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Canadian Government Policy: Government Information (Details)

This Guide will assist you in researching Federal Government policy in Canada using both governmental and non-governmental sources

Introduction

Government information is defined as information produced by government. It does not include information produced by political parties or statements made by Members of Parliament who are not Ministers of the Crown. Government information can be found in the form of traditional publications or as ministerial statements, news releases, and so on. Government publications can be found in print or digitally. Printed items (books, serials, etc.) can be found in paper or filmed and housed on microfiche, microfilm, or microcard. 

Finding Print and Microtext Government Material at York

Most current government publications are shelved alongside existing Scott Library collections. Three areas of the collection are organized by a different system and kept in separate sections of the Library: SC-GOV-REF (2nd floor), SCOTT-GOV (3rd floor), and SCOTT-MICR (rm 118). The Osgoode and Frost libraries also house government publications. Additionally, some material is kept in storage with the location code, HNES-STOR and may be requested by using the Request from Storage button.

Books and Serials

Printed government publications kept in paper are catalogued and may be found in the same manner as any other book or periodical. When searching the catalogue, add "Canada" as an author keyword (Note: if "Canadian" is in the name of the agency, use that instead): 

omni kw search screen

Microforms

Microforms  is a generic term used to describe books and periodicals copied and reproduced in miniature on microfiche, microfilm or microcard. Some are catalogued as books but most are only found with the use of specialized indices. The following should be used to find Canadian government publications in microform. If an item in the index has been filmed, it will have a Microlog Number. The document will be found in the Microlog collection (J 103 M5) in rm 118 of the Scott Library: 

  • Canadian Research Index (updated) (2000-2019)
  • Some of the recent documents are available digitally. Others will have a Microlog number and are found as noted above.
  • MICROLOG Index (1974-2003)
    Published under many titles over time: Profile Index (Provincial Publications, 1973-1978), Publicat (Federal Publications, 1977-78), and Urban Index (Municipal Publications,1977-78), Merged to form Microlog Index (1979-1987), Microlog: The Canadian Research Index (1987-1994), Canadian Research Index (1995-2003). If an item in nay of these was filmed, it will have a Microlog number and will be found as noted above.

General Canadian Government Resources

Key Sources for Departmental Information

Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government

Departmental Annual Reports

The Departmental Annual Reports are an invaluable source of information on government operations and, by extension, government policy. They correspond roughly to the Departmental Performance Reports mentioned below. 

  • 1867/68-1923/24: Annual Reports were published in the Sessional Papers (Scott Gov Reference collection on the 2nd floor of Scott Library CAN2 P2.2 SE77). 1867/68 to 1900 are available digitally via Early Canadian Online. 1900 to 1925 are available on the Internet Archive.
  • 1924/25-1929/30: Annual Reports were published in a separate series called Departmental Annual Reports and are shelved immediately following the Sessional Papers. They too are available on the Internet Archive. 
  • 1930/31-1994/95: Annual Reports were published separately for each department. Most can be found by searching the library catalogue (see example below). 
  • 1995/6-: Main Estimates (CAN2 P2.2 SE77 SC-GOV-REF and, digitally, here from 1996/7+) Issued  in 3 parts, annually. Part III is itself made up of two separate but related publications; the Departmental Performance Report (what the Department did during the last fiscal year) and the Report on Plans and Priorities (what it intends to do in the coming fiscal year). 

Note:  It is important to remember that departments change names, so it is helpful to be aware of the name of the department for the year(s) for which you are interested. A Guide is available on the Library of Parliament website here.  For more help, consult with a librarian.


How to search OMNI to find Annual Reports in print (screenshot):