Index to Federal Programs and Services 1985

Dean Tudor is a journalism professor at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute and founding editor of the CBRA.

This handbook covers 128 federal departments, agencies, and Crown corporations, as of February 8, 1985. The criteria for inclusion are somewhat haphazard. For example, the Privy Council Office is not here, presumably because it does not have any “program.” But it indeed is a “service,” since it co-ordinates the government’s efforts on all sides.

Part one describes the programs and services, along with the phone number to call for further details. Part two gives addresses and phone numbers of the offices throughout Canada. The subject indexes are very useful, as is the list of toll-free numbers. But overall this is only a skeletal outline. For example, the National Library of Canada is listed, along with its 25 programs (e.g., Canadiana, the Canadian Book Exchange Centre, Newspapers), all followed by a statement and a phone number. But little else is offered about the department and the program. I suppose readers are encouraged to phone the government for more details or for the names of current administrators.