![]() Citizens wanted betterĪccess to information so they could collect and analyze UFO reports themselves. UFO investigation groupsĬalled for more government transparency at a time when the Official Secrets Act severely restricted what documents they could access. Afterward, citizens began decrying government secrecy more generally. Before this time, citizens were interested in what UFOs were and who (or what) operated them. Access to Informationīeginning in the late 1960s, the focus shifted for UFO enthusiasts. Sometimes they even lobbied for funds to carry out investigations. These groups usually lobbied the government for more action and disclosure Winnipeg, Manitoba, had the Canadian Aerial Phenomena Research Organization. A group called Canadian UFO Research operated in Oshawa, Ontario, there was the Canadian Aerial Phenomena Investigations Committee. Many of these groups existed from the 1960s until the 1980s. They established UFO investigation groups to find out exactly what the objects were. Along with media accounts, these sorts of clubs were one of the main ways citizens accessed information about UFOs. Others formed the Vancouver Area Flying Saucer Club, which hosted prominent ufologists and distributed recordings For example, Wilbert Smith (of Project Magnet) formed the Ottawa Flying Saucer Club. They met in homes, hotels,Ĭhurch halls and auditoriums to speculate about the objects. Beginning in the 1950s, people formed UFO clubs. Many citizens thought the government was giving them the “go-around” and “doublespeak.” They took it upon themselves to investigate UFOs. Government officials stated that such ideas were nonsense and assured the citizens there was nothing to fear. There were those who claimed to have seen a UFO and were convinced they were extraterrestrial objects. Some accused the government of a cover-up, implicating it in conspiracy theories. They alsoĪsked whether UFOs posed a threat to national security and what the government was doing about them. These requests ranged from polite and deferential, to bizarre, demanding and hostile. ![]() Many wrote letters to the government requesting information. Civilian ResponseĬitizens across the country took a keen interest in UFOs. Government scientists, however, were reluctant to engage with the issue. The RCMP was the main agency responsible for collecting reports from witnesses. Military intelligence decided that the Soviet Union was likely not responsible for the objects. They were real at all, were “not amenable to scientific inquiry.” Project Second Storey concluded that UFOs, if ItĪlso attempted to debunk sightings as nothing other than misidentified natural phenomena, such as meteorites. It worked to standardize a UFO sighting form. The committee did not investigate any sightings it acted as an advisory body only. In his opinion, they were not extraterrestrial in origin and the project was a waste of time and resources. Was chaired by Peter Millman, an astronomer with the Dominion Observatory. To this end, the Defence Research Board set up Project Second Storey (1952–54). The government wanted to establish an official position on UFOs. With this view, so the Department of Transport shut down Project Magnet. He had also come to believe that UFOs were extraterrestrial (from beyond planet Earth). ![]() Finally, he built a UFO observatory at Shirley’s Bay, a restricted military site west of Ottawa. He also launched a balloon into the night sky in order to solicit sighting reports and test their accuracy. Smith undertook experiments to determine whether UFOs flew using magnetic energy. Project Magnet (1950–54) was the brainchild of Wilbert Smith, a radio engineer with the Department of Transport. Both came about for the sake of caution and to allay public concern. In theĮarly 1950s, the government launched two separate projects devoted to UFOs. The Canadian government was at first concerned that UFOs might present a security threat if they turned out to be advanced Soviet technology. Canada’s first postwar UFO sightings occurred that same year. On June 24, pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine shiny flying discs over Mount Rainier in Washington State. The modern era of UFO sightings began in 1947. Reproduced with the permission of Library and Archives Canada (2020).
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