"We harbor no evil design"

"With an introduction and annotations by David A. Sutherland, this volume features key documents from the Papers of the Halifax Relief Commission (HRC), which was established in the wake of the 1917 Halifax Explosion. The HRC was a quasi-governmental authority endowed with sweeping authority to implement a long-term program of reconstruction and rehabilitation to improve the qualify of life for the people of Halifax and neighbouring Dartmouth. This volume focuses on the operations of the HRC's Rehabilitation Department through the formative period of 1918-1919, when pioneer social workers from major cities in both Canada and the United States were recruited to set up an administrative structure that could provide disaster victims with assistance. Decision-making about who was most deserving and what form relief should take became matters of controversy. A key feature of the case-file transcriptions that make up the bulk of this volume is the extent to which they give voice to the common people of Halifax as they struggled to rebuild. By bringing to light the documents left by the HRC, this volume will deepen the understanding of Haligonians whose lives were transformed by the unprecedented explosion."--