a few moments, then suddenly
took off at an incredible speed. Michalak states: "I cannot describe
or estimate the speed of the ascent, because I have seen nothing in
the world that moved so swiftly... without a sound." (30)
He then noticed the landed craft was changing colour from red to
grey-red to light grey to silver, the changes hot metal experiences as
it cools. After the glare had disappeared, Michalak was able to
discern the characteristics of the craft. It was disc-shaped, 35 to
40 feet in diameter and 15 fee high, with sloping sides and a dome
structure on top. Surrounding the dome were horizontal slits about 12
inches long. Down the sloping side facing him were nine Vent-like
openings each about six by nine inches, and each containing about 30
small holes resembling ventilation or exhaust ports.
He began to sketch these details into a diagram he was preparing and
approached the craft several times in doing so. At this time he felt
he was looking at an American space craft of some kind. He felt waves
coming toward him, and noticed a strange pungent odor, like a
burned-out electric motor, filling the air. Along with this were the
whining noise of an engine and a hissing sound similar to that of air
being sucked in. These seemed to be coming from a small rectangular
opening in the side of the craft from which a brilliant purple light
was also shining.
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UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
07/10
.- continues...
As he approached once more, he heard two voices coming from inside,
"one with a higher pitch than the other"(31), but was unable to
determine the language being spoken. Still convinced the craft was of
Earthly origin he addressed the voices, first in English, and then in
Russian, German, Ukrainian, French and Italian. After exhausting the
languages with which he was familiar he decided to look inside the
opening. He described what he saw. "Placing green lenses over my
goggles, I stuck my head inside the opening. The inside was a maze of
lights. Direct beams running in horizontal and diago al paths and a
series of flashing lights...seemed..(to be) working in a random
fashion, with no particular order or sequence. I took note of the
thickness of the walls of the craft. They were about twenty inches
thick..."(32)
He stepped back and after a moment the doorway closed, two panels
sliding horizontally across the opening, and one coming down from the
top. He placed his glove-covered hand on the side of the craft which
appeared to be a highly polished steel-like substance. The rubber and
canvas of the glove mel ed upon making contact with the hot surface,
but at the same instant the craft tilted slightly and Michalak felt a
burning sensation on his chest. His outer shirt immediately caught
fire, and he realized that one of the vent-like openings on the side
had emitted a blast of hot air, sending him reel ng. He quickly
ripped his shirt off and extinguished the flames, but the damage had
been done. A grid-like burn, matching the pattern of the vent, had
branded his chest, leaving him in considerable pain. When he looked
up moments later, the craft was above the tree tops and soon out of
sight, disappearing in the direction of the first ship.
Michalak gathered up some of his belongings and examined the imprints
left by the craft. He related "as I approached the site I felt
nauseated and my head began to ache. The spot where the craft had
come to rest looked as if it had been swept clean with a broom. There
was no debris of any kind on the rock. No twigs, bits of stone,
nothing. It had all been piled up in a six-inch high circular ring
about fifteen feet in diameter. (33)
His headache worsened and he began to feel nauseous from the sulphur
stench which seemed to be all around him. He began to vomit
repeatedly, as he slowly made his way back through the bush, his head
pounding, vision blurred. Two hours later he made it back to the
road, and finally to the motel where he had spent the previous night.
After telephoning his wife requesting that his son pick him up at the
bus depot, he made the long trip back to Winnipeg. Seeing his
father's condition, his son drove him straight to Misericordia
Hospital, and thus began his year and a half of encounters with the
medical profession.
The doctors at the hospital were puzzled by his combination of
symptoms. Unable to diagnose his condition, they could only provide
temporary relief from the pain of his first degree burns. The
following day his throbbing headaches persisted, as did the dots in
front of his eyes. Also, the strange smell from the UFO site seemed
to have followed him, as if it were coming from inside his body.
Within the next week he lost 22 pounds and his blood lymphocyte count
dropped from 25% to 16% before returning to normal four weeks later.
Since this symptom is apparently often caused by exposure to radiation
he was examined first at the radiotherapy department of the Winnipeg
General Hospital, and then at the National Atomic Research Centre at
Pinawa, but no abnormal levels were detected.
After a week or so his health seemed to be improving and he started to
put back the weight he had lost. But on June 3 a rash started to
appear on his chest, and by the end of the month it had spread in a
V-shape up to his ears. This seemed to be the start of a regular
cycle of returning symptoms, and in September 1967, and January, May
and August 1968, he was stricken with the geometric pattern of burns,
nausea, blackouts, rashes on his hand and legs, and swelling of his
body.
Receiving no satisfaction from the 27 doctors he consulted during this
time, he eventually sought help from the famed Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minnesota, where he underwent, at his own expense, an
extensive examination, returning home two weeks later. After six
months of prescribed medication his health returned to normal.
.- continued...
UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
08/10
.- continues...
According to Michalak the doctors told him he had a chemical impurity
in his blood, but he did not clarify this further.(34) Apparently,
the Mayo Clinic has refused to release, even to Michalak, any further
details on his diagnosis.
Michalak was not the only UFO witness in the area at that time.
During the four week period preceding and following his encounter at
least 20 sightings were reported in the Winnipeg area, including one
by two boys at Falcon Lake on the same day as Michalak's. (35, 36)
Both the RCMP and the RCAF launched investigations into the case, and
many expert consultants were used. Tests were conducted on Michalak's
burned clothing, but they were "unable to reach any conclusion as to
what may have caused the burn damage." (37) Both the Department of
National Defence and the RCMP, after extensive investigation, reported
that "neither of their investigation teams were able to provide
evidence which could dispute Mr. Michalak's story.(38)
However, quite a controversy erupted over access to the reports of the
government's findings. In November, 1967, Defence Minister Leo
Cadieux answered negatively to MP Ed Schreyer (who is now Canada's
Governor General) when he enquired if the results of the formal
investigation would be made public (39)
But in November 1968, one year later, the House of Commons was drawn
into the debate by Barry Mather, the New Democratic Party member for
Surrey, New Westminster, BC. He made his first motion on November 13,
asking "That an order of the House do issue for a copy of all letters,
reports, studies or ther data in respect to an exchange by the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, the Royal Canadian Airforce, the Department
of National Health and Welfare, the Geological Survey of Canada and
the National Research Council of Canada regarding the sighting in 1967
by Mr. Steve Michalak of an unidentified flying object."
He was answered by Donald S. MacDonald, President of the Privy
Council, who replied, "I am informed by the National Research Council,
that on an informal basis they have been soliciting correspondence
from individuals throughout Canada on these particular sightings.
They have asked that this kind of correspondence not be made the
subject of a return in this house. I wonder whether in the
circumstances the Hon. Member would be agreeable to withdrawing his
notice of motion."
But Mather refused to withdraw his motion and requested it be
transferred for debate. Three months later, on February 6, 1969, he
finally received the opportunity. The following is part of his
presentation, and some of the response he elicited. I am going into
some detail here because I think it is important to demonstrate how
this apparently significant issue was successfully buried by
politicians.
He said: "Mr. Speaker, I do not want to take up the time of the house
at any great length on the matter referred to in notice of motion
No. 19 which asks for an order for a copy of all letters, reports and
so on, the details of which you have just read. I do, however, have a
few points I should lik to put forward. First, there is the failure
the government to table the papers referred to and the significance of
that failure as it bears upon the rights of members of Parliament in
representing the people of Canada. Second, I wish to comment on the
present situation in our official dealings in respect of reported
sightings of UFOs or flying saucers...
My reason for bringing up the matter in the first place and later in
asking for the tabling of papers was simply to comply with a request
from constituents who, as are many other Canadians, are much
interested in what reportedly happened to Mr. Stephen Michalak in
eastern Manitoba last May when he was prospecting near Falcon Lake...
... I believe that in Canada we should have a more tangible policy
regarding UFO investigations. I think the government should table all
information available pro and con about these phenomena. I think we
should also consider that our own little Earth is now sending out
flying objects, and if life exists on other planets the flying objects
which the USA and the USSR are sending into space may very well appear
to that form of life to be unidentified flying objects...
I have two points. I think the papers should be tabled so that we can
all find out what they say, and I believe Canada through its agency in
this field should take a more serious interest in establishing the
facts."
Mr. Yves Forest (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Privy
Council):
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UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
09/10
.- continues...
"The Honourable Member raised two points, the second of which
precisely takes into account the fact that he is not an expert in the
matter of flying saucers and I think that I could say so myself..."
Now, notice the following set of contradictory Statements as Forest
continues:
"The Honourable Member will understand that the government does not
have much to conceal on a subject like this."
How much do they have to conceal?
He continues:
"As to the request of the Honourable Member for the complete file, the
latter includes some documents which are marked 'confidential', such
as advice, opinions, or reports which have not usually been made
public in the past for obvious reasons."
What are the Obvious reasons?
He continues:
"If the government were to divulge publicly these opinions or
confidential documents every time it is requested to do so, I would
think that the department officials concerned would not be very
inclined to offer candid opinions or to submit complete reports."
