Local Government Records

Pre-requisites: ARST/LIBR 500, ARST 510, ARST 515, ARST 516, ARST 520, ARST 573

Goal: To introduce you to issues pertaining to local governance and to records-keeping and archives at the local government level. To give you a set of analytical tools for understanding records creation, maintenance and use in other institutional settings, public and private.

Objectives:

1. To provide an introduction to public administration theory, particularly as it pertains to governance at the local level.
2. To examine broad historical trends in the development of local governance in Canada .
3. To examine the legislative context in which local governments function.
4. To examine the ways in which local governments govern and how this process affects records creation, maintenance and use.
5. To examine the role of local government archives in preserving and providing access to public records.

Content:

1. Introduction to the field of public administration scholarship, especially organization theory and institutional theory, and its applicability to the study of local governance.
2. Introduction to the origins and historical development of municipal governance in Canada.
3. Introduction to boards, commissions, regional districts and other instruments of local governance.
4. Examination of the constitutional position of Canada 's local governments and the delegation of powers from upper to lower levels of government.
5. Examination of B.C.'s Community Charter, incorporation acts (including the Vancouver Charter) and other legal instruments affecting local governments in British Columbia and other provinces.
6. Detailed examination of the structure and functions of the City of Vancouver municipal government and related boards (Park Board, Library Board, Police Board, Board of Variance, etc.).
7. Detailed examination of the types of records produced by the City of Vancouver and how they reflect administrative change over time.
8. Introduction to records management at the City of Vancouver . Comparison with records management programs at other major cities.
9. Introduction to the City of Vancouver Archives. Comparison with archives of other major cities.
10. Exploration of the impact of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act on the City of Vancouver; the role of the Manager of Corporate Information and Privacy; FOIPPA and the City of Vancouver Archives.