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".
2. (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(4) Paragraph 2(e) of the Act is repealed.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.
3. Section 4 of the Act is repealed and the following
substituted:
Crown property
4. (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
of
(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;
or
(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.
ŠEarl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer