Fonds RBSC-ARC-1795 - Regional District Review Committee fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Regional District Review Committee fonds

General material designation

Parallel title

The Farmer Committee fonds

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on juridical body that accumulated the records.
  • Parallel titles and other title information: Parallel title based on colloquial name for the Regional District Review Committee when it was chaired by Philip Farmer.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

RBSC-ARC-1795

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

Physical description area

Physical description

79.5 cm of textual records
7 maps

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1977-1978)

Administrative history

The Regional District Review Committee of the Legislature was initiated on September 8, 1977, to review the regional district concept as it was being implemented in British Columbia. It was the first comprehensive review of regional districts since their inception. The committee members – Phillip Farmer, Rendina Hamilton of Penticton, Alfred O. Hood of Victoria, Daphne Phillips of Dawson Creek, and Ronald Thompson of Galiano – all had experience in local government in British Columbia. Farmer was named chair by agreement of the committee, and Brigadier-General E.D. Danby served as the committee’s executive secretary. Because of his leadership role, the Regional District Review Committee was also known as “The Farmer Committee.”

Appointed by Hugh Curtis, Minister of Municipal Affairs, pursuant to order-in-council Number 2888, the committee was authorized to examine:

1) the jurisdictional role of regional districts, including an examination of present and future functions and responsibilities;

2) the structural and administrative organization of regional districts including internal and external boundaries; the relationships between regional districts and Provincial, municipal and the citizens; and Provincial financial support policy for the regional districts; and

3) such other issues germane to the review of the regional district concept as may be appropriate.

To these ends, the committee was empowered to seek briefs from interested parties and hold public hearings at various locations throughout the province.

The Review Committee held 41 public hearings at which it received 366 written and verbal submissions and an additional 150 pieces of correspondence, including one from the Greater Vancouver Regional District. The responses revealed a diversity of issues, making the differences amongst the 29 regional districts quite evident.

After becoming ill in June 1978 following the conclusion of the committee’s public hearings, Farmer resigned the position of committee chair in September 1978, at which time Rendina Hamilton was appointed acting chair and later chair of the committee. The Committee's final report, released on October 31, 1978, recommended the regional district governance model be retained, and made a total of 52 suggestions for changes. After submission of the report to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Hugh Curtis, the committee was dissolved.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The fonds consists primarily of records relating to Philip Farmer’s work as chair of the 1977-1978 Regional District Review Committee of the British Columbia Legislature. Committee records include reports, maps, statues and by-laws, memoranda and correspondence, press clippings, annual requisitions and budgets, public hearing briefs or exhibits, and other textual records. There is also a copy of minutes from a meeting held by the Regional District Review Committee on December 15th, 1977.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

Arranged based on functional analysis of creating agency and records present.

Language of material

Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

Associated materials

Related materials

Accruals

General note

Records were accumulated by the Regional District Review Committee between 1977-1978 pursuant to their mandate and to facilitate the preparation of their report. The vast majority of the records are photocopied reproductions of originals, however, some original print publications, such as brochures, date back to 1975.

Alternative identifier(s)

Standard number area

Standard number

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Control area

Description record identifier

Rules or conventions

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Arranged and described by Stuart Graham Hill, June - July 2018. Finding aid developed with previous input by other archival students.

Language of description

Script of description

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related places

Related genres