[The Mississauga Muse]

On Wednesday, The Corporation of the City of Mississauga is scheduled to pass amendments to their records "retention" by-law which really is a by-law that lays out when records are to be destroyed.

They have added new kinds of records to the bylaw, the most obvious addition being "email".

I've read the municipal acts that apply to handling/destruction of records and it seems that the Province leaves this entirely up to the municipalities.

Seems that if a municipality passes a by-law that orders destruction of a record (like email) within 24 hours of receiving it, they are free to do so.

Anyone know?

Mayor and Councillors passed this by-law at last week's General Committee and it will be up at Council on Wednesday without a single word of discussion. The changes to this by-law couldn't have come at a worse time (Holidays).

I've been working on trying to understand the implications of this Destruction Schedule ever since.

The "Whereas" and "Therefore" coupled with the legalese of Provincial Acts have me so dejected because I just can't keep up and if what's happening really is happening (that they're going to delete emails varying from 30 to 90 days) they're killing people's voices.

Think how many people write city halls now with email! And is this happening in other municipalities? At the Province level? Federal?

Am I right in thinking that this is a way for our own governments to erase --history of a people?

I really could use help here.

Thanks.

 

[FutureMayor]

Mississauga Muse I'm really enjoying your blog on the News website! It's great to have a new media outlet to hold City Council accountable for their actions, which until recently limited to what was printed in the News. Now you have them caught on Youtube! Brilliant! Congratulations!

I have some experience working in an MPP's office and the standard protocol was that the e-mails were deleted after 90 days. It actually happened automatically. The history and trash bin was emptied every evening. I found that I had to print out e-mails to have a permanet record on file, and in many cases I forwarded e-mails to my own personal account.

While the city of Mississauga may attempt to destroy records on their end, the beauty of the internet is that the sender also has a copy of the correspondence on their computer.

I would encourage you to speak out on the matter before Council. Good Luck!

Louroz

 

[Jarrek]

I thinik Mississauga should apply the same principles in destroying e-mails as they do in destroying their heritage properties.

:rollin

 

[cacruden]

Public institutions should be required to meet the same retention guidelines that the financial institutions (brokers) are held to (a pretty high standard I believe).

 

[Archivistower]

Actually, now that municipalities (and universities) are governed by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, their records are subject to considerable more scrutiny than any in the private sector.

In reality, since Municipal goverrnments have less experience with Freedom of Information, they are somewhat less skilled at administering the act. Also, in any context, it is difficult to sort out the extremely broad definition of "record" in the act, with what actually happens in government. People send out slide packages, everybody prints it and goes to a meeting, and they throw it out when they get back to their office. If every municipal employee kept every e-mail and every piece of paper, you'd not find anything, ever because there would be too much to wade through.

The Feds have attempted to administer a system of retention for Emails. As you can imagine, it is really really hard to do. For one thing, you need not to keep all those "Do you want to go to Sambuca's for lunch?" e-mails, but if people can delete anything, there's nothing to prevent them from deleting important decision-making data. I think the federal system forces employees to classify their e-mail into a large electronic file plan that determines retention. Of course, when you have hundreds of people doing so many varied tasks, their ability to correctly categorize anything is quite limited, and "Other" gets a lot of stuff placed under it.

It's all a mess.

{RecordsManagement}Tower

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I can't wait to see them trying to record the conversations during "power lunches".

AoD

 

[cacruden]

If municipalities will not or cannot handle the proper archiving of "records" which include email or instant messenger etc. (all of which brokers are required to do), then the only solution is for the Ontario government (which is responsible for municipalities) should be providing the services -- and the municipalities would be required to cooperate.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Just a quick thank you to everyone for their comments and advice on the handling/retention/destruction of municipal records.

I went in front of Mississauga Council today for a deputation in an attempt to stop them from passing their By-Law 537-96. I failed.

Still, I felt some success. I only needed two beta-blockers this time to calm the heart, legs and voice tremors. Didn't get to say all I needed in teh 10-minute time limit but that's ok.

I'm going to follow it up with a hardcopy letter to Council and hand-deliver that letter because I know that way it'll go into the Council minutes as an official (permanent) record. And, eventually on microfilm-permanence.

In the future someone will know I crabbed bitterly about their by-law and The Future's going to know that both times, not a single Councillor peeped a peep of concern about The Process.

I'm just left wondering what happened today after the passing of 537-96 --whether Mr. Delete-Key did his thing to the "stacks and stacks" of storage tapes they had....

Oh! Yes. One other thing. I managed to do a major dump on mississauga.ca and I was really happy about that. Plus I learned that next time, put all the dumps you want to deliver up to the front lest you run out of time.

Then. Stand back.

 

[FutureMayor]

I saw that you were on today's Council Agenda. I missed it on television because I was in a meeting.

Thank you for speaking up on the matter!

Louroz

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Hey there, Future Mayor,

I want to go back to your original post. At first I was far too busy to comment properly because I had to research Mississauga "Records Retention" Bylaw 537-96 (AKA "Records Destruction") so I'd be prepared to go up in front of Council like you suggested. Yesterday, after it was all done, I crashed but after a good night's sleep I'm ready to explore what you wrote.

Mississauga Muse I'm really enjoying your blog on the News website!

Have you commented? There's this commenter, "uatu" who has a few people intrigued...anyway.

I knew the time commitment would be huge --but it's now grown to all-consuming. It's the research. And not so much the research but penetrating The Corporation to get at the information.

After all for this Blog to mean anything, it has to be based on solid evidence and science.

You wrote:

It's great to have a new media outlet to hold City Council accountable for their actions, which until recently limited to what was printed in the News.

Future Mayor, I hate to break this to you, but it's not possible to hold City Council accountable for anything. You're delusional if you believe that. And that's true of all City Councils --at least in the Province of Ontario.

Remember. I was the only citizen to sit in on the Bill 130 Standing Committee deliberations. I have it all recorded so I can go back over and over those debates.

I've read the Acts. I've read the agendas and minutes. I've got Freedom of Informations going.

It is not possible --it's impossible to hold City Council or any city council in Ontario accountable unless Council themselves are committed to accountability. Just believe me when I say that.

You wrote:

Now you have them caught on Youtube! Brilliant! Congratulations!

Not just YouTube, Future Mayor, but also Google Video (my favourite video upload site)

Why am I doing this when I know it's impossible to hold City Council accountable?

You said so yourself:

"It's great to have a new media outlet "

I see my role and the role of my Blog (kindly hosted by the good hearts at the Mississauga News) as merely bearing witness. Same with the videos I shoot of General Committee, Council meetings and even Peel Regional Council meetings --bearing witness.

There's no "Oh, she just misinterpreted what we said" potential noises when you shoot video from beginning to end.

And I post these videos of Council deliberations onto Google and link to them from my Blog. Face it, City Council does some unbelievable things --the video, well, bears witness.

Again, Future Mayor, it's impossible to hold local government accountable. Why? 2001 Municipal Act (you remember 2001 --that's a Mike Harris piece of legislation), plus Bill 111 plus Bill 130 plus....

The videos simply bear objective witness.

And thanks, Future Mayor --for your kind words and your encouragement to go up in front of Council. It's important that I actually experience what I write about.

Signed,
The Mississauga Muse

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Hi, Archivistower


You wrote:

Actually, now that municipalities (and universities) are governed by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, their records are subject to considerable more scrutiny than any in the private sector.

I fail to see how there's scrutiny. Who scrutinizes the municipalities? I see no evidence of it by the Province. The Ontario Ombudsman's mandate doesn't extend to municipalities save in the most extraordinary and obvious governing-blights they might have committed.

My experience with FOI is extremely limited right now but seems to me, -- certainly speaking for my own municipality where our mayor came out and said in an international forum.

"We have an accountable and transparent governance system in place; procedures open to public scrutiny; a strong internal audit system; a responsible and effective senior management team; provide the public with access to information; allow public access to Council and committee meetings..."

Then with just a big of digging you find out that "we" in the part about "provide the public with access to information" is mandated by the Province. And when you look at their Records bylaw you find that the only items classifed as "OA" are ones mandated by the Province. So I don't see a whole lot of "we" there.

And even that part about "we" "allow public access to Council and committee meetings..." It's the Province that guarantees citizens' access to Council and committee meetings.

Like. Where's this "we" hatched from?

Where's the scrutiny even in comments like that?

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

cacruden, you wrote:


&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Re: DESTRUCTION of records/email/etc by municipalities
If municipalities will not or cannot handle the proper archiving of "records" which include email or instant messenger etc. (all of which brokers are required to do), then the only solution is for the Ontario government (which is responsible for municipalities) should be providing the services -- and the municipalities would be required to cooperate.

Ain't gonna happen. Remember, it was only in December that Bill 130 was passed and there were all these Provincial noises coming out of Gerretsen and Duguid about how municipalities are mature and responsible governments.

They're stickin' to that line no matter what. And as they insist on staying that course, they're stickin' it to us.

The best you could hope for is some amendment with the words "shall have regard to" typed in there for appearances.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

FutureMayor, you wrote:

I saw that you were on today's Council Agenda. I missed it on television because I was in a meeting.

Thank you for speaking up on the matter!

Just posted my first attempt at addressing Council to Google video. See for yourself what happened --not a single Councillor had a question. Zero discussion at General Committee or Council. And that was despite McCallion's cautions about making changes to by-laws without considering the implications.

They were fair though. Gave me more than 10 minutes. And Acting-Mayor, Corbasson even let me go back to make a second noise about something.

I've played the tape back much like a hockey player analyzes all the mistakes he made so that next time he'll avoid them.

I realize I spent a lot of time on an aside dumping mightily on mississauga.ca. I've been wanting to do that since 2003 and knowing that I could've resurrected Einstein to try and convince them and it wouldn't have mattered, I'm glad I took that tiny molecule of flesh and took aim at the thing.

Here, Future Mayor and just a reminder, because you know where this proclamation comes from --Mississauga "the best city in Canada"....

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4874325720065007263&hl=en

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Future Mayor,

Just want to share this insight with you. When I requested ByLaw 537-96 I got the 1996 original. Later, I was handed a free copy of an updated "Office Consolidation" version. Too late --(now I know to always-always request the original by-law and any subsequent ones)

Here's one neat comparison.

The first paragraph of the section "Retention and Disposition of Electronic Records". Top is the original 1996 paragraph. Bottom is the 2003 "morphed" version.

It's only if you were privy to the 1996 by-law that you can truly appreciate the reworded 2003 gem.

Then there's those other neat differences....

Man, I'd just LOVE that "Appraisal of electronic records for retention scheduling purposes is a complex and multi-faceted task which requires the collaboration of Corporate Records, Information Technology and the Operating Department."

Challenge, kiddies. Translate that sentence into English.

Signed,
The (I wonder why they left out that part about Rogers in the newer version) Mississauga Muse

 

[FutureMayor]

You did you homework! Thank You!

The Mississauga Muse:

I've got to at least commend you for REPORTING on the activities and actions of City Council.

Congratulations on your presentation to City Council. I thought you spoke really well and it as the Mayor likes to say, "you did you homework" on the matter. I'm disgusted that no one on Council spoke on the matter even after your passionate speeach. I'm sure if Mayor McCallion was present at the meeting, she would have thank you for speaking on the matter and might have asked Council and staff to think twice before approving the by-law change.

Once again, on behalf of the citizens of Mississauga, thank you for looking out for us!

Louroz