The records in this series relate to the planning, organization, and execution of the provincial NDP conventions held to elect party executive and determine party policy and direction.

The provincial convention is perhaps the most important activity of the provincial NDP, alongside its election activities. Originally held annually (except in rare occasions) until 2001 when it became a bi-annual event, convention is where party policy is adopted and amended, discussion papers are circulated, reports from party executive and caucus members are heard, and elections for internal party positions are held. In addition, each year long-standing and active party members are selected by a committee to be inducted as Honourary Life Members (HLMs). Often during election years, the Federal NDP Leader would also attend the convention and address the BC provincial party members.

During the conventions, each electoral constituency would elect delegates to represent them at the convention, and submit any resolutions passed by their constituencies for consideration as Party policy. Constituency delegates at the convention would debate and vote upon policy (based on the submitted resolutions), as well as elect the party’s executive, made up of Table Officers (Party president, vice presidents, membership secretary, treasurer) and members-at-large. When necessary, the convention would also elect the party’s new leader. Each delegate would receive a convention kit upon arrival containing the minutes of the previous convention, reports from the party executives and standing committees, party financial reports, all policy to be considered that year, and other related materials. Conventions are traditionally presided over by the provincial party president, or by one of the vice-presidents, and tend to span several days. Important policy not able to be addressed or decided upon at convention may be referred to the Provincial Council for further discussion, and/or added to the resolutions under review at convention the following year. Over the years, many of the kits contained an explanation of Convention to new members (such as file 428-06, “1984 convention kit), which can be consulted for further information.

Convention organization was usually coordinated out of the provincial office, with one person tasked as the convention coordinator, supported by several committees, most notably the Convention Arrangements Committee (CAC) and the Resolutions Committee. In many cases, members of the provincial executive and internal party staff members (such as the Provincial Secretary, the Director of Organization, and/or the Director of Communications) would be members of the Convention Arrangements Committee, and would handle the coordination and planning of the event. The Resolutions Committee would receive resolutions sent in by constituencies (or submitted from regional conferences, as began occurring as of 1988), organize these into categories (such as Health, Economics, or Constitution and Party Affairs), and then determine an order of priority so the most pressing issues in each category would be given priority floor time. Constituencies could also submit Emergency Resolutions which were time-sensitive and generally related to recent provincial, national, or global events. Other convention organizing committees over time have included the Leadership Rules Committee, The Balloting Committee, the Credentials Committee, and the Harassment Committee.

Records in this series include correspondence, budget documents, drafts, convention kit materials and other public communications, memoranda and bulletins, meeting agendas and minutes, and other related materials.

This series reflects the activities and functions of various of the standing and ad hoc committees of the BC New Democratic Party. Committees were a regular part of NDP organizational structure, most often mimicking the structure of the Party Executive, with elected Chairs, Secretaries, Table Officers, representatives and liaisons from other committees and organizations, Members-at-large, and in some cases, a paid Organizer who could devote all of their energy to accomplishing the objectives of the committee. Committees regularly prepared reports on their activities for convention (and sometimes to Provincial Council, just as each committee's Organizer would prepare reports on their activities between meetings. Most standing committees would articulate a mandate, mission statement, or constitution, and would prepare resolutions to be voted on at Convention.

This series contains the records of various committees of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia, including: the Computer Committee, the Constitution & Party Affairs Commitee, Labour Liaison Committee, the Democrat Committee, the Young New Democrats (YND), the Revenue Generation Task Force, the Standing Committee on the Environment, and more. Further subseries contain records relating to the Women's Rights Committee, the Policy Review Committee, and the Multicultural Committee are also included. Items include: meeting minutes and agenda, memos and correspondence, financial documents, clippings, strategy and constitutional documents, resolutions, notes, and other related material.

Records in this series reflect the activities of the Provincial Secretary, Party president, and other members in response to formal complaints submitted to the Party.

While informal complaints submitted by Party members are regularly received and replied to by the Provincial Secretary or by another relevant Party member, the NDP additionally has a formal complaints process in place, as outlined in the Party Constitution. Article 16.02 of the "Constitution of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia" (as amended, June 1999) states that a complaint "may be lodged with the Provincial President by any member or constituted body of the Party alleging a violation of the constitution or a statement or action resulting in severe and evident injustice to a member or constituted body of the Party." Complaints were to be submitted in writing with any pertinent evidence included, details of the events that gave rise to the complaint, and the remedy sought (article 16.04). Should the President be unable to resolve the matter equitably, a special panel could be appointed to mediate the dispute, and/or it could be referred to the Provincial Executive for consideration within 30 days (16.05). It was also "a breach of the principles and policies of the New Democratic Party for any member to seek redress for any complaint against another member or body of the Party through public notice or solicitation," (16.08), an act that items in this series suggest happened occasionally, leading to further complaints and mediation.

Complaints contained in this series are varied in the nature of the issue and in the amount of documentation accorded to each, but several cases revolve around allegations of irregular member sign-up practices during nomination periods, or other nomination irregularities. Items in this series include correspondence (predominant), notes, membership cards, memos and public communications, some clippings, and other related materials.

