Dispose

What You Need to Know

• Consider why you have the information in the first place, and why you thought it important to keep:
  • Is it an information resource of business value?
  • Is it an information resource of enduring value?
• Disposing of information of business value can take one of three forms:
  • Alienation (transfer it to another organization).
  • Destruction (destroy it because it has no archival value to this organization or another).
  • Permanent transfer (it is of enduring value and should be retained by Library and Archives Canada).
• Policies are in place that help employees know how long to keep certain information resources of business value; processes are in place to properly dispose of information at the right time (electronic or paper).
• Do you have IT equipment that you no longer need (computer, laptop, blackberry, printer, photocopier, fax, etc.)? Contact the National Service Desk to have it removed and properly sanitized:
  • Do not give it to a colleague to use (even temporarily).
  • Do not take it home.
  • Do not store it in your office or in a cabinet.
  • Do not ship equipment out for repairs or replacement without first ensuring data has been properly sanitized from the device
• Have a special disposal requirement (such as a bulk destruction of sensitive documents) or are not sure what to do? Contact the National Service Desk or your Regional Security Officer

Tools and Resources

• Records Retention and Disposition Guide
• Procedures for the Disposal of Electronic Media
• To ensure protection of information – preparation, storage, handling, transmission and destruction, see:
  • Internal Integrity and Security Directorate
  • Information Management
  • Information Categorization Tool

Frequently Asked Questions

• What steps do I need to take to properly dispose of information?

  Please read Disposition of Electronic IRBVs

• How do I transfer information resources with enduring (archiving) value to Library and Archives Canada?

  Please read Records Retention and Disposition Guide.

• Can I dispose of all e-mails once they are no longer needed?

  You must distinguish between e-mails that are of business value (and therefore must be saved) and those that are “transitory” in nature (and which therefore should be destroyed when no longer required).