Category Archives: Uncategorized
Dawn of a new era
If nothing else, technology has done a terrific job of making certain generations feel the age gap more than others in terms of several types of word processors becoming obsolete within one lifetime. However, the next shift in the digital era could mean the end of paper, the reigning medium since roughly AD 105, ultimately altering how records and history and created, consumed and conserved.
This dramatic transition is set to take place within the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which happens to be the repository for all United States governmental records from various agencies. The goal of NARA is to require all agencies to submit their records exclusively in electronic format by 2022. In our technologically savvy world, it should be as simple as the push of a button, right? Well, not exactly. Read More »
As capitalist, he is only capital personified. His soul is the soul of capital. – Karl Marx
On the 5th of November, 2017 the Toronto Star published an article titled “Massive leak pulls back the curtain on offshore tax havens – again.” The article is a quick run down of the latest leak of records from a law firm, Appleby, focused on facilitating “offshore activities that keep billions of tax income beyond the reach of governments around the world.” This leak has been named the Paradise Papers which is made up of 13.4 million records, 1.4 terabytes of “detailed corporate records, including emails, memos, spreadsheets, correspondence, and meeting minutes.”
“There is a direct relationship between good records and information management and the ability of a public body to meet its responsibilities under either the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act or the Health Information Act.”
NWT Information and Privacy Commissioner’s Report , 2016-2017, p. 44
Recently, on Oct. 3, 2017, to be precise, Elaine Keenan Bengts, the Northwest Territories’ Information and Privacy Commissioner, tabled her latest annual report in the Northwest Territories legislative assembly [link1]. Her report – and the subsequent news coverage about it [link2] – highlight the important role that good records management plays in the efficient and effective engagement of Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy. However, the report also makes clear that records management still faces an uphill battle as it tries to strike a balance between making sure people can access and control data about themselves, and keeping that information out of the hands of people who don’t need or shouldn’t have access to it. One of the biggest obstacles in the Northwest Territories (and probably in many, if not most, other jurisdictions) is in the technologies used to manage and transmit the records and in people’s willingness to use them.
The Trump administration has become infamous for their blatant disregard for presidential decorum. However, they are particularly bad at proper records management. In her article, “Are Jared and Ivanka erasing history,” Sarada Peri discusses Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s use of private email servers for official White House business. These practices violate the Presidential Records Act, which was created to protect all presidential records. The article focuses on the parallels between Nixon’s misuse of presidential records to that of the current administration. Peri argues “Presidential recordkeeping is as much about remembering our leaders’ missteps as it is about memorializing their triumphs.” She highlights the importance of the Presidential Records Act through discussing the act’s origins, the issues with modern technology, and the role of presidential recordkeeping.
In a world where nearly everything we do generates some kind of paper trail, the mismanagement of the documentary evidence of our actions can be devastating and costly. Losing records, or being found to have inappropriately disposed of them, can result in costly fines and can damage a company or individual’s reputation. And these consequences also apply to the largest “corporations” of all: governments.
It is interesting how often governments are guilty of sloppy record keeping and how often it takes a crisis to remind people of how important it is to be able to prove what did or didn’t happen. Trustworthy records create a space for a more accountable government and yet so often records management is an afterthought.
Note to readers: I am writing about this topic as a non-Métis person. I am a settler living in unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory. I have tried to center the work of Métis scholars in my research and cite many of their works here.
For the past twenty years, Métis people have disputed Statistics Canada’s census counts of their population. This year was no exception, with debate breaking out as soon as the latest data was released. But why is this topic so contentious, and how does it relate to records management?
Statistics Canada’s data is used throughout the government to inform policy decisions. Archives Canada describes census returns as “an invaluable source of information”. If Statistics Canada’s data is compromised, the effects will be widespread.
Lydia Huey (Author Provided)
An ‘F’ for the Canadian Government’s ATI System
This fall 2017, Canada’s Liberal federal government’s access-to-information (ATI) system was audited by News Media Canada. This national association, which represents Canada’s news media industry, gave the federal government’s ATI system an ‘F’.
The Alberta Privacy Commissioner is investigating the Government of Alberta for deleting 800,000 government emails. The investigation is at the request of the official opposition, who discovered the mass deletion following a freedom of information request. The request revealed sparse inboxes and sent email folders among high-level government staff, including then Chief of Staff, Brian Topp.
Four ministries are under investigation: Transportation, Education, Service Alberta, and the Executive Council Ministries (connected to the Premier’s office).
Secretaries at work on Mad Men (Source)
Government Trespasses
On October 31, 2017, the Edmonton Journal broke a story covering the deletion of 800,000 emails by members of Alberta’s New Democratic Party (NDP) Government, including those within the office of Premier Rachel Notley. Alberta’s official opposition party, the United Conservatives, had unearthed information relating to the deletions following a 2016 request for “…numbers of managerial and director government email records…”. That investigation exposed the sparse inboxes of many high-level government employees, including those who had worked for the NDP for many years.