The 1976-1978 PMO Priority Correspondence Series dates from April 1976 to September 1978, a period when the Pierre E. Trudeau PMO introduced a revised version of the decimal classification system that had been utilized during the 1968-1976 period. As was the case with the 1968-1976 Priority Correspondence, the files are arranged, and listed in numeric order; however, unlike the previous Priority sub-series, the files are organized in annual blocks by year.
Within files, documents are in reverse chronological order.
The revised classification system utilized 41 broad subject areas or classes:
0101 Agriculture
0201 Arts
0301 Awards
0401 Centennial and Anniversary Celebrations
0501 Conservation
0601 Construction
0701 Defence
0801 Economy
0901 Education
1001 Energy, Mines, and Resources Development
1101 Fisheries
1201 Foreign Affairs
1301 Forestry
1401 Government - Federal
1501 Government - Federal Depts., Boards
1601 Government - Federal Provincial Relations
1701 Government - Provincial
1801 Government - Municipal
1901 Health and Social Welfare
2001 History, Geography, and Biography
2101 Immigration and Citizenship
2201 Indian and Eskimo Affairs
2301 Labour Relations
2401 Language and Ethnic Groups
2501 Law
2601 Libraries, Galleries, and Museums
2701 Literature
2801 Political Parties
2901 Population and Vital Statistics
3001 Recreation and Sports
3101 Religion
3201 Science
3301 The Commonwealth
3401 The Crown in Canada
3501 The United Nations
3601 Trade and Commerce
3701 Transport and Communications
3801 Veterans Affairs
3901 Prolific Writers
4001 Constituency
4101 Conferences
The sub-series also includes a comprehensive nominal card indexes relating to the series. The index, which is in alphabetical order in three yearly sections (1976, 1977, 1978), can be found in volumes 997 to 1005). The index has also been microfilmed and is available on reels H-1834 to H-1850.
Furthermore, late in 1977 the Trudeau PMO began to computerize the processing of its correspondence, so that a print-out index for the January to September 1978 period is available in volumes 741 to 758 (from Oct. 1978 on, both the General and Priority series were combined in one chronological, automated system). The print outs have also been microfilmed and can be found on reels H-2821 to H-2826.
Within the print out indexes, accession numbers are listed in two parts: a four-digit date code followed by a hyphen and then a four-digit item number (the first digit of the latter number should usually be disregarded when searching for specific documents, as the accession numbers on the documents are almost always comprised of seven numbers -- i.e. document no. 8035 006 will be listed as 8035-0006 in the index). In addition to accession numbers, the indexes, which refer to both Priority and General documents (and also the October-December 1978 portion of MG 26 O 9), indicate the date of the reply to each letter and the initials of the PMO staff member who prepared the reply. The indexes also provide a file classification code for Priority correspondence; such references can be used in conjunction with the finding aid to find documents. As well, virtually all letters received an ID code and a subject code. The ID code consisted of one of three numbers:
00 - General
01 - Priority
O2 - Outgoing
Subject codes were comprised of a letter and a one- or two-digit number. When looking for subject codes comprised of a letter and a single digit, researchers should keep in mind that such codes are entered with an extra digit (a zero) and are followed by a decimal point and two additional digits (again, usually zeros). For example, J4, the code for "Foreign Affairs - United States of America," is listed as J04.00 in the print-out index for the 1978 correspondence.