Records in this series reflect the functions and activities of the Provincial Secretary, in maintaining communication with Party members and members of the public, coordinating election campaigns and strategies, and administering the provincial office. A central coordinating figure in the Party, the Provincial Secretary acts as a communications hub and spokesperson, ensuring coordination between different groups, committees, and members of the party. A 1989 description of the role of the Provincial Secretary, found in file 449-14, described the position's responsibilities as such:

• Administers the policies, plans and strategies of the provincial party as adopted by the Executive, Council, and Convention
• Administers the provincial office of the party
• Liaises with all sections and components of the party
• Provincial campaign manager
  To fulfill these duties, the Provincial Secretary is often a member of numerous committees, and usually sits as a member of all executive levels of the party (Table Officers, Provincial Executive, and Provincial Council).

Records included in this series span several Provincial Secretaries, including:

• 1985 - 1987: Gerry Scott
• 1987 - 1992: Hans Brown
• 1992 - 1993: Ray Whitehead
• 1993 - 1994: Keith Reynolds
• 1994 - 1999: Brian Gardiner
• 1999 - 2000: Ron Stipp (Acting Provincial Secretary)
• 2000 - 2002: Ed Lavalle

The files contain correspondence predominantly sent and received by Gerry Scott, Hans Brown, Brian Gardiner, and Ed Lavalle. Items in this series are predominantly correspondence, though often with related materials attached, including public memos, news clippings, policy and strategy documents, poll results, and other related materials.

Records in this series represent the functions and activities of the Director of Administration for the British Columbia New Democratic Party.

File 449-14, in the "Women's Rights Committee (WRC) records" series of this fonds, includes a document entitled "Provincial Office Staffing," that defines the Director of Administration's duties as pertaining to "Election finances, tax receipts and paper flow, Party finances, cash flow, accounting, budgeting, back-up to Provincial Secretary," as well as implying supervision of specific staff and projects. The Director of Administration would often join the Provincial Secretary as a member of the B.C. Council of Federal Ridings, and would manage records related to the Federal NDP, local constituency associations, clubs, and holding societies. The Director would also manage much of the correspondence sent to the Provincial Office.

The majority of records in this series have been created by two Directors; Lin Rubin, and Sherry Hyde, who took over the Director position ca. 1991. Records in this series include correspondence, memos, budget and finance documents, meeting agenda and minutes, notes, speech transcripts, clippings, and other related materials.

For many years, British Columbia made use of two or three-member ridings in its electoral representations; these distributions did not keep pace with the rapid population growth of some areas however, and consequently many areas were soon found to be grossly under-represented. In 1985, John Dixon of the BC Civil Liberties Union petitioned the British Columbia Supreme Court to apply the Charter of Rights to the Constitution Act, and review the current allocation of seats. The case took over three years, resulted in three decisions (most notably, the conclusion that the disparity of voters to members in some regions was in fact unconstitutional), and prompted a variety of efforts to redistribute the electoral boundaries, including the Fisher Commission of Inquiry.

In the campaign leading up to the 1986 General Election, the Social Credit candidates committed their government, if re-elected, to eliminating the 17 dual-member electoral districts. After winning the election, in April of 1987 the Vander Zalm government appointed Judge Thomas Fisher to head a Royal Commission on the issue of electoral boundary redistribution. While Fisher’s initial mandate was limited, the contiguous nature of all the boundaries made redistribution within the initial terms both ambiguous and challenging, and by September 1987, his terms of reference were expanded so that his recommendations might consider all the electoral districts. Fisher’s solution was to propose increasing the number of electoral districts (thereby increasing the seats in the Legislature as well) from 69 to 75, due to population increases in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island, and the need for proportional representation within an acceptable margin. As a party, the NDP supported Fisher’s recommendations, and made several submissions to the Commission throughout its review. Ultimately, the Legislative Assembly eventually adopted Fisher’s recommendations to increase the number of electoral districts, in the Electoral Districts Act, SBC 1990, c. 39, Schedule 2, as well as Fisher’s recommendation for new legislation, as enacted in the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, SBC 1989, c. 65.

The files in this series document the NDP’s participation in this Commission, and its internal strategizing and research. These records appear to have been created by both the Provincial Secretary, and the Chair of the Redistribution Committee, Jeff Hoskins. File 392-16 appears to have been created by Blair Marshall, Redistribution Organizer. The subseries includes correspondence, memos, notes, drafts, reports, research materials, statistics, public communications, and other related materials.

Records in this subseries relate to the BC NDP’s activities in support of the 2004 Canadian federal election.

The 38th Canadian federal election was held on June 28, 2004, following the dissolution of the previous House of Commons on May 23rd, 2004 by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin. The federal New Democratic Party, now under the leadership of Jack Layton, ran a full slate of 308 candidates, and managed to secure 19 seats, up from the 14 seats held at the time of dissolution, with 5 of these seats secured in British Columbia. The next federal election was not held until 2006.

Records in this subseries have been made by two different individual creators. Files 424-10 to 424-21 have been created by David Bieber, Director of Communications. Files 425-01 to 425-05 have been created by Russ Neely, Director of Organization.

Files include correspondence, polls, reports, strategy and messaging documents, reports, notes, meeting minutes and agendas, public communications, and other related materials.

Files in this subseries reflect the function and activities of the Multicultural Committee of the BC NDP, including its various subcommittees and liaisons.

