64

 


First Session, 46th General Assembly

57 Elizabeth II, 2008

BILL 64

AN ACT TO AMEND THE ROOMS ACT

Received and Read the First Time...................................................................

Second Reading..............................................................................................

Committee......................................................................................................

Third Reading.................................................................................................

Royal Assent...................................................................................................

HONOURABLE CLYDE JACKMAN

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation

Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

 

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Rooms Act.

Clause 1 of the Bill would make a general amendment to the Act to replace the words "public record" with the words "government record" wherever they appear and the words "public records' with the words "government records" wherever they appear.

Clause 2 of the Bill would amend the Act to add the definitions of "abandoned record", "cabinet record", "chief information officer", "government record" and "transitory record" for consistency with the Management of Information Act. It would also repeal the definition of "public records" which has been replaced.

Clause 3 of the Bill would amend of the Act to add a provision allowing the director to designate a site other than the archives as an official repository if necessary.

Clause 4 of the Bill would amend the Act to give the director the authority to receive and dispose of abandoned records.

This clause would also amend the Act as a consequence of the amendments contained in clause 6.

Clauses 5 of the Bill would amend the Act to prohibit destruction of archival records.

Clause 6 of the Bill would amend the Act to repeal the provisions relating to the government records committee.  It is proposed that the committee would be reconstituted under the Management of Information Act.

Clause 7 of the Bill would amend the Act to remove a regulation-making power consequent on the other amendments proposed in clause 6.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE ROOMS ACT

Analysis


        1.   General Amdt.

        2.   S.20 Amdt.
Definitions

        3.   S.21 Amdt.
Archives continued

        4.   S.22 Amdt.
Archives director

        5.   S.25.1 Added
Destruction prohibited

        6.   Ss.26 to 28 Rep.
26.   Public records
        committee
27.   Removal and
        destruction of records
28.   Dispute

        7.   S.37 Amdt.
Regulations


Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL2005 cR-15.1

        1. The Rooms Act is amended by striking the words "public record" wherever they occur and substituting the words "government record" and by striking out the words "public records" wherever they occur and substituting the words "government records".

 

        2. (1) Paragraph 20(a) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

             (a)  "abandoned record" means a government record to which ownership cannot be established and which has been determined to be an abandoned record by the chief information officer;

          (a.1)  "cabinet record" means a record that

                      (i)  is a memorandum, the purpose of which is to present proposals or recommendations to Cabinet,

                     (ii)  is a discussion paper, policy analysis, proposal, advice or briefing material, including all factual and background material prepared for Cabinet,

                    (iii)  is an agenda, minute or other record of Cabinet recording deliberations or decisions of Cabinet,

                    (iv)  is used for or reflects communications or discussions among ministers on matters relating to the making of government decisions or the formulation of government policy,

                     (v)  is created for or by a minister for the purpose of briefing that minister on a matter for Cabinet,

                    (vi)  is created during the process of developing or preparing a submission for Cabinet,

                   (vii)  is draft legislation or a draft regulation, or

                  (viii)  contains information about the contents of a record within a class of information referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (vii);

          (a.2)  "chief information officer" means the Chief Information Officer of the Office of the Chief Information Officer;

             (2)  Section 20 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after paragraph (b) the following:

          (b.1)  "government record" means a record created by or received by a public body in the conduct of its affairs and includes a cabinet record, transitory record and an abandoned record;

             (3)  Paragraph 20(d) of the Act is repealed.

             (4)  Section 20 of the Act is amended by deleting the period at the end of the paragraph (e) and substituting a semicolon and the word "and".

             (5)  Section 20 of the Act is amended to add immediately after paragraph (e) the following:

              (f)  "transitory record" means a government record of temporary usefulness in any format or medium having no ongoing value beyond an immediate and minor transaction or the preparation of a subsequent record.

 

        3. Section 21 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (4) the following:

          (4.1)  In those circumstances when an archival record is such that it is not practical or feasible to store it in the archives, the director may designate another site as the official repository for that record.

 

        4. (1) Paragraph 22(2)(c) of the Act is repealed.

             (2)  Subsection 22(2) of the Act is amended by adding immediately after paragraph (g) the following:

          (g.1)  receive abandoned records determined by the chief information officer to be abandoned records, and dispose of the records in accordance with the Management of Information Act;

             (3)  Paragraph 22(2)(h) of the Act is amended by adding immediately after the word "committee" the words "established under section 5.1 of the Management of Information Act".

 

        5. The Act is amended by adding immediately after section 25 the following:

Destruction prohibited

   25.1 A person shall not, except with the written consent of the director and the approval of the chief executive officer, the board of directors and the minister, remove, dispose of or destroy archival records.

 

        6. Sections 26 to 28 of the Act are repealed.

 

        7. Paragraph 37(f) of the Act is repealed.