Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
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Centre of Forensic Sciences
Other form(s) of name
Ontario. Attorney General Laboratory
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Although officially named in 1966, the origins of the Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS) date from 1932 when a medico-legal laboratory within the Department of the Attorney General was organized by Dr. E.R. Frankish. It provided services in pathology, biology (tests for blood, semen, hairs, fibres, and plant materials), and toxicology.
In 1951, the Deputy Attorney General, the Honourable C.R. Magone, appointed Dr. H. Ward Smith the first Director of the Attorney General Laboratory, with the responsibility to re-organize the Laboratory. Within six years, the Laboratory had relocated three times, staff had risen from three to fourteen, and a sectional structure had begun to take shape. In August 1966, the name of the Laboratory changed to the Centre of Forensic Sciences.
Following the death of Dr. Smith in 1972, D.M. Lucas was appointed Director of the Centre. The Centre was also transferred from the Ministry of the Attorney General to the new Ministry of the Solicitor General to function independently of the police and prosecutorial services of government.
In 2002, the Centre was transferred to the new Ministry of Public Safety and Security and again to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services in 2003.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
The Centre of Forensic Sciences prepares legally admissible evidence for law enforcement personnel, the legal profession and coroners through scientific examination and analysis of objects and materials.
The Centre of Forensic Sciences is divided into six areas of specialization - Biology, Chemistry, Documents, Firearms, Photography, and Toxicology. It also maintains a Northern Regional Forensic Laboratory in Sault Ste. Marie.
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Internal structures/genealogy
General context
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Access points area
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Epithet
Control area
Authority record identifier
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Rules and/or conventions used
RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
The Government of Ontario Telephone Directory Fall/Winter 1972-1995
KWIC Index to Government Services, 1987, 1991
Ministry of Solicitor General web site http://www.sgcs.gov.on.ca/english/public/forensic.html
Goals Newsletter, December 1992 - Issue #9
Maintenance notes
Archivist(s):
Fontaine