Originally accessioned by Queen's University Archives 5021.
Accession comprises files relating to Foster's career as Member of Parliament for Algoma, chairman of several House of Commons Committees, Chairman of the Ontario Liberal Caucus, and his work with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
The Correspondence Files are arranged in three series - incoming correspondence (arranged alphabetically in chronological order), carbon copies of outgoing correspondence (arranged chronological order) and subject files.
The File series which are arranged by subject consist of pamphlets, press releases, press clippings, reports and miscellaneous documents. A few files may have a few items of correspondence interspersed with other items.
The Motion Picture Section consists of one short motion picture showing Dr. Foster's visit to the Wheat Pool.
The collection of Printed Material contains several small runs of periodicals relating to Commonwealth Parliamentary Government, including the Canadian Parliamentary Review, a publication of the Canadian Board of The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Changes to intellectual organization of the accession made when re-accessioned by Algoma University:
1. Given new accession number.
2. Folders re-start numbering at 001 in each box rather than the consecutive numbering across boxes used by Queen's.
3. Each folder given a unique number based on Algoma accession number + box number + folder number. Concordance with Queen's accession + box + folder number created.
4. Each "section" of the Correspondence series (Incoming, Outgoing, and Subject) deprecated and treated as a single series. The division into sections was not continued in subsequent accessions.
I.e. instead of :
Series I Correspondence
Section A Incoming
Section B Outgoing
Section C Subject
Series II File Series
Series Ill Motion Picture Film
Series IV Printed Material
It is now arranged as:
1. Correspondence series (16.2 m of textual records in this accession; boxes 1-54);
2. Files series (13.2 m of textual records in this accession; boxes 55-98);
3. Audio-visual materials series (1 film in this accession; box 98);
4. Printed material series (.3 m of textual records in this accession; box 99).
