Greetings All. The following News Release of the Canada Census Committee has been sent to most of the major news outlets across Canada. Feel free to forward it to your local news media. In doing so please include the full text below the following double line. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted. ==================================== News Release of Canada Census Committee Contact: Gordon A. Watts 604-942-6889 Monday 26 November 2001 When does 6 outweigh 40,000? When those 6 make up the parliamentary Sub-Committee on Private Members Business of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. That is the number of Members of Parliament who spent an estimated one minute (in camera) to determine that Liberal MP Murray Calder's Private Member Bill C-312 - An Act to amend the Statistics Act and the National Archives of Canada Act (census records) was deemed to be non-votable when debated in the House of Commons. Coincidentally, these same MPs took a total of 15 minutes to determine that 12 other Private Member Bills and motions should also be non-votable items. Items deemed non-votable receive a maximum of one hour debate in the House of Commons before being dropped from the Order Paper. Votable items receive a maximum of three hours debate and if passed at this stage would normally be referred to Committee, and from there, back to the House for Report and third reading. Since March 1999 in excess of 40,000 signatures have been sent to Ottawa seeking support for a Bill that would regain public access to Historic Census Records, 92 years after collection. Genealogists and historians felt that Bill C-312 might accomplish that. Because six people could not come to a consensus of opinion, C-312 has been killed before being given a chance at life. Decisions are based on consensus (general agreement) rather than by a majority vote. Such being the case, one member of the Sub-Committee having strong objection to an item could have killed the supportive position of the other five members. Perhaps the real question to ask is "When does 1 outweigh 40,000?" -30- --------------------------------------- The Canada Census Committee is an adhoc committee made up of concerned genealogists and historians from across Canada. Co-Chair Gordon A. Watts retired from B C Telephone in 1996 and has been an amateur genealogist since 1990. He has spent the past four years extensively researching the issue of public access to Post 1901 Census records and is a leader of a campaign to regain that access. He participated in roundtable discussions relating to the Access to Information Act Review in Ottawa on 26 March 2001, and appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology in support of Bill S-12 on 19 September 2001. He can be reached by: e-mail gordon_watts@telus.net Tel. 604-942-6889 Fax. 604-942-6843 or by Canada Post at: 1455 Delia Drive, Port Coquitlam, BC, V3C 2V9 Further information can be seen at the Post 1901 Census Project Website at http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census