USER GUIDE FOR HANSARD INDEXES

Use indexes to find information in debates (Hansard) (1970-present)
and parliamentary committee transcripts (2005-present).

Indexes are alphabetical lists of words or phrases with links to where those references are in the transcripts.
Links go directly to time lines (e.g., 10:05 am) or page numbers (e.g., 124); scroll in between to find the reference(s).

• Index entries summarise the overall content of a debate or question.
  E.g., Education, Post-secondary education, or the name of an institution is used depending on the context of the subject.
• Indexes are updated within 2-3 days of adjournment of a House sitting or committee meeting.
• Indexes are cumulative over a session (usually a calendar year) and are in draft form until prorogation.
• Individual indexes to sittings and meetings are also provided for each transcript.
• The introduction of individual guests and visitors is not indexed; however, lists of Introductions by Members are available as of 2018.
• Lists of Prayers and reflections and Blessings and acknowledgements are available as of 2020.
• Search indexes by session, or full-text search multiple indexes using Advanced Search.
  Choose Document Type "Indexes" for debates (Hansard) information.
  Choose Document Type "Select Standing and Special Committees" for parliamentary committee information.
• Access Hansard indexes at Indexes or Debates; parliamentary committee indexes on Committee Meetings pages by committee.

  Abbreviations used in the procedural entries for bills are the following:

   

  	Amdts:	Amendment(s)
  	sec. or cl.	Section or Clause (of a bill)
  	1R	First reading
  	2R	Second reading
  	C	Committee stage
  	3R	Third reading
  	RA	Royal assent

INDEXES TO DEBATES (HANSARD)

2005-present:

1970-2005:

Search Legislation

• Choose Debates.
• Under Indexes, choose SUBJECT INDEX or BUSINESS INDEX and browse the A-Z list (or use a Ctrl+F search) for the title of the legislation (e.g. Forest Act).
• If the title of the bill is not known, choose the subject of the legislation in the SUBJECT INDEX (e.g. Sales tax). There may be references to that topic, and if there was legislation, there will be a cross-reference under the subheading "Legislation" to link to the name of the act:
  
                           Sales tax
                                    Legislation See Provincial Sales Tax Act

• NOTE: it is often helpful to look up the same subject over multiple sessions to trace the history of debate on an issue (e.g., the topic of Sales tax occurs frequently, but not every session will have legislation on sales tax).
• To view an act or statute (a bill that has passed through all stages in the House and therefore now a law), go to BC Laws.
  

Search Estimates

• Choose Debates.
• Under Indexes, choose SUBJECT INDEX or BUSINESS INDEX and browse the A-Z list (or use a Ctrl+F search) for the name of the ministry estimates (e.g. Agriculture Ministry).
• NOTE: information about a ministry itself (e.g., budget or staffing) will be under the ministry name (e.g. Health Ministry), as well as the sittings and speakers on the estimates. Information about the subjects relevant to a ministry portfolio will be under topical subject headings (e.g. Health care system, Mental health, Physicians).

Search Multiple Sessions

Search multiple sessions - by session:

• Choose Debates.
• Determine a time range and search in each sessional index for that range (e.g. search each of the five sessional indexes from 2005-2009 that make up the 38th parliament).

Search multiple sessions - by full-text search:

• Choose Advanced Search.
• Enter a keyword in the Search box. Choose Document Type "Indexes" (for Hansard debates) or "Select Standing and Special Committees" (for parliamentary committees). Choose Time Period. This will return results on keyword occurrences in sessional indexes. Choose an index result and use Ctrl+F with the same keyword to search within the index page.
  

Search Pre-2005 Indexes

• Choose Debates.
• Pre-2005 indexes (in the 37th parliament and earlier) do not split the indexes into separate subject, members and business indexes. Rather, full A-Z indexes combine that information.
• A-Z indexes may be searched like later indexes: browse (or Ctrl+F search) the individual A-Z index pages, choose a heading and click on a link to go to that reference in the transcripts.
• Associated files provide more information for a particular session.
  

INDEXES TO PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE TRANSCRIPTS

2013-present:

2005-2013:

Search Parliamentary Committee Indexes

• Choose particular parliamentary committee (e.g., Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services); choose Committee Meetings.
• Choose SUBJECT-SPEAKER INDEX and browse the A-Z list (or use a Ctrl+F search) for topics and speeches by Members, committee staff and witnesses.

Questions or comments?

Contact Hansard Index at 250-356-0252 or hansard.services@leg.bc.ca

INDEX STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

HEADINGS

Index entries are included for places, people, organizations, legislation, ministry estimates, committees, programs, initiatives and publications.
Subject headings in general reflect government portfolios and topics particular to British Columbia, such as:

GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE

Subject entries in general refer to British Columbia unless otherwise stated. The main heading British Columbia or British Columbia by region is used for specific references to the province.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS

Index entries are included for legislative procedure and events in the House, and for individual bills and ministry estimates. In addition, all bills introduced during the session are listed in alphabetical and then numerical order under the main headings Bills by name and Bills by number.

The list of oral questions appears in the index under the main headings Oral questions by member and Oral questions by subject. Budget estimates are indexed under the name of the ministry (e.g. Environment Ministry).

If users are interested in matters of legislative procedure, the headings listed below will be of interest.

Address from the Bar of the House
Bills by name
Bills by number
Blessings and acknowledgements
Budget
Citizens' initiatives
Divisions recorded
Documents tabled
Introductions by members
Legislation
Legislature
Ministerial statements
Motions
Oral questions by member
Oral questions by subject
Petitions
Points of order
Prayers and reflections
Presentation of new member(s)
Private members' statements
Privilege
Proclamations
Prorogation address
Rulings and statements by Chair or Speaker
Speech from the Throne (includes Address in Reply)
Standing order 35 adjournment motions
Statements
Statements by members (Standing order 25B)

INVERTED TERMS

Key words appear flush left:

Health Ministry (rather than Ministry of Health)
Public Accounts Committee (rather than Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts)

Personal names are lastname/firstname:

Farnworth, Mike

CROSS-REFERENCES

See directs the user to the subject heading under which entries will be found in this index:

Doctors See Physicians

To refer to a different term under the same main heading, the phrase "above/below" is used:

Forests and forest industry / Remanufacturing industry See Value-added sector below

See also directs the user to related subjects or definitive headings:

Bankruptcy See also Personal debt under Debt
British Columbia Transit See also Transit services; particular services
Education See also Post-secondary education

FILING SEQUENCE

The basic filing sequence used in this index is alphabetical, word by word. Punctuation is ignored in filing.

Mc is filed as if it were spelled Mac. Abbreviations and acronyms used, as needed, in this index are filed as follows:

NUMBERS

Numbers are filed in ascending order and preceding the alpha characters. Examples:

100 Mile House, B.C.
911 emergency service
Agriculture
B.C. 21 program
British Columbia Assessment
Highway 1
Highway 17

MEMBERS AS SUBJECT

Under MLAs' names as main headings, any entries about the member himself/herself are grouped together and filed at the top of the member's main heading, under the subheading As subject.

"HONOURABLE"

If an MLA is a member of cabinet for any portion of this session, "Hon." (Honourable) will be used before their name in the index and member lists, unless none of their index entries were during the time they were ministers.

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