According to a “Proposed Statement of Purpose” contained in file 460-01, the Multicultural Committee of the BC NDP was established by the Provincial Executive on November 3, 1990 as a means of connecting better with cultural and linguistic constituent communities, and to support the particular needs, struggles, and interests of those communities. As a whole, the committee aimed to make Party material available in a broader range of translations, introduce relevant resolutions at Convention, organize workshops and participate in community cultural events, and encourage both the Party and the provincial government to consider the broader needs of British Columbia’s diverse communities. In 1992, the Committee also began running a regular page in the Democrat, the party’s newspaper.

Like most BC NDP committees, the Multicultural Committee was headed by a Steering Committee which included two Co-Chairs, a Secretary, a Treasurer, past-Chairs, a member of the Democrat Committee, several members at large, and various liaisons and representatives from other parts of the BC NDP; this structure evolved over time as the committee established itself. In 1993, the Steering Committee consisted of "16 Steering Committee members plus four members at large for a total of 20 voting members. ...In addition, there will be non-voting members: two Minister's staff and the Multicultural Organizer" (from file 460-02). In 1991, the Committee engaged a Multicultural organizer, a paid staff position that was terminated later by the incoming government, and reinstated in a part-time capacity in 1993. Various subcommittees were formed within the Multicultural committee as well on either a standing or adhoc basis, such as the Membership, Education, Resolutions, Policy, and Working subcommittees. File 459-14 (under the March 10, 1992 tab) contains a "Strategy and Tactics" document that further outlines the intended outcomes and methods of the committee.

Items in this subseries include meeting notices, agenda and minutes, visioning documents, correspondence, public communications, clippings, reports, memos, and other related materials.

These records relate to Provincial NDP activities in support of the November 21, 1988 Federal Election. During this election, the Federal NDP party secured 43 seats, 19 of which were in British Columbia. Records in this subseries appear to have been created by the Provincial Secretary, Hans Brown, and were kept at the central office of the NDP.

Records in this subseries include party strategic documents such as the Spring Campaign and Fall Campaigns for membership, fundraising, and political support; committee minutes and communications such as the Revenue Sharing Task Force and the Revenue Generating Task Force; correspondence and public communications; surveys; notes and drafts; and other related materials.

Records in this series relate to the British Columbia NDP's activities in support of the 2000 federal election.

Held on November 27, 2000, the 37th general election was called early by Liberal Party Prime Minister Jean Chretien. The federal NDP, under the leadership of Alexa McDonough, succeeded in securing 13 seats in Parliament, a loss of 8 seats from the previous election in 1997. The BC NDP also did not fare well in the federal election, possibly due to the resignation of Premier Glen Clark in August of 1999 surrounding allegations that he had accepted favours in return for approving a casino application. The next federal election was not held until 2004.

Records in this series have been made by multiple creators. Files 412-01 to 412-04 were created by Ed Lavalle, Provincial Secretary. The creator of files 412-05 to 412-15 is uncertain, but appear to be the Director of Communications. Similarly, the creator of files 412-16 to 412-21 is uncertain, but appears to be Ron Stipp, Director of Organization.

Files include correspondence, memos, public communications, polls, candidate biographies, clippings, draft advertisements and promotional materials, agendas and minutes, and other related materials.

Records included in this subseries relate to a provincial court case, known as Friesen v. Hammell, brought against three NDP MLA’s, Premier Glen Clark, and the NDP itself, in which the respondents were accused of electoral fraud. The case took place from late 1996, moving through various appeals until August 2000, when it was finally overturned and the original respondents were acquitted.

Shortly before the dropping of the writ for the May 28, 1996 provincial election in British Columbia, then Minister of Finance Elizabeth Cull tabled a pre-election balanced budget in the legislature, on which incumbent NDP candidate Glen Clark campaigned, claiming it was an example of the NDP’s sound fiscal management. While the NDP narrowly lost the popular vote with 39.45% to the Liberal’s 41.82%, the party succeeded in securing 39 seats to the Liberal’s 33, and Glen Clark renewed his mandate as Premier. Shortly after the election however, newly appointed Finance Minister Andrew Petter completed a budgetary review, and concluded that in fact, the budget for 1996 would not be balanced, contradicting the projections that Cull had tabled before the election for the 1995/96 and 1996/97 budgets. This sparked public controversy, and the media began referring to the episode as the “Fudge-it Budget” scandal. Following this, David Stockell, a resident of Kelowna, founded a group called HELP BC (an acronym for Help Eradicate Lying Politicians) with the intention of launching a court case against the Clark and the New Democratic Party, claiming the party had defrauded voters. The group received funding for its case from the National Citizen’s Coalition (NCC), a conservative lobby group with a strong base in Alberta, and political support from the BC Liberals and others. David Stockell had in fact voted Liberal in the 1996 election and therefore could not name himself as a petitioner in the court case; instead, HELP BC began an outreach campaign to ask members of the public who had voted for the NDP on the basis of its budgetary promises to step forward as petitioners. Three British Columbians from different ridings were identified: Leonard Friesen of the Surrey Green Timbers riding, Holly Kuzenko of New Westminster, and Mildred Umbarger of Rossland Trail. The initial court case was brought forward as a class proceeding, against not only the MLA’s of each riding (Sue Hammell of Surrey Green Timbers, Graeme Bowbrick of New Westminster, and Ed Conroy of Rossland Trail), but also all electoral district MLA’s, electoral officers, Glen Clark, and the NDP itself. The trial began at the end of 1996, and proceeded through various appeals, with the NDP and other respondents eventually being dismissed from the proceedings except for the three MLA’s initially named – though in January 1999, the BC Court of Appeals ruled that the case could go to full trial in the British Columbia Supreme Court. In August of 2000 however, the case was finally thrown out, and the respondents acquitted.

