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A Government Agent was first stationed in Fort Fraser in 1913. In 1950 the office was moved to Burns Lake. A government Agent operated at Burns Lake until the 1980s.

The government agency system of British Columbia has its origins in the two colonial offices of Gold Commissioners and Stipendiary Magistrates. Over time, the title "Gold Commissioner" became restricted to those officials performing the administrative and judicial duties laid out in mining legislation (Gold Commissioners held their judicial responsibilities until they were repealed by the Mineral Act of 1897). The more general title "Government Agent" was increasingly used for those officials with broader responsibilities and was consistently used to describe these multifunctional roles by the 1880s.

The several functions of a Government Agent are legally separate powers and appointments, which were often, but not always, held concurrently by the same individual. After confederation, Government Agents continued to fulfill a multitude of roles. By the turn of the century, a single agent’s duties could include:

Government Agent, Supreme Court Registrar, County Court Registrar, Sheriff, Gold Commissioner, Mining Recorder, Water recorder, Welfare Officer, Vital Statistics Recorder, Meteorological Recorder, Provincial Registrar of Voters, Federal Registrar of Voters, Game Warden, Land Commissioner, Assessor, Collector of Revenue Taxes, Financial Officer, Marriage Commissioner, Local Board of Health Sanitary Inspector, Cattle Brand Recorder, Maintainer of Government Buildings, Coroner, Gaoler, Constable, and Court clerk.

New functions were added as government services were created. For example, during prohibition, agents issued permits to purchase liquor. They also became involved with the administration of the Motor Vehicle Act by registering vehicles and licensing drivers. By 1900 policing functions were formally removed from Government Agents and transferred to police forces, though they continued to work closely with some police constables, particularly in rural areas, until the BC Police force was replaced by the RCMP in 1950.

Into the twentieth century, the staff in government agencies was growing substantially from one person who fulfilled all government functions, to offices with multiple staff supervised by the Agent.

The location of agencies and the headquarters of each agency where an Agent was located changed over time, based on the movement of population. There were often sub-offices or other outposts throughout a district with other government officials, such as Mining Recorders, who reported to the Government Agent at the district's headquarters.

Agents reported directly to the Provincial Secretary in Victoria until 1917 when they were became part of the Department of Finance, as one of their primary roles was tax collection. Starting in 1920 and increasingly after 1945, the role of the Government Agent was reduced and eroded by the growth of other more specialized and centralized branches of government. For example, Agents provided social services and acted as informal Social Workers by dispensing income assistance and child welfare responsibilities until they were replaced by trained Social Workers in the 1930s.

Into the 1950s the Government Agent in some small communities continued to act as Magistrate, Gold Commissioner, Mining Recorder, Maintainer of voters lists, Recorder of vital statistics and many other duties. However, these roles were increasingly done by representatives of different government branches. As of 2022, a Government Agent is still based in Port Alberni, working as an administrator with limited authority in several communities across the province.

The Surveys and Resource Mapping Branch is the successor to the Surveys and Mapping Branch. In 1996 the Branch was renamed Geographic Data BC.

The Surveys and Mapping Branch was the successor office to the Surveys and Mapping Service and the Surveys Branch. The branch was responsible for surveying Crown lands; collecting data from surveys of Crown lands done by private surveyors in support of applications for land pre-emptions, timber, mining, and water rights licenses and/or leases; compiling various types of reference maps for the use of the department; and, providing public access to maps created by the branch.

In 1982 the name of the Branch was changed to Surveys and Resource Mapping Branch.

Frederick Clark Stephenson was born near Bowmanton, Ontario. Dr. Stephenson was a missionary, fundraiser, and minister for the Methodist Church and then the United Church.

Victor Albert Stephens is a former lawyer who served as M.L.A. for Oak Bay riding and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of B.C. from 1978 until his defeat in the provincial general election in 1979.

The British Columbia Housing Management Commission (BCHMC), commonly known as BC Housing, was constituted a body corporate and politic, pursuant to section 11 of the now repealed Housing Act (RSBC 1960, c. 183), by order in council 3746/67, approved December 8, 1967, and published as B.C. Reg. 76/68.

