Information Management Act

The Information Management Act (IMA) came into force in May 2016, and replaced the Document Disposal Act as government’s primary information management law. The IMA applies to all ministries, to courts in a limited way and to designated public sector organizations.

What Does the IMA Do?

The IMA is the Province of British Columbia's legislative framework for modern, digital information practices. The IMA modernizes and streamlines government information management by:

• Transitioning government to digital storage and information management
• Establishing the digital archives and requiring information to be archived in digital form, unless exceptions apply
• Establishing a Chief Records Officer (CRO) to approve information schedules, manage the digital archives and promote effective information management

March 2019 Amendments

The IMA was amended on March 31, 2019. Those amendments enhanced the powers of the CRO and added a requirement for the head of a government body to ensure that an appropriate system is in place within the government body for creating and maintaining government information that is an adequate record of that government body’s decisions.

Approval Processes for Information Schedules

An information schedule specifies how long certain information must be retained and when it will be disposed of, transferred or archived.

The IMA requires ministries and designated public sector organizations to hold, transfer, archive and dispose of information in accordance with an information schedule. Information schedules must be approved and published by the Chief Records Officer, unless they are court information schedules.

Existing records schedules previously approved under the Document Disposal Act will continue to apply under the IMA. Ministries and public sector organizations in need of new or updated information schedules can contact their records officer or records contact.