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Archival description
Only top-level descriptions British Columbia--Politics and government
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Committee proceedings and reports

  • GR-2016
  • Series

Committee proceedings and reports, and other reports, returns and documents tabled in the Legislative Assembly and filed in the office of the Clerk of the House.

Committee proceedings and reports, and other reports, returns and documents tabled in the Legislative Assembly and filed in the office of the Clerk of the House.

Researchers are advised to use the Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a guide to documents tabled, but should not assume that a document tabled according to the Journals has been preserved in this series.

British Columbia. Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly committee transcripts

  • GR-2040
  • Series
  • 1977-1978

Transcripts of hearings (with appended submissions) held by the Select Standing Committee on Agriculture and the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Economic Affairs. Also includes reports of Special Committees on Medical Aid to Vietnam, the Ombudsman, and Crown Corporations.

British Columbia. Hansard Office

Correspondence and other material regarding oaths

  • GR-0586
  • Series
  • 1890-1972

This series consists of correspondence relating to the issuance of commissions to members of the Executive Council, to the oath of allegiance taken by cabinet ministers, and to royal toasts; index and registers of oaths of office and oaths of allegiance of members of the Executive Council.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Executive Council meeting minutes

  • GR-1223
  • Series
  • 1864-1866

This series contains minutes of Executive Council meetings, Colony of Vancouver Island. The series contains 2 volumes each of which cover the periods 26 March 1864 - 27 June 1865 and 18 July 1865 - 19 November 1866.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Executive Council

Correspondence

  • GR-1305
  • Series
  • 1879-1896

This series comprises a volume of letter-book copies of correspondence from Lieutenant Governor A.N. Richards to the Senior Naval Officer, Esquimalt (3 January 1879 - 2 June 1881), along with schedule of despatches received by Lieutenant Governor Edgar Dewdney from the Senior Naval Officer (1893-1896). Volume to be used in conjunction with GR-0443, vol. 66.

British Columbia. Lieutenant Governor

Correspondence

  • GR-1306
  • Series
  • 1881

This series contains correspondence between Amor De Cosmos, as Special Agent to London, and others, respecting the Petition of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, to the Queen, on the subject of the Canadian Pacific Railway from March 22nd 1881 to August 31st 1881. The series includes a printed copy of B.C. legislature's petition to the Queen, along with a manuscript copy of the Canadian Pacific Railway memorandum on "Vancouver Island Railway," December 1881. De Cosmos' map showing CPR terminus at Port Moody, alienated railway land on Vancouver Island, proposed ferry routes, etc. were transferred to PABC Library & Maps Division under accession M889117.

British Columbia. Lieutenant Governor

Correspondence and other material

  • GR-1311
  • Series
  • 1946-1947

This series contains correspondence and briefs submitted to the Executive Council. It includes applications and appeals pertaining to the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, Seaboard Distributors Ltd., Blunden Harbour Land Company Ltd., and sundry miscellaneous organizations.

British Columbia. Executive Council

Provincial Secretary letterbooks

  • GR-0540
  • Series
  • 1873-1918

This series consists of 104 volumes of letter book copies of correspondence outward from the Provincial Secretary, 1873-1918. The index to correspondence missing.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Executive Council records

  • GR-0444
  • Series
  • 1859-1913

This series consists of records of the Executive Council, 1859-1913. Records include minutes of Colonial and Provincial Executive Council, ministerial reports, State Books, orders-in-council, registers, and indices (1859-1913), along with petitions, dispatches, and correspondence inward to Lieutenant- Governor in Council (1871-1909).

The Executive Council papers are among the most important of the early provincial government records held by the B.C. Archives. The value of the papers stems from the fact that the Council itself is the most important and influential level of government in the province. It is at the Executive Council level that government policies and regulations are discussed, formulated, and implemented; it is at this level that decisions are made regarding the overall running of the province. During the the period covered by GR-0444, it was also the responsibility of the Executive Council to handle the many contentious issues which affected Dominion-Provincial and Imperial-Provincial relations.

The Executive Council received and considered virtually all of the dispatches sent to the Lieutenant-Governor from Ottawa or London. Most of the petitions and memorials submitted by individuals or groups in the province to the Lieutenant-Governor were considered by the Council, too. In addition, the Executive Council dealt with correspondence from private citizens, as well as reports emanating from government ministries, departments, and agencies. In short, the Executive Council dealt with a myriad of issues - as is evidenced by the volume, range, and diversity of the papers in this record group.

Since the cabinet is the executive arm of the government, it has the authority to enact regulations, as defined by the Regulations Act (RS 1979 c. 361), Regulations, so defined, include rules, orders, proclamations, and bylaws of a legislative nature, made under or by the authority of any act passed by the legislative assembly. Among the regulations are Orders-in-Council which are formally described as "official documents promulgating Government decisions concerned with the day-to-day operation of the Province. Researchers consulting GR-0444 should note that Orders-in-Council are made under the authority of the Lieutenant-Governor or, more precisely, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council. The latter implies the Lieutenant Governor acting by and with the advice of, or by and with the advice and consent or in conjunction with, the Executive Council" (Interpretation Act, RS 1979, c.206). Thus, the term "Lieutenant-Governor in Council" occurs frequently with reference to business conducted by what is otherwise known as the Executive Council, or cabinet.

British Columbia. Executive Council

W.A.C. Bennett fonds

  • PR-2165
  • Fonds
  • 1948-1955

Fonds consists of two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings kept while a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and a 1955 certificate and diploma awarded by the Academic Council and Senate of the American International Academy.

Bennett, W.A.C. (William Andrew Cecil), 1900-1979

Sessional clipping books

  • GR-1480
  • Series
  • 1891-1972

This series contains sessional clippings books of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The records consists of newspaper accounts of the debates, along with notices of motion, petitions, committee reports, etc. Volumes also contain editorials from major newspapers in New Westminster, Vancouver and Victoria.

British Columbia. Legislative Library

Executive Council minute book

  • GR-1510
  • Series
  • 1916-1917

This series contains the minute book of the Executive Council for the period 29 November 1916 to 19 January 1917.

British Columbia. Executive Council

Legislative Council records

  • GR-1530
  • Series
  • 1859-1871

This series contains drafts of bills, ordinances, and regulations.

British Columbia. Legislative Council

Legislative Council records

  • GR-1531
  • Series
  • 1864-1868

This series contains messages to the Governor conveying resolutions of the Legislative Council.

British Columbia. Legislative Council

Legislative Assembly records

  • GR-1533
  • Series
  • 1871-1893

This series contains drafts of bills, acts, ordinances and regulations.

British Columbia. Legislative Assembly

Provincial Secretary correspondence on diverse topics

  • GR-1671
  • Series
  • 1950-1982

This series consists of correspondence and reports concerning laws, statutes, titles, and emblems. Records include files regarding the Provincial Elections Act, Engineering Profession Act, Daylight Saving Act, Public Documents Disposal Act, and Historic Objects Preservation Act. Records also concern the authorized use of the name "British Columbia", provincial coat-of-arms, and royal styles and titles. Additional files concern Court mourning observances and Princess Margaret's Portland Island. These records were originally part of a larger series, transferred separately to the PABC and catalogued as GR-1661.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Speeches by and addresses to colonial governors

  • GR-1717
  • Series
  • 1860-1865

Opening and closing speeches of Governors Douglas and Kennedy to the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of Vancouver Island, 1860-1864; closing speeches of Governor Seymour to the Legislative Council of British Columbia, 1865. Also addresses from the Legislative Council of British Columbia to Governor Douglas (1864) and Governor Seymour (1865).

British Columbia (Colony). Governor

Premier's Office press releases

  • GR-1815
  • Series
  • 1972-1975

Press releases on various subjects issued by the Premier's Office, December 1972 - December 1975.

British Columbia. Office of the Premier

Press releases and other material

  • GR-1196
  • Series
  • 1946-1955

This series contains press releases and official statements from the Office of the Premier, 1946-1955. The records include a pamphlet on Emergency Flood Legislation.

British Columbia. Office of the Premier

Cabinet Committee on Legislation and legislation review and approval case files

  • GR-3677
  • Series
  • 1980-2001

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.

British Columbia. Office of the Premier

Cabinet Order-in-Council background material

  • GR-3977
  • Series
  • 1989-2003

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).

British Columbia. Office of the Premier

Correspondence

  • GR-1318
  • Series
  • 1951-1975

This series contains general correspondence between the Deputy Minister and Agents-General for British Columbia in London. The series includes a confidential report from the Fire Marshall on a fire that occurred at Government House in 1957. There is also general correspondence with the B.C. Commissioner for Trade and Tourism, San Francisco (1962-1974) and general inquiries to the Hon. the Premier (1953-1969). Letters includes notes and petitions from Vancouver City Archivist (Major Matthews) to HM the Queen, praying that the Westminster Regiment be allowed to bear the suffix "Royal." There are also three photographs of BC House in London, England, taken in 1951.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Jim Ryan fonds

  • PR-2163
  • Fonds
  • 1908-1995

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.

Ryan, Jim, 1920-1998

Engagement sheets and itineraries

  • GR-1294
  • Series
  • 1970-1973

This series contains copies of official engagement sheets and itineraries of His Honour Lieutenant Governor J.R. Nicholson from the period 1970-1973.

British Columbia. Lieutenant Governor

Correspondence and other material

  • GR-1197
  • Series
  • 1893-1897

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.

British Columbia. Premier

Speech from the Throne

  • GR-3346
  • Collection
  • 1872-1876; 1905; 1960-2023

The collection consists of an incomplete set of copies of the Speech from the Throne, created between 1872 and 2023. 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.

British Columbia. Lieutenant Governor

Circular letters

  • GR-0050
  • Series
  • 1887-1896

The series consists of circular letters to the Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia from 1887 to 1896, from the Under Secretary of State, Ottawa.

British Columbia. Lieutenant Governor

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