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The microfilm reels in this series contain the unpublished Sessional Papers for the period 1916-1958. The Sessional Papers, which consist of reports, returns and other parliamentary papers tabled in the House of Commons, contain material which is both published and unpublished. It was decided to microfilm only the unpublished Sessional Papers because the published material, consisting mainly of annual reports of government departments and reports of Royal Commissions, are readily available elsewhere. No Sessional Papers are available for the period from Confederation to the end of 1915 because they were burned in the fire of 3 February 1916 which destroyed the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings. Also, there are several Sessional Papers missing, particularly for the year 1916, but after that date there is almost a complete set of papers available. The Sessional Papers are arranged by each Session of Parliament and are numbered in the order in which they were tabled in the House of Commons. In order to facilitate their use, an alphabetical and numerical list of the Sessional Papers for each Session of Parliament from 1916 to 1925 was filmed. For the period 1926-1958, a numerical list was filmed for each session only because there is no alphabetical list available. However, a consolidated General Index to the Journals of the House of Commons of Canada and of the Sessional Papers of Parliament was published on five occasions covering the following periods, 1867-1876; 1877-1890, 1891-1903; 1904-1915 and 1916-1930. In addition, consolidated general indexes are currently being prepared by the staff of the House of Commons to cover the years 1930-1945; 1946-1960 and 1962-1972.

This series contains extracts from volumes in C.O. 537 series, known as supplementary correspondence. This class of records was made up of records and miscellaneous documents which were not considered suitable for inclusion in other Colonial office series. The records consist mainly of despatches to and from the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Governor-General of Canada and senior British military officers. Records pertain to all parts of Canada, but include substantial British Columbia-related material.

San Juan Island dispute, B.C.'s entry into Confederation, the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, trans-Pacific steamship services, coastal defence, and the Bering Sea sealing negotiations are but some of the issues documented in this series.

The majority of the records were originally classified as "Secret" or "Confidential." The terms "secret" and "confidential" had different meanings at different times. In 1871, when British Columbia joined Confederation, "secret" despatches from London could be shown by the Governor-General to his executive council, and the contents could be relayed to the Lieutenant Governor and his cabinet in B.C. "Confidential" despatches could only be disclosed with the express permission of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. In 1888 the meanings of the terms was exactly reversed.