Fonds 330 - Northwest Territories. Department of the Territorial Secretary fonds

The Department of the Territorial Secretary was created in 1967. It was responsible for general administrative services in the newly established Government of the Northwest Territories. It was also responsible for the administration of variety of ordinances and the Territorial Public Library Services. The department was divided into five divisions: Administrative Services Division; Labour Division; Public Library Services; Administration of Ordinances Division; and Health Services Division.

Among the duties handled by the Administrative Services Division were: the administration of the Central Registry Filing system, mail room services, stenographic services, allocation of office space; provision of equipment and furnishings communication services including telephone and telex; and printing services. The Department of the Territorial Secretary published the Territorial Gazette and all manuals related to all departments of the government.

The Labour Division administered various ordinances relevant to employee-employer relationships. Its responsibilities included maintaining liaisons with employers, employee groups and individual employees in the administration of Labour Standards and Workers Compensation. Other aspects of labour relations and safe working conditions included: Boilers and Pressure Vessels, Employment Agencies, Fair Employment Practices, Fair Wages and Conditions of Employment, Wage Recovery and Elevator and Fixed Conveyances. Because of some of these ordinances, the division worked with the federal government on mine safety, arranged contract inspectors for boilers, pressure vessels, elevators and fixed conveyances and compiled statistics for the federal government.

Territorial Public Library Services were headquartered in Hay River in the Centennial Memorial Library. Library Services supported the efforts of member libraries located in many communities including Cambridge Bay, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay), Holman Island, Rankin Inlet, Inuvik, Pine Point, Fort McPherson, Tuktoyaktuk Coral Harbour and Deline (Fort Franklin). Services were also provided directly to those residents whose communities did not yet have libraries. A children's library program was promoted by community libraries and headquarters.

The Administration of Ordinances Division was responsible for administering various major and minor ordinances. The major ordinances consisted of: Motor Vehicles; Public Service Vehicles; Companies; Societies; Co-operative Associations; Vital Statistics; and Change of Names. Other ordinances administered by the division included: Billiard Rooms and Bowling Alleys, Business License; Consumer Protection; Coroners; Credit Union; Dental Profession, Dog; Evidence; Herd and Fencing; Hotel Keepers; Insane Persons; Insurance; Justice of the Peace; Legal Profession; Marriage; Medical Profession; Motion Picture; NWT Public Service Association; Optometry; Pesticides; Petroleum Products; Pharmacy; Presumption of Death; Scientists and Explorers; Veterinary Profession; Cornea Transplant; Curfew; Fur Export; Game; Human Tissue; Jury; Lord's Day; Public Health; Teacher's Association. In conjunction with the Vital Statistics Ordinance, certain functions relating to maintenance of Indian Band records, preparation for treaty payments and liaison with the federal Department of Indian Affairs were required. Project Surname, a project directly connected to Vital Statistics work, sought to have all Inuit register surnames. The eventual aim was to eliminate the use of the "Eskimo disc system."

The Health Services Division was formed after the federal government transferred the administration of the Territorial Health Insurance Ordinance to the Government of the Northwest Territories. The division maintained a close liaison with hospitals in the Northwest Territories and throughout Canada. Included among this division's responsibilities were: payment of accounts, review of budgets, determination of eligibility, and the accumulation of necessary statistics.

The Department of the Territorial Secretary was headed up by H.E. Cross, the Territorial Secretary, until 1971 when it was disbanded and its responsibilities were distributed to other departments, including the Department of Administration and the Department of Public Services.