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The collection consists of an incomplete set of copies of the Speech from the Throne, created between 1872 and 2024. The collection was made by the BC Archives using copies of the speeches, including red-ribbon copies, drawn together from various government office sources.

The Speech from the Throne is given by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia who addresses the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia at its opening and/or closing sessions. The speech outlines the executive government's plans at the start of each session of the Legislative Assembly and reviews the accomplishments of the government at the end of each session.

The series consists of records created by Cabinet committees, Deputy Ministers' committees and sub-committees between 1969 and 2005. Records include agendas, records of decisions, and meeting minutes as well as related reports, briefing notes, backgrounders, recommendations, communication plans, information packages and correspondence associated with or referenced in meetings. Most files contain records related to a particular meeting, however, there may also be subject files, publications, document requests, correspondence files, committee trips and administrative files from the committees.

Committee files provide evidence of their discussions, decisions and policy creation. Cabinet committee deliberations focus on strategic priorities and substantive issues, the acceptance or rejection of recommendations, and the early notification and review of contentious issues. Cabinet committees provide a forum for thorough analysis of an issue or fulfill mandates enunciated by statute. The Premier establishes committees, and determines their mandate, authority and membership.

Committees, subcommittees and working groups represented in the series include (listed roughly in the order in which they first appear) :

-- Cabinet Committee on Environment and Land Use (ELUC)
-- Environment and Land Use Technical Committee (ELUTC)
-- Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Environment and Land Use (DMCELU)
-- Cabinet Committee on Social Services (CCSS)
-- Deputy Ministers' Committee on Social Services (DMCSS)
-- Deputy Ministers' Committee on Social Policy (DMCSP)
-- Sub-Committee on Social Services Policy and Priorities
-- Cabinet Committee on Economic Development (CCED)
-- Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Economic Development
-- Cabinet Committee on Regional Development (CCRD)
-- Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Regional Development (DMCRD)
-- Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Sustainable Development
-- Cabinet Committee on Coal Development
-- Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Coal Development
-- Cabinet Committee on Employment Development
-- Sub-Committee on Employment Development
-- Deputy Ministers' Investment Committee
-- Interministry Committee on Regulation Reform
-- BC Task Force on Environment and Economy (E&E)
-- Wilderness Advisory Committee
-- Cabinet Committee on BC Transit
-- Cabinet Committee on Urban Transit
-- Cabinet Committee on Urban Affairs
-- Cabinet Committee on Expo Legacy
-- Deputy Ministers' Committee on Traffic Safety
-- Western Economic Policy Liaison Committee
-- Cabinet committee on Confederation
-- Cabinet committee on Alcan
-- Cabinet Committee on Housing
-- Cabinet Committee on Energy
-- Cabinet Committee on Rent Control
-- Various inter-governmental committees
-- Treaty Working Group (TWG)
-- First Nations Issues Working Group (FNIWG)
-- Green Economy Working Group (GEWG)
-- Cabinet Committee on Crown Corporations (CCCC)
-- Forestry Working Group
-- Planning and Priorities Committee (PPC or P and P)
-- Agenda Development Committee (ADC)
-- Planning Board (PB)
-- Sustainable environment fund
-- Crown management Group (of CCCC)
-- Officials Coordinating Committee on Cassiar (re: closure of Cassiar asbestos mine)
-- Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE) Liaison Committee
-- Cabinet Committee on Cultural Heritage
-- Cabinet Committee on Multiculturalism
-- Cabinet Committee on Native Affairs
-- Cabinet Committee on Aboriginal Land Claims and Self Government
-- Aboriginal Affairs working group
-- Cabinet Committee on Constitution
-- Cabinet Committee on Drug Abuse
-- Cabinet Committee on Vancouver International Airport
-- Land Use Planning Working Group
-- Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Land Use
-- Cabinet Committee Coordinating Group
-- Social Assistance Renewal Project
-- British Columbia Benefits Working Group
-- Deputy Ministers’ BC Benefits Management Group
-- National Unity Working Group
-- Government Operations Sub-Committee
-- Growth Strategies Committee
-- Income Security Review Working Group
-- Cabinet Committee on Collective Bargaining
-- Ad Hoc Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Clayoquot
-- Outreach Management Committee
-- Treaty Information Initiative Management Committee
-- Nisga’a Reference Group
-- Minister’s of State meetings
-- Working Group on Fisheries Issues
-- Joint Planning Board and Treasury Board Meetings
-- Ad Hoc Committee on Labour Legislation
-- Government Caucus Committee on Communities & Safety
-- Government Caucus Committee on Economy
-- Government Caucus Committee on Government Operations
-- Government Caucus Committee on Economy & Government Operations
-- Government Caucus Committee on Health
-- Government Caucus Committee on Natural Resources
-- Joint Government Caucus Committee on Natural Resources and Economy
-- Government Caucus Committee on Social Policy
-- Government Caucus Committee on Economy and Environment
-- Government Caucus Committee on Economy and Resource Development
-- Government Caucus Committee on Education
-- Government Caucus Committee on Cross Government Initiatives
-- Cabinet Committee on Treaties
-- Economic Council Committee
-- Belsey Land Use Task Force
-- Core Review and Deregulation Task Force

Note that committees may be identified by their full name, part of the name or an acronym in the file list.

Many files relate to Environment and Land Use Committees (ELUC). A large portion of these committee files relate to appeals for the use of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). The ELUC is responsible for deciding on appeals from Agricultural Land Commission decisions related to the exclusion or addition of land in the ALR. Land may be requested for exclusion from the ALR so it can be used for commercial, residential or other uses. These files may be the original application and appeal files from the Agricultural Land Commission. There are also subject files and reports on land use projects, such as the creation of parks, hydroelectric projects, mines, as well as files on subjects such as foreign ownership. These files may contain maps and other cartographic material.

The series includes Cabinet (Executive Council) meeting case files. Cabinet is chaired by the Premier and consists of all Cabinet ministers. It is the central decision-making body of government and a collective body for Cabinet ministers to decide significant government issues.

The series includes Deputy Ministers' meeting case files. This council is a strategic planning and problem-solving forum for deputy ministers, with a focus on corporate issues.

The series includes Core Review and Deregulation Task Force meeting files between 2001-2003. This task force was responsible for conducting a general review of government operations and Crown corporations, to help prepare ministry service plans.

This series also contains open cabinet meeting materials. One of the key commitments of the BC Liberal government's 2001 election platform was to hold open, televised Cabinet meetings that were broadcast live on the Internet at least once a month. The Premier of the time, Gordon Campbell, stated this was to ensure that major capital spending decisions and land-use decisions involving the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), new parks, land claims and tenure reform were decided by Cabinet in public, and not behind closed doors. From 2001 to 2004 the Liberal government held approximately 30 open cabinet meetings.

The series does not include the records of the Cabinet Committee on Legislation or the Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Legislation; these records can be found in series GR-3677.

Coloured file removal slips in the boxes indicate files which were removed for the tobacco litigation case in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Records in the series are covered by ORCS 10400-20 of schedule 881099 (Office of the Premier and Executive Council) and were scheduled for full retention. Deputy Minister's Council files are covered by ORCS 10500-20. Cabinet meeting case files are covered under ORCS 10200-20.

This series consists of background materials used by members of cabinet in the creation and approval of orders-in-council (OICs) and Ministerial Orders, from 1989-2003.

The majority of these records are information sheets or resumes which identify the relevant Ministry, contact person, summary of background information, authority (such as any related legislation), concerns from Legislative Counsel, impacts of the OIC, and tracking information. The OIC number is usually stamped in the top right corner. Numbers with the prefix “M” are Ministerial Orders, not OICs.

Information sheets may be stapled to other associated supporting records such as correspondence, reference materials, financial impact statements, copies of the OIC, and coloured slips showing it has been reviewed by Legislative Counsel. Green slips note the OIC can proceed, yellow indicates certain conditions that need to be met, and red indicates the OIC may be invalid or open to challenge. Most packages do not include copies of the actual OIC.

There are also a few files relating to a 1983 OIC “reduction exercise”. This involved reviewing legislation to determine if statutory powers requiring routine OICs to have full consideration and approval of cabinet could be transferred to the Minister concerned. This change was considered so Cabinet could spend more time on “non-routine” issues.

Early OICs are grouped by the name of the Ministry responsible, and roughly chronologically within each grouping. Sheets may not clearly be labelled with the year and files may contain OICs for multiple years.

