Deker: I found John Blick and also a John Edwin Blick @ www.archives.ca National Archives of Canada site under 'research' find: ArchiviaNet "Finding Aids" "Soldiers of the First World War" Canadian Expeditionary Force Search the Database John Blick b. Northampton 8 Mar 1892 If you then click on the 'front' and 'back' of form, you can find out more about your relative. Try also www.ingeneas.com Let me know if you have difficulties. I can scan and send this data as a text file attachment. Hope this helps. Penny. If you key in surname Blick only, a few others surface.

Hi Everybody, I am new to your list and trying to research the below:- John Blick born UK in 1892. Came to Canada prior to WW1. Served 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles from 1914 to August 1919. He had worked for the Toronto Elect Light Co prior to the war and immediately after discharge. Lived in Toronto till 1920. From 1923 worked for Hydro at the Hydro Electric Plant at Cameron Falls near Nipigon, Ont. and then moved west. Any information would be most gratefully received as researching this person from the UK is proving to be a nightmare ! Regards Deker

Hello. Would some kind sole lookup the Surname Landry in BC for me? Am at a perfect standstill with my Lamdry Family. Bekieve i was told to lookup a woman by her maiden name omly. Biy bo luck either way. I thank you. Viola.

Hi, I was just catching up on some Rootsweb Reviews and saw a letter from a person who was very enthusiastic about this page: http://www.ReunionRegistry.com/default.asp You can search there for people, like friends that you've lost track of. They have a separate registry for people who have an adoption-related search. It's free. Pam -- Pam Fairweather Thomson in BC, Canada Researching Fairweather & Todrick mailto:pamthom@intergate.ca

Please anyone who contacted me in regards to my Black Family from my email requesting lookups, from the past two weeks, please contract me again. We tried loading a new operating system on our computer and lost all of our emails. Thanks Cath

Greetings All. Just a short note to advise that the Post 1901 Census Project website has been updated with the inclusion of a Scoreboard and Correspondence Logs for all Senators of Canada, similar to that for MPs. For the past while we have had some difficulties in timely updating of the website. It is hoped that we have managed to resolve those problems and updates should be more frequent. With your help this website will be a continuous work in progress. The URL for the site follows my signature. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en francais http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted.

Hi Listers: Looking for an obituary for Isabella (Bell) Jane FERRIS, nee KERR, who died in Victoria, B.C. December 2, 1930. Isabella was the wife of William Douglas FERRIS, who died in Vancouver August 5, 1928. Any information will be greatly appreciated. Lois

