Don Davies on Questions on the Order Paper

With regard to the Historical Section of Global Affairs Canada (GAC): (a) what is the mandate of the section and the job description, background and qualifications of the current head of the section; (b) where are the records of the section currently held; (c) is there an index or listing accessible to the public of the records currently held by the section; (d) what policies and procedures exist for the transfer of records from the section to Library and Archives Canada, and what transfers have taken place from January 1, 2000, to present, including transfers of records of security and intelligence in 2016; (e) which records relating to security and intelligence are currently held by the section; (f) where is the historical record Department of External Affairs (DEA) file 50207-40; (g) what research has been conducted by the section, or other sections or individuals in GAC and its predecessor departments, on the LGBT Purge from 1950 to 1990, policies which singled out gay and lesbian potential recruits and employees of the DEA for discriminatory treatment; (h) what records exist in the section about the impact of the policies referred to in (g); (i) what records exist in the section of communication between Canadian posts abroad and headquarters in Ottawa during the period from 1950 to 2000; (j) what records are held by the section with respect to the debate over extension of equal employment benefits to gay and lesbian employees of the department from 1985 to 2000 with same-sex partners; and (k) what records exist in the section about former heads of mission and senior public servants in the DEA, including former Ambassadors John Watkins and David Johnson, and former Assistant Under Secretary of State John Holmes?