Records include court documents, drafts and research notes, correspondence, media clippings and transcripts, opinion polls, and other related materials.

Subseries consists of records related to the Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society, its related organizations, and the various commissions and investigations into its activities, 1988-2001.

The Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society (NCHS) was a non-profit organization created by the CCF in 1954 to hold properties, provide event spaces, and support the organizing efforts of what would become the New Democratic Party. One of its primary methods of fundraising was through bingos. The formation of the NCHS was largely assisted by David Daniel Stupich, a former chicken farmer and accountant, who was later elected as the Nanaimo MLA for the NDP in 1963. Stupich remained heavily involved in Nanaimo politics, acting as a provincial NDP MLA from 1963-1969 and 1972-1988, and then as a federal NDP representative for the Nanaimo-Cowichan district from 1988 until 1993.

Under provincial regulations at the time, at least 25% of a bingo’s gross revenues were to be donated to charity. However, in 1988 the RCMP received a tip from Frank Murphy, one of the directors of the NCHS Charities Society (NCHS C/S) concerning the misdirection of funds. The RCMP proceeded to investigate, but the case failed to proceed due to lack of evidence. In May of 1992, allegations about the NCHS’s redirection of charity funds reached the media, including allegations that some of these funds had been redirected for NDP use, and the event quickly became known among the press as “Bingogate”. This prompted the RCMP to re-open an investigation (dubbed "Project Enigma"), and in 1993 search warrants were obtained. The investigation led to charges against the NCHS and several of its related societies in 1994 but, on the recommendations of Special Prosecutor Ace Henderson, not against any individuals involved. As the details of the case came to light, the NDP faced increasing public pressure to account for its actions, and in 1994, the services of Ron Parks, a forensics accountant with Lindquist Avey Macdonald Baskerville, were engaged to further analyze the collected evidence. The Parks Report, as it became known, was submitted in May of 1995, and among many other allegations, it suggested that in 1983-1984, the NCHS had funneled money ear-marked for charities into the NDP-owned Democrat Publications, which the NDP then attempted to pay back in 1993 as the NCHS allegations reached the media. This led to public accusations of a cover-up on the part of the NDP, and following the submission of the Parks Report, Bill M 207, the “Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society Public Inquiry Act” was passed in the legislature in 1995, calling for a public commission to investigate the activities of the NCHS. Headed for the majority of its time by Murray Smith and publicly known as the Smith Commission of Inquiry, the public inquiry began in late 1996, and continued until 2001. In 1999, at the age of 77, David Stupich pleaded guilty to fraud and the illegal operation of a lottery. He died in February of 2006.

Subseries includes court documents (primarily related to the Smith Commission of Inquiry), media clippings and transcripts, correspondence, public communications, reports, drafts, and other related material.

Files in this subseries reflect the functions and activities of the Policy Review Committee (PRC) of the BC NDP, including its various policy subcommittees and committee liaisons.

The PRC functions as an aggregate body, composed of policy subcommittees formed by a motion of the Provincial Council to review and/or develop policies for the Party around a particular issue or topic. Policy subcommittees could be formed to respond to specific areas where a Party policy response was required immediately, or they could exist as standing subcommittees, as was often the case. Membership in any subcommittee is open to Party members in good standing, and committee membership is re-established on an annual basis. Each subcommittee has a Chair (or two Co-Chairs), and the Policy Review Committee is composed of all chairs of the policy subcommittees. Standing subcommittees have included: Advanced education, Agriculture, Economic, Education, Gay & Lesbian Rights, Health, Housing, Justice & legal affairs, Labour, Human Rights & Anti-racism, Social services, Tourism & cultural affairs, Transportation, and so forth. In many years, a representative of the Young New Democratics (YND) and a representative of the Women's Rights Committee (WRC) would also act as liaising members of the PRC. Policy subcommittees would review old policy, develop new policy as either resolutions for Convention or as Party policy statements, prepare background and/or discussion papers on relevant issues, and promote internal awareness and education about issues relevant to the Party. Finally, the PRC itself would often act in an advisory capacity to the Strategy & Election Planning Committee (SEPC) and the Elections Platform Committee (EPC) during the campaign period of of provincial elections.

Files in this subseries include materials from both the PRC itself, as well as records of its various subcommittees. Items covered include meeting minutes and agenda, memos and notices, background and discussion papers, media clippings, handwritten notes, drafts, public communications, policy documents and proposals, resolutions, and other related materials.

This subseries contains records pertaining to the Honourary Life Members (HLM) Committee. Each year, the committee, often made up of three individuals, would receive nominations from constituency associations including biographical sketches and letters of reference in support of long-standing and dedicated members. The committee would review the standing and contributions of these nominees, and would select candidates to be awarded Honourary Life Member status at the upcoming NDP provincial convention. Since at least the mid-1970's the standard number of annual HLM inductees has been 10, often with 2 alternates selected. Nominees not selected for the year in question are often kept on file by the committee for consideration the following convention year, and in some instances when conventions have not occurred yearly, up to 20 members will be selected.