Greetings All. I copy here FYI a series of communications (or attempted communications) with Justice Minister Anne McLellan relating to our efforts to regain public access to Historic Census Records. It would appear that Ms. McLellan shares the same lack of interest to our concerns as do Industry Minister Brian Tobin and Heritage Minister Sheila Copps. Neither of them respond either. My apologies for the length of this posting. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en francais http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gordon A. Watts" <gordon_watts@telus.net> To: "Anne MCLELLAN - MP" <Mclellan.A@parl.gc.ca> Cc: "Jason KENNEY - MP" <Kenney.J@parl.gc.ca>; "Sheila COPPS - MP" <Copps.S@parl.gc.ca>; "Lorna MILNE - SEN" <milnel@sen.parl.gc.ca>; "Murray Calder - MP" <calder.m@parl.gc.ca> Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2001 1:14 PM Subject: Lack of response to communications sent in April 2001 Ms. McLellan: I copy below attempts to contact you, in your capacity of Minister of Justice and Attorney General, through email via the address contained on the Justice Canada website, and the responses thereto, from the Website Administrator. I find these responses to be totally inadequate in that they do nothing to assure me that they have actually been directed to your attention. Words are cheap, and these ones apparently mean nothing -- simple mouthings attempting to convince me that my communications have been noted. Further, your lack of response to my concerns and specific questions asked demonstrates to me, and to the many people I represent, just how little you are concerned regarding the common people of Canada -- the ones that voted for you to represent them in Parliament, and the ones who look to you for "Justice". Attempts to contact your office by telephone have been futile. The local office of Justice Canada refuses to forward my call to your office in Ottawa. Local offices of other Federal Government departments will do this, but not Justice Canada. Other Federal Government departments have toll-free numbers to use, but not Justice Canada. Finally calling at my own expense to find what has happened to my correspondences to you, I am transferred from pillar to post before eventually getting someone's voice mail box in which I left a message requesting a call back. More than a week later I am still waiting. In sending you the two email copied below, at the same time I sent identical communications via fax at the number shown on the Justice Canada website, and by Canada Post. I have received neither response, nor acknowledgement to either the fax or letter. I will be sending this message by fax and Canada Post as well. The appearance is that you, or your office, have deliberately made it next to impossible to contact you by any normal means. This is totally unacceptable. You have a responsibility to the people of Canada. They deserve to have their concerns noted and responded to. They deserve to receive more than a one line response from a website administrator. I respectfully request an immediate, and personal, response to the questions and concerns voiced in the communications below. Thank you. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee 1455 Delia Drive Port Coquitlam, BC Tel (604) 942-6889 Fax (604) 942-6843 http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en francais http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: "Web Administrator" <Webadmin@JUSTICE.GC.CA> To: "'Gordon A. Watts'" <gordon_watts@telus.net> Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2001 11:38 AM Subject: RE: Lack of response to communications sent in April 2001 Hello, This confirms receipt of your e-mail. Rest assured that your message will be forwarded to the Minister of Justice. Regards, Web Administrator Justice Canada -----Original Message----- From: Gordon A. Watts [mailto:gordon_watts@telus.net] Sent: 2001 Jun 29 4:15 PM To: ; Anne MCLELLAN - MP Cc: Hon. Brian TOBIN; Jason KENNEY - MP; Sheila COPPS - MP; Lorna MILNE - SEN Subject: Lack of response to communications sent in April 2001 1455 Delia Drive Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 2V9 Hon. Anne McLellan, P.C., M.P. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada 284 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8 Dear Ms. McLellan On 9 and 10 April 2001 I sent to you, by email, fax, and Canada Post, correspondence relating to the current review of the Access to Information Act, and my concerns regarding an announcement made 15 December 2000 by Industry Minister Brian Tobin that this review would include "...further broad based consultation with all Canadians..." re: public access to Historic Census Records. In this correspondence I expressed a number of concerns, and asked for specific responses to those concerns. I further requested information that I hoped to obtain informally, but if necessary was prepared to request through ATI. On 24 April 2001, two weeks later, I received an acknowledgement of receipt of my email, stating that I would "...receive a written response from the Minister of Justice." I have attached to this correspondence copies of this acknowledgement of receipt of my email, and my original message to you. To date, now more than two months since sending my correspondences, I have received neither the promised "written response from the Minister of Justice", nor even the courtesy of an acknowledgement of receipt of either my fax or the letter sent by Canada Post. The concerns expressed in my April correspondence, and the information requested of you have also been requested of Industry Minister Brian Tobin. Mr. Tobin has also neglected to either acknowledge my correspondence, or to respond to it. The office of Heritage Minister Sheila Copps has advised me that any correspondence from me will be filed (garbage?) without response. A suspicious person might conclude that there is a conspiracy of silence regarding the "...broad based consultations with all Canadians..." re: public access to Historic Census Records, that do not appear to taking place as announced. I respectfully request an immediate response to the concerns expressed and information requested in my previous correspondence. Sincerely, Gordon A. Watts Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee CC Hon. Brian Tobin; Hon. Sheila Copps; Hon. Lorna Milne, Senator; Murray Calder; MP, Jason Kenney, MP ======================= From: "Web Administrator" < Webadmin@JUSTICE.GC.CA <mailto:Webadmin@JUSTICE.GC.CA> > To: "'Gordon A. WATTS'" < gordon_watts@telus.net <mailto:gordon_watts@telus.net> > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 6:07 AM Subject: RE: ATI Act Review Task Force and public consultation re: public access to Historic Census Records Good morning, This is to confirm receipt of your message and to assure you that you will receive a written response from the Minister of Justice. Best regards, Web Administrator Justice Canada -----Original Message----- From: Gordon A. WATTS [ mailto:gordon_watts@telus.net <mailto:gordon_watts@telus.net> ] Sent: 2001 Apr 10 3:00 AM Cc: Lorna MILNE - SEN; Jason KENNEY - MP; Murray CALDER - MP; Hon. Brian TOBIN Subject: ATI Act Review Task Force and public consultation re: public access to Historic Census Records 1455 Delia Drive Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 2V9 9 April 2001 Hon. Anne McLellan, P.C., M.P. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada 284 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8 Dear Ms. McLellan On 15 December 2000, in conjunction with the long delayed release of the Report of the Expert Panel on Access of Historic Census Records, Industry Minister Brian Tobin submitted a News Release in which he rejected the recommendations made in this Report. The News Release, a copy of which is attached hereto, was dealing with public access to Historic Census Records. Mr. Tobin stated, in relation to this: (emphasis mine) "....further broad based consultation with all Canadians is needed. This consultation will take place as part of the already announced administrative and legislative review of the Access to Information and the Privacy Acts." On 26 March 2001, I participated in a roundtable discussion conducted by the Access to Information Act Review Task Force. Of the seventeen participants in these discussions, four were primarily concerned with public access to Historic Census Records, 92 years after collection, as allowed for in the Privacy Act and its Regulations. We felt that Section 24, and Schedule II of the ATI Act were major impediments to this access. This due to the fact that Section 17 of the Statistics Act is named in Schedule II, thus apparently removing any discretion in allowing control of Census records to be given over to the National Archivist for subsequent release for public access. After considerable discussion, the feeling was unanimous among the participants that public access should be allowed to Historic Census Records, 92 years after collection, as per the Privacy Act and its Regulations. All of this, however, seems to have been for naught. Following the roundtable discussions, we had the opportunity to speak with three members of the ATIA Review Task Force who were in attendance as observers. Those members of the Task Force advised us: * Not to expect much to be said about public access to Historic Census Records in the Final Report of the ATI Act Review Task Force. * A review of, and recommendations regarding, public access to Historic Census Records did not form a part of the mandate of the ATI Act Review Task Force. * Members of the ATI Act Review Task Force had never been advised that a review of, and subsequent recommendations relating to, public access of Historic Census Records should be considered by them. * A review of the Privacy Act was not, and has never been, a part of the mandate of the ATI Act Review Task Force. In considering the above, one might reach the following conclusions: * There is a great lack of communications between the Minister of Industry and yourself as Minister of Justice, and/or between yourself and the members of the ATIA Review Task Force. Or * Someone is not telling the whole truth regarding "broad based consultation with all Canadians" relating to public access of Historic Census Records. It is obvious that such consultation is not, as Mr. Tobin indicated, being done in conjunction with the ATIA Review Task Force. * This consultation is unlikely to take place in any similar exercise relating to the Privacy Act. The only known reference to any review of the Privacy Act was found in a speech you made to the Canadian Bar Association 21 August 2000, where you indicated you had asked "my officials to begin a comprehensive review of the Privacy Act." I would appreciate your personal comments regarding the above. In relation to the above I would seek to obtain any and all documentation, including email, letters, memoranda, notes about conversations, or other, between yourself as Minister of Justice, Justice Canada and the ATIA Review Task Force, and Brian Tobin as Minister of Industry, Dr. Ivan Fellegi, Chief Statistician of Canada, and Statistics Canada, relating to any review of public access to Historic Census Records and the various legislation pertaining thereto. I will, if necessary, request this information through ATI. If possible, however, I would prefer to obtain it informally. I look forward to a response from you at your earliest possible convenience. Thank you. Sincerely, Gordon A. Watts Co-chair, Canada Census Committee CC Hon. Brian Tobin Hon. Lorna Milne Murray Calder, MP Jason Kenney, MP