The mandate of BCHMC or BC Housing continued to be provided under the British Columbia Ministry Of Lands, Parks and Housing Act (RSBC 1996, c. 307). This mandate was to provide affordable housing to British Columbians by developing, administering and managing social housing throughout the province. BC Housing is also responsible for the administration of the Home Owner Protection Act (SBC 1998, c. 31). Under this legislation, it is also responsible for licensing residential builders, administering owner builder authorizations, overseeing home warranty insurance, and carrying out research and education to improve the quality of residential construction and consumer protection.

BC Housing is accountable to the Minister of Housing through a Board of Commissioners, responsible for corporate governance, and appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The Chief Executive Officer is appointed by and reports to the Board of Commissioners and is accountable to the Board, but is not a board member.

At the end of 1975, the commission had a portfolio of 6,845 units. The federal/provincial rent supplement program for tenants in government-owned, and non-profit housing projects was also administered by the Commission. The chairman of the Board of Directors at that time was the Minister of Housing.

In 1976-1977, the BCHMC or BC Housing was one of three agencies under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing. The other two were Dunhill Development Corporation Limited, and the British Columbia Housing Corporation. Acquired on January 10, 1974, Dunhill's prime responsibility was the assembly and servicing of land for housing developments. The crown corporation had four divisions: Land Development Division, Property Management Division, Operations Division, Marketing Division. The main purpose of the British Columbia Housing Corporation was to enable the Province to make use of federal funding with respect to rental housing units operated by the provincial government throughout B.C.

Prior to 1967 when the British Columbia Housing Management Commission was established, some functions of BCHMC regarding public/social housing were carried out under programs funded by the Provincial Secretary.

The Ministry of Human Resources was established in 1976 when the government renamed the Dept. of Human Resources (OIC 3199/76). The functions of the former Dept. of Human Resources remained virtually the same in this new department. The Ministry of Human Resources was responsible for all matters relating to social welfare, public welfare and social assistance. The department provided the delivery of a broad range of social services and income security programs including income assistance, assistance to the handicapped and the elderly, child welfare services and residential services. In 1986, the housing function from the Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing, was merged with the Ministry of Human Resources. With this change came a new name, as the ministry was now called the Ministry of Social Services and Housing (OIC 1501/86 and OIC 1502/86).

Hugh Clark MacCallum was born on 12 September 1940 in Toronto, Ontario. At the age of 22, his father bought him an Argus 35mm to use whilst working on a Canadian Arctic DEWLine resupply ship for the summer of 1962.

MacCallum got his pilot's license in April 1963 leading to a lifelong interest in aviation, especially as a Commercial Bush Pilot. His first introduction to British Columbia was a prospective flying job in October 1968 at Kelsey Bay, BC . He spent the next 9 years working seasonally for various air charter companies in northern Manitoba & Ontario. He moved to BC in 1978, first to Port Alberni and then to Port Hardy, still working as a pilot. He continued flying professionally until 1981 and then continued as a passenger agent. Whilst flying along BC's coast, MacCallum was taking 72 pictures a week. He retired in 2005, and ceased taking photographs in 2022 to pursue other interests, some related to aviation.

A government agent was first officially stationed at Smithers in 1920. As of 2022, there is still a government agent based in Smithers.

The government agency system of British Columbia has its origins in the two colonial offices of Gold Commissioners and Stipendiary Magistrates. Over time, the title "Gold Commissioner" became restricted to those officials performing the administrative and judicial duties laid out in mining legislation (Gold Commissioners held their judicial responsibilities until they were repealed by the Mineral Act of 1897). The more general title "Government Agent" was increasingly used for those officials with broader responsibilities and was consistently used to describe these multifunctional roles by the 1880s.

The several functions of a Government Agent are legally separate powers and appointments, which were often, but not always, held concurrently by the same individual. After confederation, Government Agents continued to fulfill a multitude of roles. By the turn of the century, a single agent’s duties could include:

Government Agent, Supreme Court Registrar, County Court Registrar, Sheriff, Gold Commissioner, Mining Recorder, Water recorder, Welfare Officer, Vital Statistics Recorder, Meteorological Recorder, Provincial Registrar of Voters, Federal Registrar of Voters, Game Warden, Land Commissioner, Assessor, Collector of Revenue Taxes, Financial Officer, Marriage Commissioner, Local Board of Health Sanitary Inspector, Cattle Brand Recorder, Maintainer of Government Buildings, Coroner, Gaoler, Constable, and Court clerk.