Later OICs are arranged chronologically by year and OIC number. There may not be records for every OIC number or there may be a placeholder noting where records for an OIC are not included. Each year filed chronologically may begin with files for minutes of Cabinet and other miscellaneous files related to OICS of that year.

Records in the series are covered by ORCS 10200-30 of schedule 881099 (Office of the Premier and Executive Council).

The series consists of records created by the Cabinet Operations branch of the Office of the Premier from 1980-2001. Most records were created by various Cabinet Committees responsible for reviewing legislation, as well as some regulations and Orders-in-Council (OICs). These committees include:

Cabinet Committee on Legislation (CCL)
Cabinet Committee on Legislation and Regulations (CCLR)
Cabinet Committee on Regulations and Orders in Council
Cabinet Committee on Legislation, Regulations and Orders in Council
Cabinet/Caucus Committee on Legislation (CCCL)

Records include committee meeting minutes, correspondence, recommendations, legal advice, legislative proposals and requests for legislation. A large portion of the records are the minutes and meeting files produced by the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.

Cabinet Operations controls the process by which legislation is proposed and reviewed prior to the legislation being prepared as a Bill. These records may relate to the preparation of instructions and templates for the submission of legislative proposals, requests for legislation, or the tracking of submissions throughout the legislative approval process. This process begins when a ministry submits their legislative proposals for consideration. If a legislative proposal is approved, the ministry will be asked to develop a formal Request for Legislation (RFL). The Legislative Review Committee (LRC) will review the RFLs and make recommendations to Cabinet on policies and programs requiring change. Legislative Counsel, working with the ministry, is then responsible for drafting individual bills, acts, and regulations.

These records provide evidence of the development and coordination of this legislative review process, and include records pertaining to both new and amended legislation. The records relate to entire bills or Acts, as well as records of amendments to particular sections of an Act. These may be referred to as major or minor changes in the file list.

Where possible, the records are arranged by year or legislative session, then alphabetically by Ministry name and then alphabetically by Act name within each Ministry grouping. This arrangement may not always be followed consistently throughout the records, especially for older ones.

In some cases, records were arranged in two distinct groupings within a file folder, with records clipped to both the left and right sides. Metal clips were removed for preservation purposes, but records from the left side are face-down on top of records on the right hand side, which are arranged face-up.

The records are covered by ORCS 10610-20 (schedule 881099) and were selected for full retention.

The fonds consists of photographs and other records from 1908 to ca. 1995, created or collected by Jim Ryan in the course of his career as a photographer. There are approximately 105,738 photographs, mostly black and white and colour negatives, but also including prints, slides and glass slides. The fonds also includes textual records consisting of news stories, copies of Ryan's publications, a few letters and other such material. The majority of the photographs were taken in the Victoria area and include images of the harbour, the city, buildings, events and parks. There are many photographs of British Columbia politicians, notably W.A.C. Bennett, as well as distinguished visitors, federal and local politicians. There are also photographs of local characters, children and ordinary people. Although most of the photographs were taken in the Victoria area, there are occasional images taken in other areas of Vancouver Island as well as some of Ryan's travel photographs. Some of the earliest material relates to World War I and may be Ryan family photographs or items that Ryan collected out of interest.

The fonds also includes motion picture film material, including completed films, production elements, news stories shot for television, and selected reels of footage.

