Showing 64 results

This series contains administrative and subject files relating to natural resource development and environmental policies. Includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, briefs, etc.

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. 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 series consists of photographs created by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food between 1982 and 1984. These photographs were taken to document irrigation and drainage projects carried out by the Ministry under the Agricultural and Rural Development Subsidiary Agreement (ARDSA). ARDSA projects were managed and administered by the Agriculture and Rural Development Agreement branch (ARDA) of the Ministry. This federal-provincial program provided joint funding of up to $60 million from the federal Department of Regional Economic Expansion (DREE) and the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food. ARDSA funds were directed into four areas including primary resource development funds for irrigation and drainage projects which increase the agricultural productivity of land resources. The 419 photographs in this series include black and white and colour prints and negatives, and colour slides of various projects which took place around the province. Many of the projects and locations in the photographs have been identified but some have not. Not all the prints have negatives and not all the negatives have associated prints. In addition there are negatives intermingled on the strips that appear to be personal photographs of children and houses; probably associated with the photographer. The series also includes a published copy of an executive summary which evaluated the ARDSA program in 1992.

The series consists of eight policy files and reports relating to Agricultural programs of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, and its predecessor agencies, created from 1975 to 2001. The records have been classified under the Agricultural, Fisheries and Food Operational Records Classification System (ORCS) and consist of the following files:
21200-00 - Agricultural loans : agriculture land development assistance program (ALDA), 1975-1994
22300-00 - Agricultural loans : guarantees feeder associations program, 1990-1995
22300-00 - Agricultural loans : guarantees feeder associations program : manual of policy and procedures, 1991-1994
25200-60/EOFL - Economics of off-farm litter disposal options for South Coastal BC poultry farms, 1992
32200-00 - Education & awareness : exhibitions, fairs & societies, 1999
44200-30/BCEMB - British Columbia Egg Marketing Board : regulation impact report, 1998.
46200-40/FTAA 01 - Policy, innovation & development : Free trade of the Americas : general, 2001.
46200-40/BTISS 14 - Policy, innovation & development : bilateral trade issues : Canada/USA : cattle & beef, 1999.

Scrap book containing newspaper clippings relating to agricultural issues and events.

This series consists of Agriculture Development and Extension Branch correspondence, memoranda and reports, 1943-1952.

The series contains computer-generated reports of various analyses conducted for the Ministry of Agriculture and their various programs, notably those of the Pesticide Program. The records show how the Ministry was involved in monitoring contaminants in dairy, produce, livestock, and sources of contaminants that may affect the agricultural industry in British Columbia, such as soil samples, animal feed, and animal drinking water.
The reports detail which biological sample was submitted (plant, soil, water, animal tissue) and from where. The reports also provide information about the cost of the analysis and the amount and types of pesticides, metals or other contaminants found in the sample, if applicable.
The records are generally arranged by program. In cases where the program covered a large amount samples from across British Columbia, the records were further divided by region.

Series consists of public information photographs from the Dept. of Agriculture and its successors. The photos depict a wide range of agricultural activity in the province and were used by the ministry to promote the industry and the work of the department. The photographs were originally brought together by the ministry’s Kelowna office and document many industries including farming and food processing. There are files containing images of fruit, vegetable, poultry, dairy, honey and wine production. There are also a large number of files relating to the Agricultural and Rural Development Subsidiary Agreement (ARDSA) which document farming and food processing as well as other areas such as irrigation and fencing.

The files have been arranged into three main groupings: ARDSA images, slide presentations, and general images. The records consist primarily of 35 mm slides although there is also one audiotape and one file that contains contact prints and negatives. Some files also contain the script that was used for presentations.
The records were selectively retained by the BC Government Records Management Branch in accordance with the Special Media records schedule (102905).

The following ministries were responsible for the creation of these records:
Department of Agriculture (1963-1976)
Ministry of Agriculture (1976-1980)
Ministry of Agriculture and Food (1980-1984)

This series contains records from the Risk Management and Competitiveness Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, and later the Strategic Industry Development Branch. More specifically, these records originated in the office of Harvey Sasaki who was Assistant Deputy Minister in that division.