New functions were added as government services were created. For example, during prohibition, agents issued permits to purchase liquor. They also became involved with the administration of the Motor Vehicle Act by registering vehicles and licensing drivers. By 1900 policing functions were formally removed from Government Agents and transferred to police forces, though they continued to work closely with some police constables, particularly in rural areas, until the BC Police force was replaced by the RCMP in 1950.

Into the twentieth century, the staff in government agencies was growing substantially from one person who fulfilled all government functions, to offices with multiple staff supervised by the Agent.

The location of agencies and the headquarters of each agency where an Agent was located changed over time, based on the movement of population. There were often sub-offices or other outposts throughout a district with other government officials, such as Mining Recorders, who reported to the Government Agent at the district's headquarters.

Agents reported directly to the Provincial Secretary in Victoria until 1917 when they were became part of the Department of Finance, as one of their primary roles was tax collection. Starting in 1920 and increasingly after 1945, the role of the Government Agent was reduced and eroded by the growth of other more specialized and centralized branches of government. For example, Agents provided social services and acted as informal Social Workers by dispensing income assistance and child welfare responsibilities until they were replaced by trained Social Workers in the 1930s.

Into the 1950s the Government Agent in some small communities continued to act as Magistrate, Gold Commissioner, Mining Recorder, Maintainer of voters lists, Recorder of vital statistics and many other duties. However, these roles were increasingly done by representatives of different government branches. The role of Government Agent continues to exist in 2022 as an administrator with limited authority in several communities across the province.

Born in Vancouver in 1889, Bruce Alistair McKelvie was a historian and newspaperman. He wrote countless articles for a variety of newspapers, including the Colonist (of which he became managing editor in 1930), the Sun, and the Province. McKelvie joined the Province in May 1913, after brief stints with smaller newspapers on Vancouver Island. He worked as a police reporter, then covered Vancouver city hall affairs and eventually a variety of community activities. From 1929 to 1930 he served as Director of the Bureau of Provincial Information. In 1931 he was part of the BC delegation to Honolulu to negotiate a trade pact with New Zealand and in the following year represented BC at an Imperial Trade Conference in Ottawa. While manager of the Vancouver Board of Trade Manufacturers' Bureau, he launched a successful "Buy B.C. Products" campaign. McKelvie also held executive posts with the BC Historical Association and Native Sons of BC. McKelvie twice tried to represent Victoria, first in the provincial election of 1 June 1937 and in a federal byelection of 29 November 1937 but was unsuccessful on both occasions. As a young boy he was made an honorary chief of the Sliamon Band for saving the life of a girl from drowning, and thereafter maintained a keen interest in the affairs of the First Nations people of the province. In addition to the numerous pamphlets and articles McKelvie published, he also wrote the following books: The black canyon: a story of '58, Early history of British Columbia, Fort Langley, H.B.C. in B.C., Huldowget, Magic Murder and mystery, Maquinna the magnificent, Pageant of B.C., Pelts and power, and Tales of Conflict. He died on 17 April 1960.

Appointed under Order-in-Council, number 278, dated January 31, 1969, to cause inquiry to be made into laws governing the distribution, sale and consumption of spirituous, vinous and malt liquors, and the laws and regulations pertaining thereto. The commission was to reference the 1952 Liquor Inquiry Commission. The chairman was Judge Charles William Morrow, Judge of the County Court of Yale, B.C. Most Reverend M.M. Johnson and Edward M. Lawson were commissioners.

Chrystal Phan is a Victoria-born artist born to Vietnamese-Canadian immigrants.

