A Royal Commission was established on 24 August, 1951 to conduct and inquiry and to report on the South Saskatchewan River Project (Central Saskatchewan Development). The inquiry was to determine whether or not the economic and soical returns to the Canadian people would commensurate with the cost of the investment in the project. Dr. T.H. Hogg, G.A. Gaherty and Dr. John A. Widtsow were appointed commissioners

Kenneth A.H. Buckley was born in Aberdeen, Saskatchewan. He attended public school in Watrous and Saskatoon, and earned his B.A. at the University of Saskatchewan in 1942. Following graduation he joined the Canadian Air Force where he served for a short period before being discharged for medical reasons. He returned to his studies and earned the M.A. degree from the University of Toronto in 1945 and a Ph.D. from the University of London in 1950.
Professor Buckley served as a consultant to all levels of government. Extensive work was undertaken for the City of Saskatoon; his advice was sought on local government problems and Dominion-Provincial financial relations by the Government of Saskatchewan; he undertook extensive work on the South Saskatchewan River Project -- a joint ventureof Federal and Provincial governments; he was frequently consulted by a variety of federal agencies.