LibGuides: Government Documents: Online Gov Docs

Online options

Some Government Documents are available online on the BU Library Catalogue through One Stop Search.

Library Catalogue
Search for books, articles and more

There are online databases with which to locate Government Documents. The most frequently used are:

Government of Canada: Advanced Search
Search government repositories, websites, documents, Statistics Canada. A good choice for beginning a search for Canadian materials.

Government of Canada: publications search
Search for Government of Canada publications by title, keyword, department, subject, ISBN or catalogue number.
Opens to Basic search. Advanced search is available. Searches for both print and online versions of titles within this database. Includes monographs, serials, maps, and other materials.
Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources
"...The Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources portal includes all debates, journals and committee documentation of the Senate and the House of Commons from the 1st Session of the 1st Parliament (1867) until coverage at www.parl.ca begins.* Historical sessional papers are also available from 1867 to 1901...."

Canadiana
Includes Canadian Online, Héritage and Early Canadiana Online

At the Canadiana link, there is a link on the page to Government Publications - "The Government Publications collection includes over 1.7 million pages of historical pre-1920 colonial, provincial and federal government documents. This collection includes government acts, bills, committee reports, court rules, debates, journals, ordinances, a selection of official publications from France and Great Britain, sessional papers, regulations, royal commission reports, voter’s lists and treaties."

Canadiana - Heritage: House of Commons sessional records
NOTE THAT THE SEARCH WITHIN THIS COLLECTION FEATURE MAY OR MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE."...This collection consists of nearly a complete run of Sessional Papers for the period 1917 to date. Sessional papers are records which are tabled in the House of Commons during a session of Parliament. Some Sessional Papers, such as annual reports of Crown agencies and government departments, reports of government inquiries, commissions and other documents, are published. The remainder of the Sessional Papers are unpublished. Generally speaking, the Sessional Papers are arranged by Session of Parliament and in numerical order as they were tabled in the House of Commons. However, for a variety of reasons, some Sessional Papers do not appear in their proper order...."
Federal Science Library
A one-stop, self-serve portal where you can access library services and search the print collections and repositories of seven science-based departments and agencies from a single place. Wherever possible, departmental publications, reports, data sets and other content are freely available for anyone to access or download.

Digital Collection of Manitoba Government Publications
THIS DATABASE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE DUE TO MAINTENANCE ISSUES.

Federated Research Data Depository / FRDR
Search FRDR to find research datasets originating from researchers affiliated with Canadian institutions. Data deposited to other repositories across Canada can also be found by searching in FRDR.
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The collaborating repositories (see the link to the complete list on the homepage) includes some city, provincial, and federal government agencies.

Heinonline
HeinOnline is a premier online database containing more than 150 million pages and 200,000 titles of legal history and government documents in a fully searchable, image-based format. HeinOnline bridges the gap in historical research by providing comprehensive coverage from inception of more than 2,500 law-related periodicals. In addition to its vast collection of law journals, HeinOnline contains the entire Congressional Record, Federal Register, and Code of Federal Regulations, complete coverage of the U.S. Reports back to 1754, and entire databases dedicated to treaties, constitutions, case law, world trials, classic treatises, international trade, foreign relations, U.S. Presidents, and much more.

Heinonline also is a source for some Canadian and Provincial Statutes - current, historical, and revised. Note that the collection is not complete, but additions are made periodically. When you connect to this database, look for the box titled Browse Databases by Name section, and click on the desired entry. There also is a Library Guide at the database for information about the Provincial Statutes collection -

Heinonline Library Guide: Provincial Statutes of Canada
InfoMB
"...As part of its commitment to greater transparency and accountability, the Manitoba government is releasing certain types of information on the government website on a regular and proactive basis...."
Manitoba Bureau of Statistics
"The Manitoba Bureau of Statistics (MBS) is a branch within the Finance Research Division with the Department of Finance. The MBS is the government’s central statistics agency, responsible for the compilation, management, analysis, coordination and dissemination of economic, demographic and social statistics for the province of Manitoba. Operating under the terms of the Manitoba Statistics Act, MBS collaborates with departments and agencies to address data and statistical requirements.

Under federal-provincial agreement, MBS is the designated contact between the Manitoba government and Statistics Canada that acts as the official liaison regarding statistical matters related to the province’s economic, social and demographic conditions....
Key categories:
Employment and Labour Market,
Business, Industry and Trade,
Population and community,
Economy Wide Statistics,
Housing and Construction, and
Special Reports (for example, MBS Weekly Data and Reports, and 2018 Provincial Electoral Division (PED) Profiles Data and Reports)"
Manitoba: Departmental Information, Reports and Statistics
Includes links to Departmental Briefings, Departmental Annual Reports, Departmental Reports and Statistics, Cross-Departmental Reports (includes Enforcement of public health orders, Lead in soil report, Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth - Recommendations Action Planning (MACY-RAP) Committee, and Reports on Harassment and Sexual Harassment.)
Manitoba Legislative Library Catalogue
- This link opens in a new window
Another option for locating online Manitoba Government documents
Government of Canada Web Archive
Browse Serial Publications
A list of active and inactive Federal Government departments for which PDS has catalogued and distributed serial issues. Link to annual reports as well as other serial publications, such as journals, bulletins, etc.
Internet Archive: Canadian Government Publications Portal

Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement & Colonial Encounters
This digital collection of primary source documents helps us to understand existence on the edges of the anglophone world from 1650-1920. Discover the various European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia through documents that reveal the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in these areas.

Ontario: Digitized Government Publications
Registry of Canadian Government Information Digitization Projects
"The Registry is an index of digitized government documents held by Canadian libraries. It is intended to function as a centralized access point for digitized government documents and publications in Canada and a resource for the library and archives community to find partners for digitization projects."

Sessional Papers

BU Library Guide: Indigenous Resources: Sessional Papers
Print and online options for accessing Sessional Papers; also background and sample searches.
Association of Parliamentary Libraries in Canada/Gallop Portal
See scope note on Search page for full list of participating libraries.
Legislative Reporting in Early Manitoba Newspapers
"The Legislative Reporting database brings together published accounts of Manitoba Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council activities as reported in Winnipeg newspapers during the province's early, formative years."

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