Colquitz is a mental institution which operated from 1919 to 1964, located on Wilkinson Road in Saanich, B.C. It was originally built as a provincial gaol in 1914, known as the Saanich Prison Farm. In 1919, Mental Health Services assumed jurisdiction of the Saanich Prison Farm and it became the Provincial Mental Home, Colquitz, B.C. (or Colquitz Mental Hospital). The mental home was opened on March 25, 1919, with the transfer of nine patients from Essondale (later renamed Riverview) in Coquitlam.. In the next 15 months the population grew to 99 patients. It was used to house the male “criminally insane” inmates of the provincial mental hospitals. All admissions to Colquitz were transfers from Essondale.

The supervisor of Colquitz was under the direction of the Medical Superintendent of Essondale. All patient files were returned to Essondale when inmates died or were released. After its closure as a mental hospital in 1964, the facility once more became a prison, first as temporary accommodation for overflow from the Oakalla Prison Farm and then in 1970 as the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre, popularly known as the Wilkinson Road Jail.

The supervisors of the Provincial Mental Home at Colquitz were:
Granby Farrant Supervisor 1919-1933
F.M. Spooner Supervisor 1933-1941
T.A. Morris Supervisor 1941-1947
L.G.C. d'Easum Medical Superintendent 1948-1953 obituary in Mental Hospitals annual report 1933-1934

BC Rail Ltd. created on June 19, 1984 as a subsidiary of the holding property British Columbia Railway Company.

Harvey Murphy was a labour organizer in Trail, B.C. He died in Toronto in 1977.

The Joint Reserve Commission was created between the governments of British Columbia and Canada to determine the boundaries of Indian reserves in British Columbia, after several years of dispute. An agreement in principle on the creation of the commission was reached in November, 1875, and the Joint Reserve Commission was officially established in 1876 by federal orders-in-council 444/1876 and 779/1876. It consisted of three commissioners, one was appointed by the Canadian government (A.C. Anderson), one by the provincial government (Archibald McKinley), and a third selected jointly by the two levels of government (Gilbert Malcolm Sproat).

The Joint Reserve Commission operated until 1878 when it was restructured, leaving Gilbert Malcolm Sproat as the sole commissioner of the renamed Indian Reserve Commission. Sproat acted as commissioner until 1880, when he was replaced by Peter O'Reilly who acted until his retirement 1898. O'Reilly was then replaced by A.W. Vowell, until the commission was dissolved in 1910.

In 1913 the commission's work was continued by the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia (The McKenna-McBride Commission).

Mining engineers were located in various districts across the province, including: Northeastern, Northwestern, and Western.

The Game Commission was established in 1934 and constituted by legislative authority in the following year, replacing the Provincial Game Commissioner. It reported to the Legislative Assembly through the Dept. of the Attorney-General. On April 1, 1957 the Game Commission under the Dept. of the Attorney-General name was changed to the Fish and Game Branch of the Dept. of Recreation and Conservation. In 1966 the Fish and Game Branch changed its name to Fish and Wildlife Branch. The branch was transferred in December 1978 to Ministry of the Environment.

The name of the branch has since changed several times. In the 1980s the Branch was split into the Wildlife Branch and the Fisheries Branch. As of 2022, the two branches have been combined again, thus the Fish and Wildlife Branch continues to exist.

In 1971 the Environment and Land Use Act (S.B.C. 1971, c. 17) established the Environmental and Land Use Committee (ELUC) as a committee of the Executive Council of British Columbia. The committee was to establish and recommend programs to increase public awareness of the environment, to ensure that environmental concerns were fully considered in the administration of land and resource development, and to make recommendations and reports to the Executive Council. The committee was empowered to conduct public inquiries, appoint technical committees, and hire experts, specialists and researchers. It was empowered to conduct public inquiries, appoint technical committees, and hire experts, specialists and researchers. Although little else was done in 1971-1972, the foundation for a full-fledged committee of cabinet had been laid.

One of the first actions of the New Democratic government, elected in September 1972, was to utilize the ELUC structure as the basis of a powerful decision-making body. In May 1973, Robert Williams, Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources formed the ELUC Secretariat headed by a Director with Deputy Minister status and consisting of three sections with a staff of over one hundred. The ELUC Secretariat was the first time in B.C.'s political history that a permanent staff served a committee of cabinet. The Secretariat conducted studies on economic development, made recommendations to cabinet on the rationalization of resource and land use policies and provided information directly to Ministers. By 1975, ELUC had a membership of nine out of a cabinet of nineteen and was the decision making core of the government as far as resource development was concerned. The work of the Secretariat was thus central to all resource and land use policies.

After the formation of William Bennett's Social Credit government in 1975, a formal cabinet committee structure was initiated in all areas of policy. The Environment and Land Use Committee was not part of this structure and the newly formed Economic Development Committee took on the chief role in coordinating resource, environment, and land use policy. Although ELUC was still nominally a cabinet committee, its importance was greatly reduced. The Minister of Environment became the chairman of ELUC and the scope of the Secretariat was diminished. The Secretariat's staff was entirely absorbed by the Ministry of Environment and there were budget cuts. Despite this reduced role, ELUC and its Secretariat were still functioning as a vehicle for advice and recommendations for a coordinated resource development policy.

For most of 1978, the members of ELUC were the Ministers of Environment, Agriculture, Economic Development, Forests, Health, Highways and Public Works, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and Recreation and Conservation. The role of the Secretariat was to conduct integrated resource development planning, policy and procedure studies, to implement impact assessments of major resource developments, and to advise on Agriculture Land Reserve matters.

The Environment and Land Use Committee Secretariat was established in 1973 as the staff support unit of the Environment and Land Use Committee. The Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) was established by the Social Credit government in 1971 under the Environment and Land Use Act (SBC 1971, c. 17).

The mandate of the committee was to establish and recommend programs to increase public awareness of the environment, to ensure that environmental concerns were fully considered in the administration of land and resource development, and to make recommendations and reports to the Executive Council. It was empowered to conduct public inquiries, appoint technical committees, and hire experts, specialists and researchers.

The Secretariat was established after the New Democratic government was elected in 1972 to provide recommendations and solutions to the committee by coordinating and analyzing interdepartmental studies. In May 1973, Robert Williams, Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources formed the ELUC Secretariat headed by a Director with Deputy Minister status and consisting of a staff of over one hundred. It was the first time in B.C.’s political history that a permanent staff served a committee of cabinet.

The Secretariat conducted studies on economic development, made recommendations to cabinet on the rationalization of resource and land use policies and provided information directly to Ministers. The Secretariat was organized into three units that operated interdependently to improve and apply integrated resource planning within the regional districts of the province. The units were Resource Planning, Special Projects, and Resource Analysis. By 1975, ELUC had a membership of nine out of a cabinet of nineteen and was the decision making core of the government as far as resource development was concerned. The work of the Secretariat was thus central to all resource and land use policies.

After the formation of William Bennett's Social Credit government in 1975, a formal cabinet committee structure was initiated in all areas of policy. The Environment and Land Use Committee was not part of this structure and the newly formed Economic Development Committee took on the chief Ministers of Environment, Agriculture, Economic Development, Forests, Health, Highways and Public Works, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and Recreation and Conservation. The Secretariat functioned in a diminished role within the Dept. of the Environment and the renamed Ministry of the Environment in 1976.

The role of the Secretariat was to conduct integrated resource development planning, policy and procedure studies, to implement impact assessments of major resource developments, and to advise on Agriculture Land Reserve matters. The Secretariat was reorganized into two units (1) Resource Planning and (2) Special Projects, though there was considerable overlap in project assignments. The "Program Project Briefing Notes," 1978, are the background data on the various ELUC Secretariat studies provided to the Ministries that were members of ELUC. The Environment and Land Use Committee continued as an Executive Council committee but the Secretariat was disestablished in 1980.

According to the annual reports of the Superintendent (GR-0277, Box 3/1) the Marpole Infirmary was built in 1912 and opened in 1913 as the Grand Central Hotel. It was established under the administration of the Provincial Secretary as the Provincial Home for Incurables with the passing of legislation in 1922 (13 Geo. 5, chap. 60) and subsequently became the Provincial Infirmary, Marpole under the terms of the Provincial Infirmaries Act in 1937 (1 Geo. 6, chap. 62). The Public Health Branch of the Department of Health and Welfare, assumed the administration of the Infirmaries from 1947 to 1950 when the B.C.H.I.S. accepted responsibility for them although the Provincial Secretary remained by statute the administrator of the institution until the Provincial Infirmaries Act was amended in 1955 (3-4 Eliz. 2, chap. 62). The Marpole Infirmary was closed in May 1965 and patients were transferred to the Pearson Hospital.

The British Columbia Department of Fisheries had its origins in the establishment in 1901 of a Board of Fishery Commissioners under the authority of the British Columbia Fisheries Act (R.S.B.C., 1901, C.25.) In October 1901, John Pease Babcock took up duties as the first Commissioner of Fisheries "to determine upon a comprehensive system for salmon propagation in the province." In 1902, an amendment to the Fisheries Act designated a member of the Executive Council Commissioner, and Babcock became Deputy Commissioner. in 1936, a separate Department of Fisheries with a separate minister was created.
The Provincial Dept. of Fisheries was established in 1947 with the enactment of the Department of Fisheries Act (SBC 1947, c. 36). Prior to 1947, fisheries was administered by the Fisheries Office, headed by a Commissioner of Fisheries, and reporting to the Attorney-General. Under the Department of Fisheries Act, the minister became the Commissioner of Fisheries and the deputy minister became the assistant commissioner. The department was responsible for all matters relating to fisheries in the province not under the jurisdiction of the federal government. These included salmon propagation research, licensing and regulation of fish-processing plants, collection of revenue, and collection and publication of statistics. The department also participated in joint research with the federal Fisheries Research Board and cooperated with the International Fisheries Commission.

The Provincial Dept. of Fisheries was disestablished in 1957 when administration of the Fisheries Act was transferred to the new Dept. of Recreation and Conservation (SBC 1957, c. 53).

The Civil Service Commission was established in 1917 under the Civil Service Act (SBC 1917, c. 9). The act provided for a one-member Civil Service Commission reporting to the Provincial Secretary. The first commissioner, W.H. MacInnes, was appointed in 1918. His duties were to administer testing for admission or promotion in the civil service and to investigate and report on the operation of the act within the government departments. A new Civil Service Act (SBC 1945, c. 11) was passed in 1945. It provided for a Civil Service Commission consisting of three members. The name was changed to Public Service Commission with the enactment of the Public Service Act (SBC 1973, c. 143) in 1973.

Civil Service Commissioners

Alexander Naismith Mouat - July 1, 1918 to November 11, 1918
William Hedley MacInnes - November 11, 1918 to April 30, 1926
Arthur Harris Cox - May 1, 1926 to March 31, 1929
Alfred Norman Baker - April 1, 1929 to August 31, 1931
Roger George Monteith - September 1, 1931 to March 31, 1934
Alfred Norman Baker - April 1, 1934 to March 31, 1945
(Chairman) - April 1, 1945 to September 20, 1947
Hugh Mackenzie Morrison - May 1948 to November 30, 1969
Arthur G. Richardson - December 1, 1969 - [?]

In 1897 the British Columbia legislature adopted the "Guardian's Appointment Act" (61 Vict., c. 96) relating to the custody and care of infants. Further, in 1901, the legislature passed the "Children's Protection Act" (1 Ed. 7, c. 9) providing for the incorporation of Children's Aid Societies and for the appointment of a Superintendent. The Provincial Secretary was charged with the administration of this statute and "An Act to Regulate Maternity Boarding Houses, and for the Protection of Infant Children", passed in the same year (1 Ed. 7, c. 29). This latter act required the registration of houses for reception of infants as well as the registration of every infant in the care of such institutions. In 1911 the "Infants Act" was passed consolidating and amending legislation relating to infants (2 Geo. 5, c. 107). In 1918 the "Infants Act" was amended to provide for a Superintendent of Neglected Children who would, among other duties, make annual reports to the Attorney General. Administration of the Act was transferred from the Provincial Secretary to the Attorney General by section 14 of the Act (8 Geo. 5, c. 36) and the Superintendent's first Annual Report was submitted on 30 November 1920.

First appointed to administer the Infants Act in 1919 and the Mothers' Pensions Act in 1920, the Superintendent was responsible for a brief period to the Attorney-General. In 1923 the administration of the Infants Act was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Provincial Secretary. Mothers' Pensions Act was transferred to the Workmen's Compensation Board.