First Session, 46th

General Assembly

57 Elizabeth II,

BILL 63

AN ACT TO AMEND THE MANAGEMENT OF

INFORMATION 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 Management of Information 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" and the words "public

records' with the words "government records" wherever they appear.

Clause 2 of the Bill would amend

section 2 of the Act to define "abandoned record",

"archives", "cabinet record", "chief information

officer", "committee" and "transitory record" and "government

record" which replaces and amends the current definition of "public

record".

Clause 3 of the Bill would amend

section

4 of the Act to clarify that records are Crown property.

Clause 4 of the Bill would amend the

Act to provide requirements for retaining electronic information.

Clause 5 of the Bill would amend

section 5 of the Act to reflect the current title of the Director of The Rooms

Provincial Archives.

Clause 6 of the Bill would move

sections dealing with the current Public Records Committee from the Rooms Act to this Act and rename it the

Government Records Committee, and would add a

section to deal with exceptions

to the regular process for the management of cabinet records and the disposal

of other records.

Clause 7 of the Bill would amend

section 6 of the Act as a consequence of the other amendments in this Bill.

Clause 8 of the Bill would amend the

Act to add a

section on regulation making power.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE MANAGEMENT OF

INFORMATION ACT

Analysis

General Amdt.

S.2 Amdt.

Definitions

S.4 R&S

Crown property

S.4.1 Added

Electronic information

5. S.5 Amdt.

Management of public records

Ss.5.1 to 5.4 Added

5.1 Government Records

Committee

5.2 Removal and

destruction of records

5.3 Dispute

5.4 Exceptions

S.6 Amdt.

System for management of information

S.7.1 Added

Regulations

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL2005 cM-1.01

1. The Management

of Information Act is amended by striking out the words "public

record" wherever they appear and substituting the words "government

record" and by striking out the words "public records" wherever

they appear and substituting the words "government records".

(1) Section 2 of the Act is amended by

repealing paragraph (

a) and substituting the following:

(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) "archives" means The Rooms Provincial

Archives referred to in

section 21 of the Rooms

Act ;

(a.2) "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.3) "chief information officer" means

the Chief Information Officer of the Office of the Chief Information Officer;

(a.4) "committee" means the committee

established under

section 5.1;

(2) Section 2 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 2(

c) of the Act is amended by

striking out the word "and" at the end of the paragraph.

(4) Paragraph 2(

e) of the Act is repealed.

(5) Paragraph 2(

f) of the Act is amended by deleting

the word "and" and the end of the paragraph.

(6) Paragraph 2(

g) of the Act is amended by

striking out the period at the end of the sentence and substituting a semicolon

and the word "and" and by adding immediately after that paragraph the

following:

(h) "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.

Section 4 of the Act is repealed and the following

substituted:

Crown property

(1) All

records created by or received by a public body in the conduct of its affairs

are the property of the Crown.

(2) Records referred to in subsection (1) shall

not be destroyed or removed from the ownership or control of the Crown unless

the destruction or removal is authorized under this Act.

4. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 4 the following:

Electronic information

4.1

(1) A

requirement under this Act to retain a record is satisfied by the retention of

electronic information where

(

a) the electronic information is retained in the

format in which it was made, sent or received or in a format that does not materially

change the electronic information that was originally created, sent or received;

and

(

b) the electronic information will be accessible,

and capable of being retained for subsequent reference, if required, by a

person who is entitled to have access to the information or who is authorized

to require its production.

(2) Where the electronic information was sent or

received, the requirement in subsection (1) is only met where information that

identifies the origin and destination of the electronic information and the

date and time when it was sent or received is also retained.

(3) Nothing in this

section prevents the disposal

of electronic records according to a process or

schedule approved under this

Act.

5. Subsection 5(3) of the Act is amended by

striking out the words "Director of the Provincial Archives" and

substituting the words "Director of The Rooms Provincial Archives".

6. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 5 the following:

Government Records

Committee

5.1

(1) There

shall be a committee to be known as the Government Records Committee consisting

(

a) the Director of The Rooms Provincial Archives

appointed under

section 22 of the Rooms

Act ;

(

b) the Deputy Minister of Justice or a person

designated by him or her to act on his or her behalf;

(

c) the Deputy Minister of Finance or a person

designated by him or her to act on his or her behalf;

(

d) the Chief Information Officer or a person

designated by him or her to act on his or her behalf; and

(

e) those other persons whom the minister may

appoint.

(2) The person appointed under subsection (1)(

d) or a person designated by him or her to act on his or her behalf shall be the

chairperson of the committee.

(3) The committee shall designate from among its

members a person who shall be the secretary for the committee.

(4) The Office of the Chief Information Officer

shall provide administrative support for the committee in order to assist the

committee in executing its powers and duties.

(5) The committee may

(

a) establish and revise schedules for the

retention, disposal, destruction or transfer of records;

(

b) make recommendations to the minister

respecting government records to be forwarded to the archives;

(

c) establish disposal and destruction standards

and guidelines for the lawful disposal and destruction of government records;

and

(

d) make recommendations to the minister regarding

the removal, disposal and destruction of records.

(6) A decision of a majority of the members of the

committee shall be the decision of the committee.

Removal and destruction

of records

5.2 The

minister may, after considering recommendations of the committee under

subsection 5.1(5), direct the removal, disposal or destruction of records.

Dispute

5.3 Where a dispute arises between a public body

and the committee with respect to the

(

a) adoption or operation of a disposal schedule;

(

b) destruction or disposal of government records,

the committee may submit the matter to the

minister who may issue directions with respect to the dispute.

Exceptions

5.4

(1) Cabinet

records shall be managed in the manner determined by Cabinet Secretariat.

(2) The chief information officer may determine that

records are abandoned records and shall transfer the custody of those records

to the Director of The Rooms Provincial Archives appointed under

section 22 of

the Rooms Act who shall dispose of

the records in accordance with this Act.

(3) Transitory records may be disposed of when they

are no longer of value, and shall only be disposed of through means which

render them unreadable, including secure shredding or in the case of electronic

records, secure electronic erasure.

(4) Records that may present a health or

biohazard may be disposed of in a manner determined by the committee.

7. (1) Subsection 6(1) of the Act is amended

by adding immediately after the word and comma "preservation," the

word and comma "protection,".

(2) Subsection 6(2) of the Act is amended by

striking the words "Public Records Committee established under the Rooms Act" and substituting the

words "Government Records Committee established under

section 5.1".

(3) Subsection 6(3) of the Act is amended by

striking out the words "Part II of the Rooms Act" and substituting

the words "this Act".

8. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 7 the following:

Regulations

7.1 The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(

a) respecting the procedures and duties of the

committee established under

section 5.1; and

(

b) generally to give effect to the purpose of

this Act.

Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer