I have recommended in the past that there be a legislative duty to document here in British Columbia—not, I would argue, an onerous one by any means, but some duty on the part of public servants to record actions and decisions and reasons therefor. One can control this by prescribing certain criteria that would surround the extent of it. Again, if you were making a policy decision or taking a decision to embark on a program or cancel it, it seems to me there should be some duty to document. This is not just a question of creating records for the purposes of openness and accountability. One could argue, and I do argue, that it is a question of good governance and good government operation, and it fits into this larger context that I believe archivists and librarians and others are deeply concerned about in relation to the information management and information holdings of governments across the country, and to the state of information management legislation and practice here in Canada.
On March 11th, 2009. See this statement in context.