The series consists of A.D. Turnbull's official papers as M.L.A., material relating to his time as Minister of Health and Welfare, in addition to his personal papers that reflect his association with various professional, national and community organizations.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Note: One hour show. Edgar Kaiser, former president and CEO of the Bank of BC, talks about mistakes that led to its failure and the Hongkong Bank of Canada’s (HSBC) subsequent rescue. Vancouver mayor Gordon Campbell talks about the city's offshore banking, housing, and city worker salaries. Tony Belcourt, Vice-President of Seneca Communications, talks about Seneca, their new Canadian television network that will focus on native communities.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Jack reports on Vancouver “mega homes” and talks to Vancouver alderman Carole Taylor about the issue. Jack talks to Doug Runchey from Health and Welfare Canada about the update to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Jack discusses the new “no smoking” bylaw and the issue of second-hand smoke with Geoff Rolands of the Burrard Health Unit.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Note: Program starts in progress. Jack speaks with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. They discuss west coast shipyards; unemployment; countervailing duties; Mr. Mulroney’s popularity; John Bosley, the Speaker of the House; Dalton Camp’s appointment; Sinclair Stevens and conflicts of interest; Margaret Thatcher and apartheid; Tamil refugees. Jack speaks with NPA aldermanic candidate Gim Huey, and his success on the ballot.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs Harvie Andre explains why it seems that American multi-national pharmaceutical companies own a larger share of the Canadian prescription drug market. Bob Power, Vice-President of Finance at Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), explains why the price of auto insurance is rising. Vancouver mayoral candidates Kentish Steele, Robert Burgar, and Frank Baker, explain why they are the best candidate.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Iona Campagnolo is filling in for Jack while he is on holidays. Iona and Vancouver Mayor Gordon Campbell discuss his performance in office thus far, including the recent failure of Vancouver’s water mains. Ted Rutledge reports on child abuse. In the studio, Iona speaks with Mary Harder, Child Abuse Prevention Co-ordinator, and pediatrician Dr. Sydney Segal.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Carole Taylor, Non-Partisan Association (NPA), City of Vancouver Independent candidate for Vancouver alderman; Robin Lecky; Art Phillips; property endowment fund; Harry Rankin; prostitution barricades; Capital Plan for Vancouver; Vancouver Zoo; food bank; Sylvia Russell; Expo 86 pilings in False Creek. Newsmakers Match. Karen Owens, nutritional biochemist from California; smoking; smoking in the workplace; second-hand smoke and lung cancer; free-radicals; tryptophan for insomnia; racket ball; ventilation; UCLA; UC Davis; vitamin E; pollution; Pritikin Diet. Aboriginal land claims; Kootenay West Indian Bands; Sophie Pierre, chief of St. Mary's Band Cranbrook, Kootenay Nation; Kootenay area land claim; economic conditions; unemployment; quality of life; Charter of Rights and the Indian Act; lack of freedom; cultural survival; language; recognition; reserve lands; five bands; housing; Kootenay Indian area council; forestry dispute language. Jack Munro, President, International Woodworkers Association-Canada; Justice Hutcheon Report; Crown forest; contracting out; strike; election.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Jack speaks with aldermen Harry Rankin, George Puil, Gordon Campbell; they are all expected to run for mayor of Vancouver and discuss their possible platforms. Jack speaks with Dr. Roger Tonkin, Director of the Youth Clinic at Children’s Hospital. They talk about troubled youth and how BC young people compare against the rest of the country; the use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana; violence.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Jack starts with Jim Fulton, NDP MP for Skeena, who was thrown out of the House of Commons for calling Erik Nielsen a liar. They discuss logging Lyell Island; tree farm licences; mismanagement of the forests; full park status for South Moresby; first nations land claims; reforestation. Then, a report on the lack of public or social housing in Vancouver. Jack speaks with Vancouver Alderman Libby Davies and Jim O’Dea, a consultant for the Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA) and former member of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). At the end of the segment, Jack Kempf, Minister of Housing, joins the conversation. To close, journalist Ian Gill discusses the Centre for Investigative Journalism and the threat of rescinding invitations to South African journalists.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Jack speaks to Vancouver Mayor Mike Harcourt about Mr. Harcourt’s plans for the future; possible tax increases; the COPE sweep of the local elections; immigration; Expo ’86; the Super Host Program; Vancouver transit. Dr. Hilary Wass, AIDS Care Team, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, discusses: AIDS in Vancouver; the delineation of various forms of the virus; transmission of the virus; treatment. To close the show, Mark Schneider’s report on “Accommodation Only”; a company encouraging people using their own homes for bed and breakfasts for Expo and the lack of insurance coverage available.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Jack’s show today is about the race for Vancouver mayor. Jack speaks with Harry Rankin of COPE, and Gordon Campbell of the NPA. They discuss housing; illegal suites; contracting out; fair wage policies; the ward system; shopping. Jack speaks with Mike Dumler, President of CUPE BC, about strikes and lockouts of civic employees in municipalities in the Interior.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Opens with Mike Harcourt, Vancouver's mayor, discussing the issues of juvenile prostitution in Vancouver, Bill C-49, and municipal affairs. Jack interviews Paul Grescoe and David Cruise, authors of “The Money Rustlers”, about self-made millionaires.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Jack starts the show with Alderman Harry Rankin to discuss a recent kidnap and murder of the Ming family in Vancouver’s Chinatown, the investigation, and the prevention of other crimes in the future. They also discuss refugees, immigration and screening. Jack and Professor Bill McKillop, forest economist of the University of California at Berkley, discuss threats to the BC forest industry by the United States; countervailing duties; tariffs; whole-log exports; reforestation and silviculture. Then a story about Cyprus, with Christopher Hitchens and Professor Pierre Oberling, of Hunter College, New York. They discuss the current political climate, and the “two faces” of Cyprus; the Greeks and the Turks.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Today’s show is about refugees and crime, in particular, the murder of the Ming family in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Reporter Mark Schneider has a short piece on the “underground railroad” of Vietnamese refugees coming into Canada. Jack starts the show with Vancouver Mayor Mike Harcourt and his view that the murders were committed by Vietnamese gangsters. Jack speaks with Bruce Ngoc Tran, of the Association of Vietnamese Refugees. Mr. Tran states that Mr. Harcourt has no reason to suspect members of the Vietnamese community, and Mr. Harcourt is committing slander. Jack speaks with the Reverend Donovan Cook, of Seattle’s University Baptist Church, and Charles Groos, of the Inland Refugee Society; they discuss refugee Salvadorans and Guatemalans seeking sanctuary.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are listed in the subject area, below.

McMillan, Tom
Rankin, Harry
Wiley, Charles

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: On today’s show, Jack speaks with Graham Bruce, Mayor of North Cowichan, and Don McMullen, Chairman of the Silviculture Advisory Committee, about the future of forestry on Vancouver Island. They have a business investment proposal to cultivate BC’s forests, protecting the forest and providing employment and investment opportunities. Newly-elected Alderman Gordon Campbell discusses Vancouver Mayor Mike Harcourt and Vancouver City Council. They discuss Mr. Campbell’s political aspirations; disagreements with Mr. Harcourt regarding the Vancouver Economic Advisory Committee; the change in the business tax; Vancouver City Council.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Jack starts with a chat live from Robson Square Media Centre with Vancouver Mayor Mike Harcourt about Mr. Harcourt’s opposition to Henry Kissinger making an appearance in Vancouver. Jack addresses the lockout of 14,000 CPU and PPWC members. He welcomes Art Gruntman, Regional Vice President of the Canadian Pulp Union (CPU) and James Sloan, President of the Pulp Paper and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC). They discuss the lockout, the negotiations and the stalemate. Jack contacts Don Saunders, President of FIR and the Pulp and Paper Industrial Relations Bureau, who had refused to appear on the show today with his opponents in the negotiations, Mr. Gruntman and Mr. Sloan. Jack then speaks with Dr. Irving Abella, author of “None is Too Many”, a book about the anti-Semitism of Mackenzie King’s government from 1939 to 1945. To end the show, Jack speaks with Arthur Jennings, MP for Fiji, who speaks about the United Nations owing $10 million to his country for policing in Lebanon and the Sinai.

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are listed in the subject area, below.

Owen, Phillip
Smith, Robert
Swanson, Jean
Vickers, David
Yee, Bill

Interview

Interview. Interview with former NDP Minister of Public Works Bill Hartley.

Interview

Interview

Interview

Public affairs. Jack Webster's popular weekday morning talk show. Guests and topics for this episode are: Steve Wyatt reports from a helicopter over Pemberton, looking at the flood damage from the Pemberton River. Jack shows a film clip of Bill Vander Zalm from the previous week, wherein Bill accuses members of the Vancouver city council of being Communists. Jack then speaks with Alderman Harry Rankin (COPE), and Alderman Bruce Eriksen about Vander Zalm’s “red-baiting” and various peace initiatives undertaken by the council. Mr. Rankin calls Vander Zalm’s views “Christian fascism”. Jack speaks with Joe Mathias, Chief of the Squamish Band, and David Jacobs, Chairman, Squamish Band Council, about the band’s refusal to allow non-Indigenous fishing on a portion of the Capilano River. They also discuss the use of Ambleside Park, and land in Stanley Park.

Interview