The following is a reply I received & I thought it would be of great interest to anyone researching Canadian ancestors. With the communications of today, there is 'no privacy', so why would census information that is 92+ years old be a threat to anyone? Martha Access to 1911 and Other Post-1901 Census Records Introduction The release of individual census records is explicitly prohibited by law for all censuses following 1901. This has dismayed the many genealogists and researchers who had expected that the 1911 census records would be publicly available in 2003, 92 years after the taking of the census. There are competing interests at issue here, both legitimate and both important. Not everyone is aware of the "other side of the coin" - so to speak. There is a perception that Statistics Canada has taken an arbitrary position in this matter and is circumventing the 92 year rule by its decision not to transfer the records. This is not the case. In fact, the agency's hands are tied. Census records collected in 1901 and prior years The Privacy Act provides for the transfer of records to the National Archives. It permits such transfers only if there are no other acts with different or stronger protection. In other words, records can be transferred to the National Archives only if there are no provisions in another piece of legislation that prevent that transfer. The records of censuses taken in 1901 and in prior years have been transferred to the National Archives for public access. This was possible because the legislation that was used to collect these census records did not contain any provisions that prohibited their transfer. Up to 1901, Census-takers were instructed to protect the confidentiality of the information while collecting it, but these instructions did not have the force of law. Thus the information contained in these records is protected only by the Privacy Act which stipulates that National Archives can make these records available to the public 92 years after the taking of the census. The 1906 and subsequent censuses Starting in 1906, however, and in subsequent censuses, the legislation that gave the authority to collect census information contained statutory confidentiality provisions. These provisions are such that only the person named in the record may have access to his/her information. There is also no time limitation on the access. Even when the person is deceased, the provisions are still in effect. As a result, Statistics Canada, without breaching the Statistics Act, cannot transfer the census records taken under the authority of the 1906 and subsequent Statistics Acts to the National Archives. The fact that the United States and Britain both release census records is an issue of different legislation and, perhaps, of culture when it comes to the taking of a census. Information recorded on microfilm Statistics Canada continues to hold all individual returns of census questionnaires collected between 1906 and 1986. These records have been transferred from questionnaires to microfilm and are available for access by individual respondents who need to confirm birth dates for pension purposes, passports, etc. The destruction of the 1911 and later census records held on microfilm was never a consideration by Statistics Canada although the paper questionnaires themselves have been destroyed in accordance with approvals given by the National Archives of Canada. As a result, Statistics Canada does not have the option, as has been suggested by some genealogists and researchers, of being able to filter out the more sensitive information from early census records since microfilm technology, unlike newer technology such as optical imaging, does not lend itself to severance. The original paper questionnaires would be required for this. The Statistics Act Like any law, the Statistics Act can also be amended - e.g. to permit the release of individual records after 92 years. But, this is where an important principle of privacy protection comes into play: is it right to alter retroactively the conditions under which information was provided by Canadians? Should Parliament declare, in effect, as invalid the explicit guarantee of indefinite confidentiality that was promised to Canadians when the data were collected? Or should it perhaps consider the 92-year release rule for future censuses only? This issue is very complex. While there is undeniably great value attached to nominative historical census records, there is also great value attached to the aggregate information that can be produced from current and future censuses. That information is and will be used for a multiplicity of purposes, many of which are requirements contained in various pieces of legislation to meet specific needs, for example, transfer payments to provinces and the determination of electoral boundaries. Canadian citizens have always demonstrated unstinted cooperation in providing personal information about themselves when asked to participate in a census or in other surveys conducted by Statistics Canada. The most important factor contributing to this cooperation is the unconditional guarantee given to respondents that the information they supply will be protected. Canada, for almost 100 years has been able to unconditionally guarantee the confidentiality of the information supplied in the census. Changes to the commitments made to respondents in the past could have a negative impact on the level of cooperation given to future censuses and surveys. A substantial decrease in such cooperation could seriously jeopardize Statistics Canada's ability to carry out its national mandate of producing reliable, timely information on which many users depend. This information is also a fundamental pillar of our democratic system, because it is one of the measures that electors use to evaluate the performance of their governments. This must not ever be taken lightly.