Rescinded [2022-05-04] - Standard for Electronic Documents and Records Management Solutions (EDRMS)

1.1 This standard takes effect on June 1, 2010. The standard will apply only when new investments or significant upgrades in EDRM solutions are proposed.

2.1 Thisstandard applies to departments as defined in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act (FAA), unless excluded by specific acts, regulations or Orders in Council.

2.2 Those portions of sections 6.2.1, 6.2.2, and 7.1 relating to the role of the Treasury Board Secretariat in monitoring compliance and directing consequences for non-compliance do not apply with respect to the Office of the Auditor General, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, the Office of the Information Commissioner, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. The deputy heads of these organizations are solely responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with this standard within their organizations, as well as for responding to cases of non-compliance in accordance with any Treasury Board instruments that address the management of compliance.

3.1 This standard supports the Policy on Information Management and Policy on Management of Information Technology by outlining information management (IM) and information technology (IT) requirements for the departmental IM Senior Official and the Chief Information Officer (CIO) or equivalent in the area of Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRM) solutions.

3.2 Information resources of business value are strategic assets used across government to support effective decision making and facilitate ongoing operations and the delivery of programs and services. The Directive on Recordkeeping requires departments to establish the mechanisms and tools to support the departmental recordkeeping requirements throughout the information life cycle.

3.3 EDRM solutions are automated systems used to manage, protect and preserve information resources from creation to disposition. These solutions maintain appropriate contextual information (metadata) and enable organizations to access, use and dispose of records (i.e., their retention, destruction or transfer) in a managed, systematic and auditable way in order to ensure accountability, transparency and meet departmental business objectives.

3.4 EDRM solutions may be a part of a suite of products that, along with effective policies and practices, enable a department-wide approach to information management that improves the quality and reliability of information for decision-making, improves services to managers and employees, and reduces inefficiencies, duplication and costs.

3.5 Through the implementation of government-wide IM business processes and practices and the use of government-wide procurement options in support of EDRM solutions, the government will see a reduction in the overall cost of service delivery.

3.6 Investment decisions to acquire EDRM solutions resulting from government-wide procurement activities may be combined with other departmental solutions to provide a more comprehensive product suite.

3.7 EDRM solutions enable GC employees to find, share and collaboratively develop information resources of business value, therefore increasing their productivity, and the efficiency and effectiveness of their departments.

3.8 This standard is issued pursuant to section 7 of the Financial Administration Act.

3.9 This standard is to be read in conjunction with the Policy Framework for Information and Technology, the Policy on Management of Information Technology, the Policy on Information Management, the Directive on Recordkeeping, the Directive on Information Management Roles and Responsibilities, the Policy on Investing Planning - Assets and Acquired Services, the Policy on the Management of Projects and the Project Approval Policy.

4.1 Definitions to be used in the interpretation of this standard are contained in Appendix A.

6.1 The departmental IM Senior Official designated by the deputy head and CIO or equivalent, are responsible for:

6.1.1 Ensuring that investment decisions which pertain to the acquisition of EDRM solutions maximize the use of products and services made available as a result of government-wide procurement processes, as described in Appendix B.

6.1.2 Ensuring common, consistent, and cost effective departmental implementation of EDRM solutions to meet recordkeeping requirements.

6.1.3 Ensuring that EDRM solutions meet a defined set of standard GC requirements, as described in Appendix C.

6.2 Monitoring and reporting requirements are as follows:

6.2.1 IM Senior Officials and CIO or equivalent, are responsible for supporting their deputy head by overseeing the implementation and monitoring of this standard in their departments, bringing to the deputy head's attention any significant difficulties, gaps in performance, or compliance issues, developing proposals to address them, and reporting significant performance or compliance issues to the Chief Information Officer Branch of Treasury Board Secretariat.

6.2.2 The Treasury Board Secretariat will monitor compliance with all aspects of this standard and the achievement of expected results in a variety of ways, including but not limited to assessments under the Management Accountability Framework, examinations of Treasury Board submissions, Reports on Plans and Priorities, Departmental Performance Reports, departmental IM/IT strategies and plans, audits results, evaluations, and studies.

6.2.3 The Treasury Board Secretariat will review this standard and its effectiveness at the five-year mark from the effective date of the standard (or earlier if warranted).

7.1 Consequences of non-compliance can include informal follow-ups and requests from the Treasury Board Secretariat, external audits, or formal direction on corrective measures.

7.2 Consequences of non-compliance with this standard can include any measure allowed by the Financial Administration Act that the Treasury Board would determine as appropriate and acceptable in the circumstances.

Note. This section identifies other departments that have a role in the standard. In and of itself, the section does not confer authority.

9.1 Relevant legislation for this standard is the Financial Administration Act.

9.2 Related instruments and publications are as follows:

• Common Services Policy
• Policy on Management, Resources and Results Structures
• Directive on Delegation of Financial Authorities for Disbursements
• Policy on Electronic Authorization and Authentication
• Policy on Evaluation
• Policy on Government Security
• Policy on Information Management
• Policy on Internal Audit
• Policy on Investing Planning - Assets and Acquired Services
• Policy on Language of Work
• Policy on Learning, Training and Development
• Policy on Management of Information Technology
• Policy on Official Languages for Human Resources Management
• Policy on the Duty to Accommodate Persons with Disabilities in the Federal Public Service
• Policy on the Management of Projects
• Policy on the Use of Official Languages for Communications with and Services to the Public
• Policy on Privacy Protection
• Policy Framework for Information and Technology
• Project Approval Policy
• Directive on Recordkeeping
• Directive on Information Management Roles and Responsibilities

Please direct enquiries about this standard to your department's headquarters. For interpretation of this standard, departmental headquarters should contact:

Office of the Chief Information Officer
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Ottawa ON K1A 0R5
dppn@tbs-sct.gc.ca