File 434-21 contains a document from 1980 that reproduces the text printed on the member cards given to HLMs at convention:

"The cause of socialism is advance by the efforts of millions of dedicated individuals who remain anonymous,
To honour them, our convention decision is to proclaim the bearer of this card as one who, by courage and perserverance, illuminates the pages of our history.
Honourary Life Membership is the highest form of recognition the New Democratic Pary of British Columbia can bestow."

Records in this subseries include correspondence, convention materials, clippings, public communicaitons, forms, and other related materials.

Series consists of three subseries relating to court cases, commissions of inquiry, investigations, and related events that involved or significantly impacted the New Democratic Party or its members.

1) Files related to the David Stockell case
2) Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society records
3) Files related to Robin Blencoe

Materials in this series cover BC NDP activities in support of elections held at the municipal, provincial, and federal level. Provincial elections covered by materials in the series include 1983, 1986, 1991, 1996, and 2001; federal elections covered include 1988, 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. A separate subseries contains a large amount of Party candidate biographies dating predominantly from the 1970's, which were kept at the Central Office for reuse and reference. Though polls can be found throughout the series, a large concentration of them were received grouped together, and have been kept as such in their own subseries. Similarly, records related to the one-time activity around the Fisher Commission on Electoral Redistribution (1986-1989) have been placed in their own subseries.

As a political party, elections represent a primary activity and concern of the BC NDP, in which the Provincial Secretary would play an important role. In several cases, former Provincial Secretaries would be hired by the Party as Campaign Managers. The Director of Communications would also play a key role during elections, often acting as a member or the chair of a Communications Subcommittee of the Elections Planning Committee (EPC; also referred to as the Strategy and Elections Planning Committee or SEPC) and overseeing advertising, public opinion, and party messaging in conjunction with the Campaign Manager. The EPC or SEPC, a standing committee, was generally made up of members of the Executive, as well as important contractors (such as advertisement producers) engaged by the party to assist in its elections efforts. The Director of Organization was often a member of the EPC as well, and oversaw the coordination of campaign organizers in each electoral district. The majority of the records found throughout these subseries have been created either by the Provincial Secreatary or the Director of Communications.

Records include correspondence, notes and drafts, memos, public announcements, polls, media clippings, court documents, agendas and minutes, public communications, budgetary documents, candidate biographies and supporting materials, campaign literature, strategy and messaging documents, reports, schedules, and other related materials.

The records in this series relate to the BC NDP's activities and relationship with the federal New Democratic Party of Canada. The provincial party maintained regular contact with the national party through participation in federal executive, council, and caucus meetings throughout the year. These activities increased during federal elections, as each provincial party worked closely with federal organizers and representatives to coordinate provincial campaigns in support of the national election. Other party business, including finances, party renewal and membership, messaging, party structure, and related issues are also represented in these files.

In most cases, it appears that the Provincial Secretary represented the provincial party as a member of the Federal Executive (see for example, file 418-02, which contains a card congratulating Provincial Secretary Hans Brown on his nomination to the Federal Executive, 1991-1993). Correspondingly, the majority of these records appear to have been created by the Provincial Secretary - including over the course of the series Provincial Secretaries Gerry Scott, Hans Brown, Ray Whitehead, and Keith Reynolds. In some cases the individual creator could not be definitively determined, and some files suggest that another member of the provincial executive may have represented the BC NDP at federal meetings or on specific committees (see the Related materials note below).

These records include correspondence, polls, public communications, memoranda, strategy documents, media clippings, agendas and minutes, position and policy documents, and other related materials.

Files in this series reflect the functions and activities of the Director of Organization of the BC NDP. Based at the provincial office, a 1989 document entitled "Provincial Office Staffing (file 449-14, in the "Women's Rights Committee (WRC) records") describes the Director of Organization's activities as including acting as a liaison with labour union representatives, constituency profile coordination and development, voter registration drive coordinaton, by-election recruitment and monitoring, computer services coordination, pre-election organizational planning, workshop development, and attending the Strategy and Elections Planning Committee (SEPC), in addition to overseeing and liaising with several projects and representatives. The Director of Organization was, at various times, members of other committees, such as the Federal Finance Committee and the Computer Committee.

Files in this series have been created by several Directors of Organization, including John Pollard, Ron Stipp (ca. 1992), Russ Neally (ca. 2000), and Heather Fraser (ca. 2004). They include topics such as by-election organizing, conventions, Party membership, budgeting and financial matters, electoral redistribution, and more. Items include correspondence, memos, meeting minutes and agenda, handwritten notes, surveys and poll results, clippings,

This series contains materials related to the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation's BC and Yukon chapter, as well as some early BC NDP materials.

The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), widely considered Canada's first socialist political party, was founded in Calgary, Alberta on July 31, 1932 by a gathering of socialist and labour groups, and political activists, brought together by the increasing challenges of the Great Depression. The party's first leader was James Shaver Woodsworth, a former Methodist minister, social activist, and outspoken Member of Parliament. The BC section of the CCF was formed in 1933 by a coalition of the Socialist Party of Canada (BC), the League for Social Reconstruction, and other related organizations. In the 1933 provincial elections, the new provincial party managed to secure enough votes to become the official opposition until 1937. In 1961, the federal CCF changed its name to the New Democratic Party, following an alliance with the Canadian Labour Congress; most sections quickly followed suit.

