Ottawa

Here I am, in a cafe a few blocks from the archives in Ottawa, waiting for my breakfast. It’s been a slow start to the morning as I get my bearings in a new city, but I’m hoping to be in the reading room by 11 AM. I flew into Toronto last week, and spent a few days catching up with my family before coming here late yesterday. While there, I worked for two days at the Archives of Ontario, mostly looking at microfilms. So far, I haven’t seen anything groundbreaking, but there was an interesting file from the Sociological Committee regarding research on Aboriginal communities in the 1880s, and a file of correspondence on the Bear Island school in the Temagami area, where the provincial and federal governments cooperated to form a reserve school (this sort of cooperation is not particularly common, from what I’ve seen so far).

Dealing with privacy issues wasn’t as complicated as I’d anticipated. There was a good deal of bureaucracy, but shortly before I left for Ontario, a consultant called me from LAC to discuss my needs. I’d initially submitted a regular access to information request, as this was the only option given on the LAC website for gaining access to restricted files. It turns out that, for researchers, there is also an option called 8(2)(j), which lets me access many restricted files, provided that I safeguard the confidentiality of personal information. To get this access approved, I had to submit a formal request outlining how I would protect the information I received, and how I would anonymize it for eventual publication. Storing information on an encrypted and locked external hard drive, and assigning pseudonyms if I refer to an individual case in my writing, was sufficient. On the train yesterday, I received an email approving my request. This was far faster than a regular ATIP request, and it cost me nothing (for an ATIP request, I would have had to pay for the archivists’ time, in excess of five hours, to review the files - and that would have added up quite significantly, since I have a great many files to review!). 

Breakfast now eaten, here I go!

*** 

12 hours later...

My first day at the archives was fun, though overwhelming. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was the impact of the recent cuts to LAC. Four years ago, when I was last here, I came in and straight away got to speak with an archivist about my needs. Fortunately, this time, I am more independent in my research, because I would have had to make an appointment in advance in order to speak with anyone. Even to submit a request for documents and get a self-serve copy request form approved took a lengthy wait. Four years ago, there was a cafeteria. This time, there are merely vending machines, and I was glad to find a coffee shop just two blocks away. Unfortunately, it is closed on weekends. After 4 PM, there isn't a soul to help out. I don't expect research support in the evening opening hours, but I'm certainly glad that I know how to run a microfilm machine. 

The overwhelming part is considering the sheer volume of files I plan to consult. I got through a few microfilm reels today, but there are so, so many more that I have yet to look at. If reels were available through interlibrary loan (as they were until the year before I started my PhD program) I'd be less concerned, but I only have a month to spend in Ottawa this summer. I have many more files to consult in Toronto and Sault Ste Marie in July and August, so more work in Ottawa will have to wait until perhaps the end of the summer, but more likely Christmas, or reading week. That's frustrating.

Fortunately, there are many, many needles in what seems like a haystack of files. Today, I read regulations about school inspections, a few school inspection reports, correspondence about medical matters in residential schools, and instructions from the Department of Indian Affairs to school staff regarding the procedures to be followed, administratively, in case of the death of a student. I've found a fair number of files that will undoubtedly be useful for me - and there are hundreds more, waiting.