Library and Archives of Canada Act (S.C. 2004, c. 11)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Library and Archives of Canada Act.

Interpretation and Application

Marginal note:Definitions

2 The definitions in this section apply in this Act.

documentary heritage

documentary heritage means publications and records of interest to Canada. (patrimoine documentaire)

government institution

government institution has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Access to Information Act or in section 3 of the Privacy Act or means an institution designated by the Governor in Council. (institution fédérale)

government record

government record means a record that is under the control of a government institution. (document fédéral)

Librarian and Archivist

Librarian and Archivist means the Librarian and Archivist of Canada appointed under subsection 5(1). (Version anglaise seulement)

Minister

Minister means the member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada who is designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of this Act. (ministre)

ministerial record

ministerial record means a record of a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada who holds the office of a minister and that pertains to that office, other than a record that is of a personal or political nature or that is a government record. (document ministériel)

publication

publication means any library matter that is made available in multiple copies or at multiple locations, whether without charge or otherwise, to the public generally or to qualifying members of the public by subscription or otherwise. Publications may be made available through any medium and may be in any form, including printed material, on-line items or recordings. (publication)

record

record means any documentary material other than a publication, regardless of medium or form. (document)

Marginal note:Application

3 This Act binds Her Majesty in right of Canada.

Establishment and Organization

Marginal note:Establishment

4 There is hereby established a branch of the federal public administration to be known as the Library and Archives of Canada presided over by the Minister and under the direction of the Librarian and Archivist.

Marginal note:Appointment of Librarian and Archivist

• 5 (1) The Governor in Council shall appoint an officer, to be called the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, to hold office during pleasure and to have the rank and powers of a deputy head of a department.

• Marginal note:Acting Librarian and Archivist

  (2) If the Librarian and Archivist is absent or incapacitated or if the office of Librarian and Archivist is vacant, the Minister may appoint a person to act as Librarian and Archivist, but the term of such an appointment shall not exceed six months except with the approval of the Governor in Council.

Marginal note:Establishment of Advisory Council

6 The Minister may establish an Advisory Council to advise the Librarian and Archivist with regard to making the documentary heritage known to Canadians and to anyone with an interest in Canada and facilitating access to it.

Objects and Powers

Marginal note:Objects

7 The objects of the Library and Archives of Canada are

• (a) to acquire and preserve the documentary heritage;

• (b) to make that heritage known to Canadians and to anyone with an interest in Canada and to facilitate access to it;

• (c) to be the permanent repository of publications of the Government of Canada and of government and ministerial records that are of historical or archival value;

• (d) to facilitate the management of information by government institutions;

• (e) to coordinate the library services of government institutions; and

• (f) to support the development of the library and archival communities.

Marginal note:Powers of Librarian and Archivist

• 8 (1) The Librarian and Archivist may do anything that is conducive to the attainment of the objects of the Library and Archives of Canada, including

  • (a) acquire publications and records or obtain the care, custody or control of them;

  • (b) take measures to catalogue, classify, identify, preserve and restore publications and records;

  • (c) compile and maintain information resources such as a national bibliography and a national union catalogue;

  • (d) provide information, consultation, research or lending services, as well as any other services for the purpose of facilitating access to the documentary heritage;

  • (e) establish programs and encourage or organize any activities, including exhibitions, publications and performances, to make known and interpret the documentary heritage;

  • (f) enter into agreements with other libraries, archives or institutions in and outside Canada;

  • (g) advise government institutions concerning the management of information produced or used by them and provide services for that purpose;

  • (h) provide leadership and direction for library services of government institutions;

  • (i) provide professional, technical and financial support to those involved in the preservation and promotion of the documentary heritage and in providing access to it; and

  • (j) carry out such other functions as the Governor in Council may specify.

• Marginal note:Sampling from Internet

  (2) In exercising the powers referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and for the purpose of preservation, the Librarian and Archivist may take, at the times and in the manner that he or she considers appropriate, a representative sample of the documentary material of interest to Canada that is accessible to the public without restriction through the Internet or any similar medium.

Marginal note:Destruction or disposal

• 9 (1) The Librarian and Archivist may dispose of any publication or record under his or her control, including by destruction, if he or she considers that it is no longer necessary to retain it.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) Any such disposition is subject to the terms and conditions under which the publication or record has been acquired or obtained.

