This thesis explores why the Public Archives of Canada, which was established in 1872, did not have the full authority or capability to collect the government records of Canada until 1966. The Archives started as an institution focused on collecting historical records, and for decades was largely indifferent to protecting government records. Royal Commissions, particularly those that reported in 1914 and 1962 played a central role in identifying the problems of records management within the growing Canadian civil service. Changing notions of archival theory were also important, as was the influence of professional academics, particularly those historians mandated to write official wartime histories of various federal departments. This thesis argues that the Second World War and the Cold War finally motivated politicians and bureaucrats to address records concerns that senior government officials had first identified during the time of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

This thesis explores why the Public Archives of Canada, which was established in 1872, did not have the full authority or capability to collect the government records of Canada until 1966. The Archives started as an institution focused on collecting historical records, and for decades was largely indifferent to protecting government records. Royal Commissions, particularly those that reported in 1914 and 1962 played a central role in identifying the problems of records management within the growing Canadian civil service. Changing notions of archival theory were also important, as was the influence of professional academics, particularly those historians mandated to write official wartime histories of various federal departments. This thesis argues that the Second World War and the Cold War finally motivated politicians and bureaucrats to address records concerns that senior government officials had first identified during the time of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

An exploratory investigation of records keeping practices among villages, towns, districts and cities in British Columbia was conducted to determine how municipalities are currently managing their records. Drawing from literature on records management theory and practice, a model of a records keeping system was developed based on the premise that records pass through a series or continuum of identifiable stages from the moment of their creation to their final disposition. A questionnaire constructed around key elements of the model was distributed by mail to a nonrandom sample of one hundred and forty-four municipalities. Data was acquired on the three general fields of activity considered integral to managing records, namely: records generation and receipt, records classification, and records maintenance. Among the key findings of the survey were a lack of standardized files classification systems, records retention schedules, and records procedures manuals which are identified in records management literature as the core elements of any records keeping system. Based on a response rate of 81% (116/144), it is concluded that among those villages, towns, districts and cities surveyed, most do not have adequate records keeping systems to effectively serve their information needs. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate