How to navigate Order-in-Council records part 2: online at LAC

In this post, I explore Order-in-Council records online at Library and Archives Canada This is a follow up post to “Rev. Chan (陳) Sing Kai’s entry to Canada – a rare head tax refund tale using OIC records.”

What is an OIC record?

I think of OICs as how the business of government got done. More formally, they are defined today as:

A legal instrument made by the Governor in Council pursuant to a statutory authority or, less frequently, the royal prerogative. All OICs are made on the recommendation of the responsible Minister of the Crown and take legal effect only when signed by the Governor General.

Order in Council, Government of Canada, Canada.ca

For more information about Order in Council records, see LAC’s help page.¹ OIC records include the approval of immigrants to Canada, exit permits, and Indigenous enfranchisement.²

I’ll demonstrate OIC results using Collection Search at LAC. Search for information about businesses, churches, postal offices, organizations, and people. Many, many OICs were created about immigrants 1930-1960 but rarely will they be listed in the title. (I’m saving that for my next post on OIC records at Ancestry.)

Method 1: Using Collection Search’s basic function

Type your keyword into the basic search box at Collection Search. I’ll use my surname.

Scroll down the list of results. You will see the category description and if you are lucky, a digitized image. Here is an example.

Click the BLUE link to see “Record Information” and “Ordering and Viewing Options.” If the record is digitized, you will be able to download it and get a permanent link to the record from “Link to this record.” (Don’t use the browser’s URL.)

In this case, the OIC was introduced for discussion by the Privy Council on 26 Aug 1904, considered twenty days later on Sep 15, and approved on Sep 19. If I were looking for this record on microfilm, I would need the 19 Sep 1904 session, and I would be looking for OIC number 1687.

If this record was not digitized – because most are not – I would need the “Item ID number 170585” to make a copy request. See below for instructions.

What happened?

As noted, OIC records reflect government business. In this case, Charley Yip Yen, Chinese Interpreter at Vancouver, resigned his position on 3 Aug 1904.

Charley, business partner and second cousin once removed to Yip Sang, would later be the subject of a major immigration inquiry, but that’s a story for another day.

Method 2: Using the OIC database (1867-1924) at Collection Search

Go to Collection Search/ Advanced and choose Database/ Orders-in-Council.

To locate the OIC, you will need item ID number, time period or year, OIC number, date introduced / considered / or approved.

Example: locating OICs for 1923

I searched the OIC database for OICs in 1923 and found “Interior – Grant of land to La Corporation Episcopale Catholique Romaine de Regina for cemetery purposes.” That sounds intriguing! The finding aid shows there is no microfilm but the records are Access 90 and thus available. [Click on the images to make them larger.]

To order, go to the bottom of the finding aid and choose “purchase a copy.” Choose “text documents,” and in the box marked “Reference Number (required),” enter the “Item ID no. 400208.” It’s important to provide this information or your request will be rejected. The copy department will not do research. Finish and pay. As of Feb 2024, copies are CAD$0.40/page.

Method 3: Use the OIC database (1990-present)

It’s not at LAC but for the sake of completeness, here is the link for OIC records from 1990 to present day. This site is managed by the Office of the Privy Council.

Next time: Using Ancestry’s new collection, “Canada, Immigrants Approved in Orders in Council, 1929-1960”

Order-in-Council regulations

I am building a quick reference table for OIC regulations regarding immigration.

Afterword

According to my notes, I have been researching OIC records since Apr 2021, when Carol Lee sent me a curious record buried deeply at LAC. Yip Sang paid head taxes on four of his children and then applied for a refund. Until her discovery, I’d no idea i) my family were subjected to any head taxes, nor ii) that it was possible to get a refund.

It’s surprising to see how much hands-on work the Privy Council did with regards the lives of ordinary Canadians. Exploring OIC records has given me insights into the thinking of the men at the centre of power: how laws are formulated and how they are managed. It’s the paperwork that creates unintended genealogical records. I have a passion for exploring Chinese Canadian history but OIC records included a wide swath of the population, from Armenians to Yugoslavians.

I’m still exploring what an OIC – a “legal instrument” – meant in historic terms. This is a complicated, deep rabbit hole. Neither the Statutory Instruments Act, 1972 nor the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982, was in force. Today, a legal instrument must conform with the Charter, and it must be published in the Canada Gazette. New regulations should not be illegal, or impinge rights. The governing body should have the right to create the regulation. Yes, this seems obvious but stay tuned. History is fascinating.

Thank yous

To Carol Lee, Catherine Clement, and Joanna Crandell – thank you for our delightful, ongoing conversations.

References

¹Library and Archives Canada, “Orders-in-Council 1867-1924,” 6 Oct 2022, website, Government of Canada, Library and Archives Canada, accessed 27 Feb 2024.

²Joanna Crandell, “Order in Council Lists,” 2023, Ontario, website, Order in Council Lists, accessed 29 Feb 2024.