2009 1st Session 39th Parliament

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What is an index?

How to search for information in the indexes

Index structure and content

WHAT IS AN INDEX?  “Life is too short to waste time searching for information….” – Robert L. Collison, Indexes and Indexing

Have you ever tried to find something in a book that didn’t have an index? A table of contents shows you how the text is organized and presented, but it can’t help you locate specific references or subjects. That’s what an index is for.

Most published works are between 200 and 300 pages long. In an average session of the B.C. Legislature, Members of the Legislative Assembly generate more than 3,000 pages of Hansard text: ministry estimates, legislation, ministerial statements, motions, oral questions, private members’ statements, Speaker’s rulings, etc. MLAs talk about hundreds of different subjects ranging from agriculture to zoning.

Indexes can help you find information in the debate transcripts quickly and easily. Information organized by SUBJECT (e.g., Health), by speaker or MEMBER (e.g., Abbott, Hon. George) and by BUSINESS (e.g., Oral questions by subject). Also available are individual indexes for each House sitting (links appear beside transcript links on the debates page). This information appears as entries in the index with main headings, subheadings and page locators. Page references are hyperlinked directly to the page in the Hansard transcripts.

The introduction of guests and visitors is not indexed. However, Hansard, as well as the indexes, can be word-searched electronically from the Hansard website (http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/search). The indexes themselves can be reached from http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard.

HOW TO SEARCH FOR INFORMATION IN THE INDEXES:

• Three indexes allow users to search by SUBJECT, MEMBER and BUSINESS item. Click a page number beside an index entry to link to the corresponding debates page on which the topic arose.

Subject Index

•     Search for information by subject. Browse the full topic list to locate areas of interest and click on a subject link.
•     E.g., Aquaculture; British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority; Health – Health care funding; Transportation

Members Index

•     Search for information by Member of the Legislative Assembly. What topics did your MLA speak about in the House? Click the "Topics" link to the right of his/her name.
•     How did your MLA vote on an issue? Click the "Votes" link. 

Business Index

•     Search for information by business item. Click on links about items arising during the course of House proceedings.
•     E.g., Budget; Documents tabled; Motions; Oral questions by subject; Rulings and statements by Chair or Speaker; also individual bills and estimates (for more examples see PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS below).

INDEX STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

HEADINGS

Main subject headings in general reflect government portfolios and topics particular to British Columbia, such as:

Agriculture
Children
Education
Energy
Health
First Nations
Housing
Forests and forest industry
Labour
Tourism
Transportation

Index entries summarize the overall content of a debate or question as specifically as indexing authority files permit. For example, Education, Post-secondary education, or the name of a particular institution is used depending on the context of the subject.

Index entries are included for the names of people, places, institutions, organizations, committees, programs, initiatives, legislation and publications, etc., when they represent the overall subject of an item.

In some cases compound main headings are used to break down large topics, such as:

British Columbia – Northern B.C.
Business – Small business
Children – Child care
Education – Funding
Health – Continuing and long-term care
Housing – Residential care facilities
Olympic Games – 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver-Whistler

GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE

Subject entries in general refer to British Columbia unless otherwise stated. The main heading British Columbia 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, as well as alphabetically in the introductory pages of the printed index.

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., Forests and Range, Ministry of).

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

Address from the Bar of the House
Bills by name
Bills by number
Budget
Citizens' initiatives
Divisions, Recorded
Documents tabled
Legislation
Legislature
Ministerial statements
Motions
Oral questions by member
Oral questions by subject
Petitions
Points of order
Presentation of new member(s)
Private members' statements
Privilege
Proclamations
Prorogation address
Quorum called (under the main heading Legislature)
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)

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

Example:

Doctors See Physicians

To refer to a different term under the same main heading, we may use "above/below under this main heading."

Example:

Forests and forest industry
     Remanufacturing industry See Value-added sector below under this main heading

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

Examples:

Bankruptcy See also Personal debt under Debt

British Columbia Transit See also Transit services; particular areas

Education See also Post-secondary education

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:

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

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

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.

The records of how Members of the Legislative Assembly voted in standing votes are provided in a separate index on the Internet, called Voting Records, and as an appendix to the printed index. The topics of these recorded divisions are listed in the index with their page references, under the heading Divisions, Recorded.

If someone 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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