Records in this series are by no means a complete portrait of CCF years; rather they appear represent stray records donated by retiring NDP members or found in the provincial office. Items in this series include correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, clippings, CCF convention materials, budget documents, early NDP publications, and other related materials.

This subseries contains photographs and brief biographical portraits of NDP candidates, used prior to and during election campaigns. In most cases, after nomination, the Provincial Secretary would request photographs and a brief biography for use in the creation of promotional materials and press releases. These would often be updated before each election period. In some cases a standard form was used, which the candidate would fill out; in others, the candidate submitted their own documents. Records include those of many former Party leaders, including David Barrett, Ujjal Dosanjh, Michael Harcourt, Robert Skelly, and Robert Strachan. The subseries appears to have been added to by multiple Provincial Secretaries, and though different naming conventions were followed, a general alphabetic order was maintained.

Files in this subseries include items such as textual records, drafts, clippings, printed materials, photographs and related media.

Polls were a regular part of election preparations for the BC NDP, and over time, many different companies were engaged by the New Democrats to conduct baseline polls, panels, and focus groups. While polls were often conducted specifically leading up to an election, they would be used to gauge public sentiment throughout the year, and many polls prepared by and for third parties were consulted, analyzed, and kept on hand as well. Though their original placement within the Provincial Offices is unknown, at the time of their receipt by RBSC, these files grouped together, suggesting that they had been maintained as such throughout their active use.

This subseries contains polls, drafts, correspondence, public communications, clippings, and other related materials. The subseries contains the records of at least 4 individuals, and 2 positions. The majority of the records have been created by the Provincial Secretary (held by 3 different individuals over the course of the subseries), with a subset of records created by a campaign organizer - though other files suggest he may have been the Director of Communications at the time. Based on the contents of the files, the records appear to be created as follows:

• Files 392-17/18, and 392-20 to 394-02 created by Gerry Scott, Provincial Secretary
• Files 392-19, 394-03/09, and 395-30 to 398-02 created by Hans Brown, Provincial Secretary
• Files 394-10 to 395-29 appear to be created by Ron Johnson, campaign organizer and Director of Communications
• Files 398-3 to 398-08 created by Brian Gardiner, Provincial Secretary
  Materials in file 398-09 were found loose, unfiled with the polling materials created by Brian Gardiner, though their creator is uncertain.

This subseries consists of files from several different individual creators, relating primarily to by-elections and civic elections, with some materials in file 398-11 that relate to the federal electoral district of Okanagan-Shushwap.

Elections covered by the series include:

• The 1988 Surrey municipal election, in which the Surrey Civic Electors ran as an NDP-supported party
• The 1988 federal election in the newly created riding of Okanagan-Shushwap, in which Lyle MacWilliam of the NDP ran and won
• The 1989 Cariboo by-election, called after the death of MLA Alexander Fraser, in which NDP member David Zirnhelt was elected.
• The 1989 Oak Bay-Gordon Head by-election, called after the resignation of MLA Brian Smith, in which NDP member Elizabeth Cull was elected.
• The 1994 Matsqui by-election, called after the resignation of MLA Peter Dueck, in which NDP member Sam Wagar was originally uncontested for NDP nomination in the riding, until a controversy surrounding his Wiccan religious beliefs prompted a second nomination election, which Wagar lost by two votes to Lynn Fairall. In the election, Fairall was defeated by Liberal Party member Mike de Jong.
• The 1995 Abbotsford by-election, called after the resignation of MLA Harry de Jong, in which NDP member Rollie Kieth was defeated by Liberal Party member John van Dongen.
• The 1997 Surrey-White Rock by-election, called after the resignation of MLA Wilf Hurd, in which NDP member David Thompson was defeated by Liberal Party member Gordon Hogg.

Creators included in this subseries include:

• Elaine Bernard, Provincial President (files 398-10/11)
• Ron Johnson, Communications Director (files 398-12 to 399-02)
• Carol Adams, Communications officer (file 399-03)
• Hans Brown, Provincial Secretary (files 399-04/05)
• Lin Rubin, Director of Administration (file 399-06)
• Patrice Pratt, Provincial President (file 399-07)
• Sherry Hyde, Director of Administration (file 399-08)
• Brian Gardiner, Provincial Secretary (files 399-09 to 400-01)

The subseries includes correspondence, media clippings, drafts, campaign materials, leaftlets, public communcations and memoranda, polls, and other related materials.

British Columbia's 35th General Election was held on October 17th, 1991. Prior to the election the NDP held 22 seats in the legislature, and they emerged from the 1991 election with 51, taking power with Mike Harcourt as the newly elected Premier of British Columbia. Though the Social Credit party had previously been in power since 1975, a series of scandals and shifts in social policy negatively affected the party's public standing, culminating in the conflict of interest scandal surrounding Premier Bill Vander Zalm's sale of his Fantasy Gardens flower garden and theme park, which led to his resignation as premier. These events opened a window of opportunity for the BC ND, who campaigned strongly on the theme of "It's time for a change." The next general election was not held in British Columbia until 1996.

