Network: CBC Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1960 to 1964
Broadcast Medium: Television
Aired Monday nights from December 1960 to May 1961. Aired Tuesday nights from October 1961 to May 1963. Aired Monday nights, again, from September 1963 to July of 1964.
Pronounced in-KWI-ree as the show’s title card made clear to the viewer, this program was a precursor to This Hour Has Seven Days. It was CBCs attempt to put more flair and edge into the medium while offering something new to viewers. Patrick Watson, who went on to work for This Hour, produced the program from Ottawa.
The first season included a three part report on national defence, as well as individual topics such as, Trade with Cuba, security screening; Senate reform, political parties in Canada, the justice system, slum landlords, the Columbia River treaty, and a two parter about Quebec, entitled: Province or Nation?
The second season continued coverage of the Quebec situation, and provided reports on atomic energy in Canada, air pollution, and the isolation of new Canadians. In the third season, CBC had added money to the budget and the show expanded its coverage of international events along with national affairs.
Patrick Watson, Warner Troyer, Laurier LaPierre and producer Roy Faibish all worked on this show which led directly to This Hour . Inquiry was one of the first to feature the two-on-one interviews that were the mainstay of its successor.
Host: Davidson Dunton
Written by John Corcelli – May, 2005