British Columbia Orders in Council
AW1 .R8623 LAW LIBRARY microforms
1872 to 2000
[Notes from the British Columbia Courthouse Library Society - 2004]
This microfilm collection of British Columbia Orders in Council runs from 1872 to 2000 (OIC 0001/1872 to OIC 1808/2000). There are indexes from 1872 to 1972 on separate reels, shelved at the end of the collection. See the notes below under the heading Indexes for more information on the indexes.
The quality of the filming is generally very good. On occasion, the original OIC itself was indecipherable or of poor quality.
The OICs and two of the index reels are on 16 mm film. The oversized attachments and the other index reels are on 35 mm film.
The microfilm boxes are numbered consecutively from B06398 to B06635, and the boxes for oversized items are numbered separately as B07080 through to B07085. The index boxes are numbered 2531 to 2535, 0547 to 0548, and B01464 to B01465. As a rule, the box numbers are useful only to the producer of the microfilm. They do not really assist in using the OICs, though they can help distinguish the oversized items reels and the index reels.
To find an OIC when you have the number
The OICs can be found on the reels in numerical order, with information sheets indicating if an OIC was not filmed (for reasons of quality or availability), or if it is oversized. If an OIC is oversized, it can be found in numerical order in the boxes towards the end of the collection, just before the index reels. The oversized boxes are numbered B07080 to B07085.
Indexes
You can use the indexes when you have an idea of the subject matter, or better yet, the governing statute, and the year. There are indexes from 1872 to 1972, with gaps from the early 1950s to 1959. As well, there is overlap in dates of the last indexes. A cursory check indicates there is duplication. However, you may need to check both to be sure.
The indexes are filmed with the handwritten originals, so they can be very difficult to read.
On the films, you will note that there are volume numbers assigned to the indexes. These numbers refer to the original handwritten indexes. Volume numbers are not used for the OICs themselves. The original indexes are handwritten ledgers organized by volume, then by subject (often the ministry or an act name), and then by year within those subject areas. There are no cross-references.
Index reel 1: 1872 to 1917
Index reel 2: 1918 to 1937
Index reel 3: 1938 to 1944-45(m)
Index reel 4: 1944-45(m) to 1949-51(e)
Index reel 5: 1949-51(e) to 1952-54(a-n)[There is no index for 1952-54(o-z) to 1959.]
Index reel 6: 1960 to 1966 [16 mm film] [overlaps with reel 8]
Index reel 7: 1967 to 1972 [16 mm film] [overlaps with reel 9]
Index reel 8: 1964-65 to 1965-66
Index reel 9: 1967 to 1968
To use the indexes
The indexes are organized by volume, then within each volume alphabetically by subject. The entries in the subject areas are then divided into years. For example, index reel 5 (box 2535) includes volumes 10 to 11. Those volumes encompass the years 1949 to 1954. Within volume 10 the date range is 1949- 1951. After the volume, the index breaks down alphabetically by subject, then year. Each index entry is comprised of the OIC number, the date, and a line stating what the OIC pertains to.
For example, if the user is looking for the OIC appointing Mr. Mulcahy Deputy Minister of Mines, and she knows it was in 1960, she should go to the index that covers that year, should know already or guess that an appointment would be made under the Civil Services Act, should scroll down to the Cs, then should look down the list to the year 1960 and finally should check through the entries until she sees “1907 Aug.11 Mulcahy, P.J., appointed Deputy Minister of Mines….”. 1907 is the OIC number which the user needs to find the OIC in the main microfilm reels.