The records cover a variety of executive functions, notably committee work, correspondence, and briefing notes. Within committee and group work, the series contains Strategy meeting agendas and meeting minutes. These files concern agricultural issues, fisheries issues and minister’s issues. The files are accompanied by copies of presentations, technical reviews, action items, notes and reports. There are also a significant amount of files from the Canada-British Columbia Agricultural Framework Implementation Agreement Management committee, Executive/Directors meetings, Executive Committee of the Investment Agriculture Foundation. MAFF chapter leads meeting and Competitiveness Circle meetings. Please note that meetings regarding policy discussions and recommendations related to an agricultural framework for Canada can be found in GR-3894.
There are also a small number of files dealing with executive issues. These files are arranged into folders by issue and contain meeting minutes, reports, financial statements, correspondence and memos from ad-hoc groups tasked with discussing these issues. This includes topics such as the Orchard Replant Program and disaster planning, among other topics.

Briefing notes in this series cover topics related to the Risk Management and Competitiveness division and are typically destined to the attention of the Deputy Minister or Minister. Briefing notes are divided by tabs and folders contain a cover page listing a table of contents with information such as CLIFF number, issue title, date, tab number and the originating branch that sent the briefing note.

Correspondence files contain letters written by the ADM Risk Management and Competitiveness Division or letters on which the ADM was copied to. Letters are mainly replies to inquiries sent from other government agencies to Sasaki or his associates. There are also letters addressed to agricultural foundations, courts, agriculture councils and industry members.

Director of Special Services' correspondence, reports, minutes, press releases, files regarding legislation and program files for dairy, engineering, entomology, plant pathology, soil, veterinary and youth development (farm vacations).

The series consists of 64 film reels of stories or items (including out-takes from items) dealing with various aspects of agriculture in BC, produced for television broadcast by the Horticultural Branch of the B.C. Dept. of Agriculture, between 1959 and 1973. Topics include: cattle, chinchilla raising, diseases of plants, fruit-growing, fruit tree care, grain growing, insects, irrigation, mushroom growing, poultry raising, ranching, vegetable planting and harvesting, etc. The series was originally broadcast by CHBC-TV Kelowna, and later by several other stations as well.

The series consists of ARDSA reports created between 1976 and 1994 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and its predecessor bodies. ARDSA (Agriculture and Rural Development Subsidiary Agreement) was a joint Canada and British Columbia agreement, originally signed in 1977, which committed up to $60 million to projects which would identify or pursue opportunities for development in the agriculture and food sector. The original agreement was for five years with a one year extension. In 1985, ARDSA became Agri-food Regional Development Subsidiary Agreement and a new five year agreement was signed to provide $40 million to assist in the growth and development of the agri-food sector.

The records contain final ARDSA reports submitted to the Ministry, roughly arranged by date or by ARDSA project code. In some cases, the files include preliminary reports and project proposals. The records have been classified as 21700-60 under the Agricultural, Fisheries and Food Operational Records Classification System (ORCS).
The following ministries were responsible for the creation of these records:
Department of Agriculture (1963-1976)
Ministry of Agriculture (1976-1980)
Ministry of Agriculture and Food (1980-1986)
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (1986-1991)
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1991-).

This accession mainly comprises radio commercials promoting British Columbia produce -- fruit, vegetables, eggs, turkey, pork, and dairy products -- and the B.C. Foodstakes. There are also a few recordings that were produced to serve as sound tracks for audio-visual (i.e., slide-tape) presentations.

This series consists of records of the Department of Agriculture Board of Horticulture. Records include minute books, 1893-1914; correspondence, 1907; and treasurer's letterbooks 1908-1913.

This series contains a brands register (interim or working copy) covering the years 1916-1918. Other records in this series include minutes, correspondence, and reports of B.C. Stock Breeders' Association from 1906-1918 as well as minutes of B.C. Brands Commissioners from 1930-1959.

This series consists of records of the Commission on Agriculture from 1912-1914, including, proceedings, record books, transcripts of evidence, tabulated evidence, statistical data, and returns by the assessors of the Province, showing persons assessed as owners of real property amounting to 5,000 acres or more.

This series consists of the records of the Commission to Enquire Into the Economic Conditions in the Several Areas under Irrigation Projects from 1927. The enquiry examined the following areas: Glenmore Irrigation District, Grand Forks I.D., Heffley Creek I.D., Naramata I.D., Peachland I.D., Rutland I.D., Scotty Creek Development District, South East Kelowna I.D., Vernon I.D., West Summerland, Westbank I.D., and Winfield. The records include 4 volumes of submissions to the commission, two copies of the Commission's final report, and 1 volume of exhibits.

This series consists of the records of the Commission to Investigate the Affairs of the Fruit and Produce Exchange of British Columbia Ltd., 1909. Records include a supplementary report, correspondence, transcripts of evidence presented at proceedings and exhibits, and some Fruit and Produce Exchange records.

The series consists of committee files created by the Industry Organizations Development Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, and its predecessor body Financial Development Programs Branch, from 1984 to 1998. The files include reports, correspondence, agendas, minutes and other material relating to various economic development committees including: Farmers Institute Advisory Board; Potato Industry Research and Development Advisory Committee; Raspberry Industry Development Trust Fund Advisory Committee; Green Plan Management Committee and the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration.
The series also includes administrative records related to some of the programs including executive correspondence referrals, inquiries, communication plan and audit files. In addition there are four files relating to the dissolution of a Farmers Institute and three files relating to the dissolution of Women's Institutes, 1929-1997.

This series contains official correspondence, reports, and related papers of Premier John H. Turner. Records include correspondence pertaining to provincial railway charters (1893-1897), agriculture, and mining; also includes B.C. Agent-General's Report (1895), applications for employment, and miscellaneous letters.

Papers in this series are those of the Honourable John Herbert Turner (1833-1923), premier of British Columbia from 4 March 1895 to 8 August 1898. Since Turner's administration was characterized by rapid industrial development (notably in railways, mining, and agriculture), and by no little political controversy, his official papers are especially valuable.

Most of the reports and correspondence in GR-1197 originated while Turner was the province's chief minister and, as such, they have been included in the archive's collection of Premier's Papers. As will be seen, though, some of the papers pertain to Turner's tenure as Minister of Finance and Agriculture, a portfolio he held from 1887 to 1898.

GR-1197 may be regarded as a supplement to GR-0441 (British Columbia - Premier: 1883-1933), Series II, volumes 2-13, which also contains official correspondence of Premier Turner. Researchers may find that Volume 354 of GR-0441 (Index to Official Correspondence, 1895-1897) will assist them in locating other related records.

Correspondence inward from the Deputy Minister of Agriculture requesting lower charges for soil analysis for members of farmers' institutes (series includes 1 page).

This series consists of the records of the Inter-Departmental Advisory Committee on Agriculture Land Settlement, 1942-1943. Records include correspondence, memoranda and reports of the Chairman of the Land Settlement Board, William Turnbull, relating to his activities as chairman of the Interdepartmental Advisory Committee on Agriculture and Land Settlement established by the Post-War Rehabilitation Council. The Council had the task of planning civil employment and vocational training of veterans of World War II.

This series consists of records of the Dairy Branch. Records include minute books, 1894-1910, correspondence, reports, account books, receipts and subscriptions of the Dairymen's Association of British Columbia, and Dairymen's and Live Stock Association of British Columbia.

This series consists of records of the Dairy Branch, 1912-1947. Records include statistics, reports and miscellaneous data regarding cream, butter and milk production.

The series consists of reports acquired by the Deputy Minister of the British Columbia Department of Agriculture between 1927 and 1972. There are both published and draft reports which cover all aspects of agricultural issues including dairy farming, soil erosion, land reclamation, fruit farming, marketing, exports and irrigation. Many of the reports are illustrated with photographs, maps, graphs and other technical material.

The reports were written by the Provincial Department of Agriculture and other Provincial Departments such as Lands, Forests and the Water Rights Branch. Some of the reports are from the Federal Department of Agriculture or other agents. The reports are arranged numerically by numbers applied by the Deputy Minister's office although the attached numbers have come off some of the reports and there are gaps in the series.

The series consists of 214 photographs, mostly glass lantern slides and glass negatives, created or collected by the Dept. of Agriculture sometime between 1900 and 1915.