Legal Deposit

Marginal note:Deposit of publications

• 10 (1) Subject to the regulations, the publisher who makes a publication available in Canada shall, at the publisher’s own expense, provide two copies of the publication to the Librarian and Archivist — who shall acknowledge their receipt — within

  • (a) in any case other than one referred to in paragraph (b), seven days after the day it is made available; or

  • (b) in the case of a publication that is in a class prescribed under paragraph (2)(d), seven days after receiving a written request from the Librarian and Archivist or any longer period specified in the request.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (2) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this section, including regulations

  • (a) defining “publisher”;

  • (b) respecting any measures that must be taken to make the publications that use a medium other than paper and their contents accessible to the Librarian and Archivist;

  • (c) prescribing the classes of publications in respect of which only one copy is required to be provided; and

  • (d) prescribing the classes of publications in respect of which the obligation under subsection (1) applies only on a written request from the Librarian and Archivist.

• Marginal note:Property

  (3) Publications provided to the Librarian and Archivist under this section belong to Her Majesty and form part of the collection of the Library and Archives of Canada.

• Marginal note:Each version, edition or form of a publication

  (4) For the purposes of this section, every version, edition or form of a publication shall be considered a distinct publication.

Obtaining Archival Quality Recordings for Preservation Purposes

Marginal note:Providing archival quality copy

• 11 (1) If the Librarian and Archivist determines that a recording that was made available to the public in Canada has historical or archival value, he or she may by a written request require any other person who is legally entitled to provide such a copy to provide to the Librarian and Archivist, in accordance with the terms specified, a copy of that recording in the form and quality that the Librarian and Archivist determines is suitable for archival purposes and specifies in the request.

• Definition of recording

  (2) In this section, recording means anything that requires a machine in order to use its content, whether sounds, images or other information.

• Marginal note:Payment for copy

  (3) The Librarian and Archivist shall reimburse the person, other than Her Majesty in right of Canada or one of Her agents, who provides a copy under subsection (1) for the actual cost of making that copy.

• Marginal note:Binding on Crown in right of a province

  (4) This section binds Her Majesty in right of a province.

• Marginal note:Property

  (5) Copies provided to the Librarian and Archivist under this section belong to Her Majesty and form part of the collection of the Library and Archives of Canada.

Government and Ministerial Records

Marginal note:Destruction and disposal

• 12 (1) No government or ministerial record, whether or not it is surplus property of a government institution, shall be disposed of, including by being destroyed, without the written consent of the Librarian and Archivist or of a person to whom the Librarian and Archivist has, in writing, delegated the power to give such consents.

• Marginal note:Right of access to records

  (2) Despite anything in any other Act of Parliament, the Librarian and Archivist has a right of access to any record to whose disposition he or she has been asked to consent.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) For the purposes of this section, the Librarian and Archivist may have access to a record to which subsection 69(1) of the Access to Information Act applies, only with the consent of the Clerk of the Privy Council and to a government record that contains information the disclosure of which is restricted by or pursuant to any provision set out in Schedule II to that Act, only with the consent of the head of the government institution in question.

• Marginal note:Right to give access

  (4) Despite anything in any other Act of Parliament, any officer or employee of a government institution may grant to the Librarian and Archivist access to any record to whose disposition the Librarian and Archivist has been asked to consent.

• Marginal note:Security requirements

  (5) The Librarian and Archivist and every person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Librarian and Archivist shall, with respect to access to records, satisfy any security requirements applicable to, and take any oath of secrecy required to be taken by, persons who normally have access to those records.

Marginal note:Transfer of records

• 13 (1) The transfer to the care and control of the Librarian and Archivist of government or ministerial records that he or she considers to have historical or archival value shall be effected in accordance with any agreements for the transfer of records that may be made between the Librarian and Archivist and the government institution or person responsible for the records.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (2) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, prescribe terms and conditions governing the transfer of records under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Government records at risk

  (3) If government records referred to in subsection (1) are, in the opinion of the Librarian and Archivist, at risk of serious damage or destruction, the Librarian and Archivist may require their transfer in the manner and at the time that the Librarian and Archivist specifies.

• Marginal note:Records of former government institutions

  (4) Except as otherwise directed by the Governor in Council, the Librarian and Archivist shall have the care and control of all records of a government institution whose functions have ceased.