Which all pretty well translates to mean that the government does not
have much to conceal, other than what the public does not already know
about the incident, namely the opinions of the government experts
called in to analyze the case. These must be kept confidential,
otherwise the experts would not agree to report their findings. But
you can bet your bottom dollar that if they had concluded that
Michalak was a nut or a hoaxer, the results would have been released.
Now, some more contradictions from Forest:
He continues:
"On the other hand, I want to inform the Honourable Member that I have
the complete file containing some reports, [if it only contains some
reports, how can it be complete?] including articles which have been
published in newspaper by various reporters. [They are obviously
already public domain.]
And then he again says, as if trying to convince himself:
"It is a complete file from which a few pages have simply been
removed. They are inter-departmental reports or others originating
from officials who may have expressed opinions 'which in no way affect
the nature of the file, and the publication of which would not be in
the public interest'."
Figure that one out!
As if that is not enough to grab your attention, he adds:
"Any other procedure would, I think, create a dangerous precedent that
would not contribute to the good administration of the country's
business, and such has been the policy of the present and preceding
governments." And one could easily finish his statement with, "... to
conceal such information from the public."
And he continues with:
"If the Honourable Member is willing to approve this suggestion, we
would be ready to table a complete file (which we all know is not
complete) and Honourable Members could thus be informed of this
interesting question raised by the Honourable Member for Surrey."
[Nothing like laying it on a bit thick!]
By now, it is apparent that Mather has given up, for he replies:
"If I am in order, I should like to thank the Honourable Member for
the offer he has made and accept it."
And the issue was successfully buried!
It is apparent that the same government parameters of incompetence,
ignorance, apathy or covert operations - take your choice - which
existed for Wilbert Smith, still persisted in the Canadian government
fifteen years later.
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UFOLOGY IN CANADA
Past, Present & Future - Part One
10/10
.- continues...
Sources:
(1) Memorandum to the Controller of Telecommunications, W.B. Smith,
November 21, 1950, p.2.
(2) ibid, p.2.
(3) ibid, p.2.
(4) ibid, p.3.
(5) ibid, p.4.
(6) ibid, p.4.
(7) Project Magnet, program, W.B. Smith, p.2.
(8) Ottawa Journal, April 16, 1952.
(9) Toronto Globe & Mail, April 16, 1952.
(10) Ottawa Journal, April 17, 1952.
(11) 'I Believe Flying Sauceers Come From Outer Space', by Alan
Philips, Weekend Magazine, V.7, #27, 1957, p.4.
(12) Minutes of a DRB meeting to discuss flying saucers, April 22,
1952, p.1.
(13) ibid. p.1.
(14) ibid. p.2.
(15) Interim Report on Project Magnet, W.B. Smith, 1952.
(16) Minutes of the 5th Second Storey meeting, March 9, 1953, p.2
(17) The UFO Connection, Arthur Bray, Jupiter Publishing, 1979, p.69
(18) The UFO Connection, Arthur Bray, Jupiter Publishing, 1979, p.63.
(19) Sudbury Star, Nov. 12, 1953.
(20) Toronto Daily Star, Nov. 14, 1953.
(21) Letter from Dr. N.M. Millman, Sept. 24, 1968, NRC files.
(22) Project Second Storey - Summary Report, Dr. P.M. Millman,
chairman, Second Storey Committee, Nov. 21, 1953.
(23) Bray, p.63.
(24) Form letter signed by the Controller of Telecommunications, DOT,
Aug. 10, 1954.
(25) 'Project Magnet - The Canadian Flying Saucer Study', Topside,
#12, Winter/Spring 1963.
(26) Canadian UFO Report, Vol.3, No.6, p.23.
(27) 'Sputniks, Saucers and Spacecraft', W.B. Smith, - a paper
delivered to the Illuminating Engineering Society, Canada
Regional Conference, at a luncheon in Ottawa, June 11,1959.
(28) Osnova Publications, Winnipeg, 1957.
(30) ibid, p.8.
(31) ibid, p.8.
(32) ibid, p.11.
(33) ibid, p.12.
(34) ibid, p.16.
(35) UFO Sightings, Landings and Abductions, Yurko Bondarchuk,
Methuen, 1979, p. 41.
(36) The UFO Experience, J. Allen Hynek, Ballentine Books, 1974,
pp.150 - 152.
(37) Non-Meteoritic Sightings File - DND 222, Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics, Planetary Sciences Section, NRC, Ottawa.
(38) ibid.
[EOF]
---
Errol Bruce-Knapp
UFO UpDates - Toronto