The lantern slides contain images of fruit trees, orchards, farms, packing boxes, greenhouses, crops and other agricultural activity. A few have descriptive labels which indicate that they were taken in Victoria, Kelowna, Nanaimo and Summerland, and some have photographers identified (D.J. Dwyer, J. Howard A. Chapman and Edgar Fleming). These photographs may have been used for a variety of purposes including public lectures and as illustrations for reports. Some of the slides have been hand coloured. These slides are from accession 198012-018.

The glass negatives from this accession consist of two files. The first file contains 13 negatives identified as being from Atkinson's mushrooms; images of mushrooms and fungi from book on same and appear to have been photographed directly from George F. Atkinson's 1901 books called "Studies of American Fungi". The second file consists of 24 negatives identified as Morris Middleton pruning lecture. Middleton was an assistant horticulturalist for the Dept. of Agriculture and gave pruning workshops and lectures.

The 27 glass negatives from accession 198410-027 show farms and farm buildings, fruit and berry growing as well as fruit packing and pruning classes in Creston, B.C. in 1914 (F.B. Turner photographer) and photos of apple growing medals presented to the Government of British Columbia in 1909.

The series consists of the records created by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, mostly between 1955 and 1971 with some earlier dated material found in select files. The Deputy Minister between 1955 and 1963 was William MacGillivray and from 1963-1971, it was A.H. Turner.

The files include correspondence to and from the Deputy Minister, reports and articles, memoranda, administrative records and subject files all to do with the daily operations of the office and its functions.

Responsibilities of the office included: apiary activities, cattle brands, beef and dairy cattle, fruits and vegetables, poultry, sheep, horticulture, field crops, Milk Board, soil and plant and animal disease.

The series consists of development program files created by the Industry Organizations Development Branch and the Resource Management Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, and its predecessor body Financial Development Programs Branch, from 1990 to 2001. The files include policy and procedures; final reports, some illustrated with photographs; correspondence; and memoranda and studies relating to various economic development programs including:

Canada-British Columbia Agreement on the Agriculture Component of the Green Plan, established to assist the agri-food sector to strive toward environmental sustainability and socio-economic viability;

Canada-British Columbia Farm Business Management Agreement, a program of conditional grants to develop and facilitate the upgrading of the business management skills of B.C. farm managers;

Partners in Progress program, conditional grants to members of the agriculture, fisheries and food industries to form partnerships to act on and develop new ideas and ways of dealing with increasing competition of world markets;

Fisheries Development and Diversification Program (FDDP), established to provide assistance to the commercial fishing industry by stimulating and encouraging the development of scientific research and seafood products, and the application of technology;

Soil Conservation program, a program to accelerate the adoption of environmentally sustainable agricultural production systems to reduce water pollution and soil erosion.

Intermingled within the files, there are eight VHS videocassettes, fourteen 3 1/2 inch floppy disks, three CD-ROM disks and four objects including a cloth bag, two plastic lids and a plastic bag.

The records have been classified under the Agricultural, Fisheries and Food Operational Records Classification System (ORCS) as:
24200-60: Green plan project final reports.
24500-60: Farm business management final reports.
24600-60: FDDP final reports.
24900-60: Partners in Progress final reports.
25200-60: Soil Conservation project final reports.

Copy of a memorandum (undated) to P.D. Walker, Deputy Provincial Secretary, from Rodney DeLisle, District Agriculturalist (Columbia-Kootenay), describing his visit to Colony Farm at the Provincial Mental Hospital (Essondale), Alexandra Ranch at Tranquille Sanatorium and the Provincial Industrial School for Boys at Port Coquitlam in 1930.

The series consists of the records of the Sumas Drainage, Dyking and Development District created between 1916 and 1975. The records conain general files, orders-in-council, financial statements, engineering reports, assessments, purchase agreements, minutes, history. In addition there are 73 photographs and maps.

The fonds consists of correspondence, a diary, a report, a meteorological observation journal and a photograph album created by E.A. Weir and E.W. White between 1911 and 1913. The records in the fonds documents the agricultural survey of the Northern Valley area contiguous to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, undertaken by Weir and White on behalf of the Dept. of Agriculture.
Weir and White were both students at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph and they spent the summer of 1911 travelling by boat, foot and pack horse investigating the agricultural condiitons and possibilities in the valleys between Prince Rupert and Fort George.