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201 - Committees, Cabinet

Last updated on January 23, 2017

Records relating to the establishment, organization, and functions of Cabinet committees and related deputy ministers’ committees. This primary also includes ministry and agency submissions prepared for Cabinet or its committees, with the exception of Treasury Board.

Records types include correspondence, submissions, draft submissions, supporting documentation, notices, agendas, minutes, records of decision, reports, presentation handouts, and other types of records as indicated under relevant secondaries.

NOTE: The retention period in this primary takes precedence over those in the Special Schedule for Executive Records (102906).

NOTE: Cabinet Operations holds the master versions of Cabinet submissions. It is the policy of Cabinet Operations that ministry copies of Cabinet submissions and draft submissions are to be kept secure to ensure no unauthorized access. Substantial drafts should be kept locked in the deputy minister’s or minister’s office.
Requests from the public under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for information filed under this primary must be referred to your manager of information and privacy who will refer the request to Cabinet Operations.

The ministry or agency OPR is the deputy minister's or minister's office unless otherwise specified below.

For Cabinet directives, see secondary 195-02.
For deputy ministers’ committees not related to Cabinet, see secondary 200-20.
For Treasury Board submissions, see primary 1250.

non-OPR NOTE: Offices will retain non-OPR copies of records for SO nil DE

Primary-Secondary Records Series OPR
  A SA FD
201-00 Policy and procedures
FR = Cabinet-related policy and procedures will be fully retained by the government archives because they document ministry/agency-specific policy, procedures, guidelines, and instructions regarding the Cabinet submission process. The records have significant evidential and informational value.		 SO nil FR
201-01 General CY+3y 12y DE
201-02 Cabinet submissions (from other ministries) SO nil DE
201-20 Cabinet committees
DE = Upon authorization of the Records Officer, Cabinet committee records are eligible for destruction. Records of Cabinet committees are fully retained under the Office of the Premier and Executive Council ORCS (881099)		 CY+3y 12y DE
201-30 Deputy minister Cabinet-related committees
SR = The government archives will selectively retain Deputy minister Cabinet-related committee records because they document the provision of advice to Cabinet on major corporate issues. To assist in the selection process, ministries will identify if they are the chair of the committee when they transfer these records to offsite storage.		 CY+3y 12y SR
201-40 Ministry/agency cabinet submissions
(includes final drafts of submissions, developmental drafts, correspondence, working papers, and other records leading to the preparation of cabinet submissions by the ministry or agency)
FR = The government archives will fully retain Ministry/agency Cabinet submissions because they document the development of information that goes before Cabinet or its committees or that is incorporated into a Cabinet submission or used as the basis for developing a Cabinet submission. The records have significant evidential value.
15y = The retention period ensures that records of the deliberations of the Executive Council or its committees are retained by the ministry or agency until such time as the records no longer qualify as exceptions under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) (RSBC 1996, c. 165, s. 12). The retention period takes precedence over those in the special schedule for executive records 102906.
FOI: In accordance with FOIPPA, the head of a public body must refuse to disclose to an applicant information that would reveal the substance of deliberations of the Executive Council or any of its committees until the information has been in existence for 15 or more years. This includes advice, recommendations, policy considerations, or draft legislation or regulations submitted or prepared for submission to the Executive Council or any of its committees.
NOTE: In the event of a change of government, the records of the previous Executive Council and its committees will be accepted by the central records management agency for semi-active storage immediately and retained with authorized access limitations for a combined total active and semi-active retention period of 15 years, at which time they will be ready for final disposition.		 CY+3y 12y FR

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OPR – office of primary responsibility

A – active
SA – semi-active
FD – final disposition

CY – calendar year
nil – no retention period
SO – superseded or obsolete
y – year
DE – destruction
FR – full retention
SR – selective retention

Resources

Learn how government records are managed:

Contact information

For general inquires, contact the Government Records Service at:

Office
250 387-3387
Email
GRS@gov.bc.ca