B.C.’s forgotten government archives
By The Canadian Press
News Public SectorBritish Columbia's information and privacy commissioner says no provincial government documents have been archived in more than a decade, leaving tens of thousands of boxes of important historical records languishing in warehouses.
A new report by Elizabeth Denham says the neglect is severely impairing access to information and the public’s right to know about key actions and decisions of their government.
Denham makes three recommendations, including that BC Archives – which was transferred to the Royal British Columbia Museum in 2003 – be returned to the government fold and provided funding.
She says government should also create a system for archiving digital information, which currently sits forgotten on government servers.
Her report says outdated provincial legislation for preserving government documents should be updated to address the digital age.
Denham says the status quo will have significant financial and historical consequences if this failure is not addressed.
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