Records in this series have been created by two distinct creators:

• Files 400-02 to 404-11 created by Hans Brown, Provincial Secretary
• Files 404-12 to 407-03 created by Ron Johnson, Director of Communications
  Records include correspondence, drafts, notes, campaign literature and public communications, media clippings, budgetary documents, candidate biographies, strategy documents, minutes and agendas, polls, and other related materials.

Records in this subseries relate to the BC NDP's activities leading up to and following the 1996 Provincial General Election. The 36th Provincial General Election was called on April 30, 1996, and held on May 28, 1996. The BC NDP, under the leadership of Glen Clark, ran a full 75 candidates in the election. Heading into the election the NDP held a 51 seat majority, but Mike Harcourt's resignation surrounding the "Bingogate Scandal" (see: the "Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society" subseries in the "Legal proceedings, investigations, and inquiries" series of this fonds) affected the party's public perception, at a time when the BC Liberal party was gaining popularity. Ultimately, the BC NDP secured a narrow majority government, with 39 seats, while the Liberals, previously holding only 17 seats, retained the Official Opposition with 33 seats.

Records in this subseries have been created by the following individuals:

• Files 409-06 to 410-16, the majority of the files in this subseries, have been created by Jim Kirk, Director of Communications
• File 410-17 appears to have been created by Hans Brown, former Provincial Secretary and Campaign Manager for the 1996 election
• Files 410-18 to 411-04 created by Sherry Hyde, Director of Administration
• File 411-05 appears to have been created by Brian Gardiner, Provincial Secretary

Files include polls, correspondence, memos, drafts and notes, public communications, clippings, financial documents, and other materials related to the 1996 election. File 411-04 contains correspondence around the implementation of recent changes to the Election Act, as well as challenges to the revised Election Act. File 411-05 includes court documents and legal correspondence about a judicial recount in the Okanagan-Boundary electoral district following the election.

Subseries contains court documents, media clippings, correspondence, and other materials related to the trial of Robin Blencoe.

Blencoe was an NDP MLA who went on to serve in the Cabinet of Mike Harcourt as Minister of Municipal Affairs (1991-1993), Minister of Government Services (1993-1995) and the Minister Responsible for Sport and Commonwealth Games of British Columbia (1993-1995). In 1994, several allegations of sexual assault surfaced against Blencoe and were closely followed by the media, eventually forcing him from office in 1995. During the hearings, one of the plaintiffs submitted an application to the BC Supreme Court to name the New Democratic Party as a party in the case on the basis of vicarious liability, but the application was dismissed. Ultimately a BC Human Rights tribunal ruled against Blencoe in the case, and ordered him to pay $5,000 to the plaintiff.

Due to delays of the tribunal hearings however, the original claims were not resolved within the first 30 months since the original filing, and Blencoe sought to have the case dismissed by the BC Supreme Court as a violation of his Charter rights. The motion for dismissal was denied, but the BC Court of Appeals later ruled in Blencoe's favour and ordered the charges stayed. Blencoe's case became national news when the case went to the Supreme Court of Canada (Blencoe v. British Columbia (Human Rights Commission), [2000] 2 S.C.R. 307 ), where a 5-4 ruling overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal, and held that the 30 month delay did not violate the Charter or administrative law.

British Columbia’s 34th General Election took place on October 22nd, 1986. Prior to the election, the BC New Democratic Party held 22 seats in the Legislature; under the leadership of Bob Skelly, the Party fielded a full 69 candidates for the 1986 general election, emerging yet again with 22 seats, and approximately 42.6% of the popular vote. The incumbent Social Credit party, now under the leadership of Bill Vander Zalm, took the remaining 47 seats and returned to power. The next general election in British Columbia was not held until 1991.

Records in this subseries include candidate biographical statements and photographs, campaign literature and public communications, correspondence, drafts, memos, media and campaign strategy documents, committee reports and minutes, and other related materials. These records appear to have been predominantly created by Gerry Scott, Provincial secretary, or in some cases, Soren Bech, Director of Communications.

Records in this series relate to the British Columbia NDP's activities in support of the 1993 federal election.

The 35th Canadian federal general election was held on October 25, 1993. During this time, the BC NDP Central Office became an organizing hub for regional campaigns, with BC candidates running for 32 federal seats in the election. However, the Federal NDP party, under the leadership of Audrey McLaughlin, fared poorly in the 1993 election, securing only 9 seats. This was reflected in British Columbia, where all but two of the Federal NDP MP's lost their seats. The next federal election did not occur until 1997.

Records in this series have been predominantly created by Jim Kirk, Director of Communications (files 407-04 to 408-10). Files 408-11 to 409-05 were located in the Executive Secretary's office at the time of appraisal, though their creator is uncertain; file 409-05 appears to have been created by Sherry Hyde, Director of Administration.

Records include correspondence, memos, policy and strategy documents, public communications, campaign advertisements and media scripts, clippings, pamphlets, polls, minutes, meeting agendas, and other related materials.

Records in this series relate to provincial NDP activities in support of the 1997 Federal Election, called on April 26, 1997, and held on June 2, 1997. The federal NDP, under the leadership of Alexa McDonough, managed to regain official party status (lost after securing only 9 seats in the 1993 federal election) by winning 21 seats. The next federal election was not held until 2000.

In British Columbia, former Provincial Secretary Gerry Scott was engaged as the BC Campaign Manager, and current Provincial Secretary Brian Gardiner joined the Communications Working Group of the Elections Planning Committee (EPC). These records appear to have been created by Brian Gardiner, Provincial Secretary, and include public communications, memoranda, messaging documents, newsletters, candidate biographies, correspondence, reports, polls, and other related materials.

Records in this subseries relate to BC NDP activity surrounding the 37th provincial general election in BC, held on May 16, 2001. Though the Party ran a full slate of 79 candidates in the 2001 election, the BC NDP’s public perception was still suffering as a result of the media-dubbed “Bingogate scandal” which had led to Glen Clark’s resignation as Premier in August of 1999. Under the leadership of Ujjal Dosanjh, the former Attorney General of BC who had successfully won the NDP leadership race in February of 2000, the New Democratic Party succeeded in retaining only 2 of their previous 39 seats in the provincial legislature, those of incumbents Joy McPhail (Vancouver-Hastings) and Jenny Kwan (Vancouver-Mount Pleasant). The BC Liberals, under the leadership of former Vancouver mayor Gordon Campbell, won the remaining 77 seats. The next provincial election was not held until 2005.

The records in this series were received by RBSC in one box; though their contents suggest multiple individual creators, it is difficult to determine at a file-by-file level which files were created by whom. Based on an examination of the contents of the files and notes supplied by the appraising archivist, the likely creators of these files are Ed Lavalle, Provincial Secretary and Acting Campaign Manager for the 2001 election, and either the Director of Communications or David Bieber, Communications Officer for the BC NDP.

Materials in this subseries include correspondence, polls, candidate nomination materials, public communications, campaign literature, media clippings, notes, meeting agendas and minutes, candidate biographies and photographs, financial documents, and other related materials. Certain items not directly related to the election were intermingled with loose materials discovered in the box; they have been left in their received order and can be found in file 415-01.

Records in this series relate to several Recall campaigns initiated under the Recall Initiative Act, against NDP party members and other elected officials ca. 1996-2000.

The Recall and Initiative Act was first introduced by the Attorney General to the Legislative Assembly as Bill 36, in June of 1994, received Royal Assent on July 8 1994, and was brought into force by Order in Council on February 24, 1995. It was amended September 1, 1995 as a result of changes to the Election Act, and consolidated in the 1996 Revised Statutes of British Columbia as RSBC 1996 Chapter 398. As of 2011, British Columbia is the only province with Recall legislation in place. Almost immediately following the act’s adoption, the NDP found Recall campaigns initiated against several of its MLA’s, most notably in Skeena, Comox Valley, and Prince George North.

The Recall and Initiative Act is administered by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). According to Elections BC, Recall is, “is a process that allows registered voters to petition for the removal of a Member of the Legislative Assembly between elections. Any registered voter can apply to have a petition issued for the recall of their MLA. …A Member cannot be recalled during the first 18 months after their election.” Within 60 days of successfully filing a recall petition, Recall proponents must collect signatures in support of the recall from at least 40% of the registered voters in an MLA’s riding for the motion to succeed. No specific rules or limitations govern the reasons for initiating recall. As of 2011, the CEO has overseen 24 recall campaigns, of which 23 have been unsuccessful, and in the final case, Liberal MLA Paul Reitsma resigned before the results could be tallied.

Following the 1996 Provincial election, recall campaigns were initiated in Prince George North (MLA Paul Ramsey, proponent Pertti Harkonen) and Skeena (MLA Helmut Giesbrecht, proponent G. Lorne Sexton), days after the 18 month suspension following election expired. Shortly after, another major campaign began in Comox Valley (MLA Evelyn Gillespie, proponent Robert Saint Amour). Several of these MLA’s further experienced secondary recall campaigns, but the majority of these were never submitted to the CEO within the required 60 days. A third recall campaign was initiated against Paul Ramsey (proponent former Liberal MLA Bob Viergever), but was also never submitted. In several ridings, supporters of the elected MLA’s formed anti-recall groups and campaigns, such as the Citizens for Local Democracy in Prince George North, the Skeena Taxpayer’s Association, and the Comox Valley Citizens Concerned About Fairness. A dispute between Prince George North recall proponent Pertti Harkonen and CEO Robert Patterson regarding which of the voters' lists provided by the CEO to the recall campaign should be used as the basis for determining the success or failure of the campaigns led to a judicial review, Harkonen v. Patterson. Other attempts to begin campaigns, including a “Recall Glen Clark” campaign, and a "Total Recall" campaign (in which proponents sought to recall all elected NDP officials), are also covered by the series. In 1998, following allegations of fraud, confusion around the act, and overspending on the part of MLA’s, forensic accountant Ronald Parks, of Lindquist Avey Macdonald Baskerville, was engaged by CEO Robert Patterson to investigate and report back (known as the Parks Report, 1999). In 1998, following a December 1997 interview with Paul Ramsey for the Vancouver Province (reporter Donald Hauka), Ramsey launched a libel suit against Hauka, Ben Meisner of CKPG Radio in Prince George, and Pacific Press for misinterpreting a statement he made, and repeating this misinterpretation with defamatory statements (Ramsey v. Pacific Press). The case was eventually settled out of court.

Records in this series include financial documents, correspondence, media clippings, public communications, copies of legislation and court documents, and other records related to recall initiatives in British Columbia.