Hi from Ontario: I am searching for information on Malcolm MAXWELL. He was born c. l875 in Chesley, Ontario. He is the son of John Maxwell and Ann Shaw. Brother of Isabella, Jenny, James, John(Jack), Alice (my grandmother). The family moved from Ontario to the Moosomin/Welwyn area of Sask. in the l890's. Apparently "Mack" worked in Rocanville, Sask. as a blacksmith and moved to BC around l9l5/l6. In an obituary, it is stated that he lived in Nelson, BC. I'm sure I've just found his name on the BC Death Index #ll3 died l945.ll.8 age 70, Victoria BC. Is there anyone out there with knowledge of Malcolm or his family? N.Haines

Could someone please look these death records up for me and if possible newspaper obits too. I am willing to pay the expense of printing and your time for the look-up. Please contact me at Cath_Hammack@3-cities.com for payment arrangements. Name: FRANK WILLIAM BLACK Event Date: 1947 12 30 (Yr/Mo/Day) Age: 85 Gender: Male Event Place: VANCOUVER Reg. Number: 1947-09-010923 B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13195 GSU Microfilm Number: 2032479 Name: FRANK WILLIAM BLACK Event Date: 1953 7 24 (Yr/Mo/Day) Age: 52 Gender: Male Event Place: VANCOUVER Reg. Number: 1953-09-007520 B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13216 GSU Microfilm Number: 2032875 Name: GEORGINA WHITELAW BLACK Event Date: 1963 5 5 (Yr/Mo/Day) Age: 94 Gender: Female Event Place: VANCOUVER Reg. Number: 1963-09-005819 B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13261 GSU Microfilm Number: 2033503 Name: GEORGINA BLACK Event Date: 1965 4 15 (Yr/Mo/Day) Age: 93 Gender: Female Event Place: NEW WESTMINSTER Reg. Number: 1965-09-005654 B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13271 GSU Microfilm Number: 2033724 Name: GEORGINA GERTRUDE BLACK Event Date: 1972 6 1 (Yr/Mo/Day) Age: 83 Gender: Female Event Place: NEW WESTMINSTER Reg. Number: 1972-09-008233 B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13318 GSU Microfilm Number: 2050014 Cath Hammack

Greetings All. I hope that you had a great Canada Day and that all survived with nothing more serious than a sunburn. With school out and summer vacations imminent opportunities for gathering signatures on Census petitions will be numerous. Family gatherings, reunions, camping trips, vacation trips, etc. are all great places to get people to sign. To date, since the federal election last fall, we have gathered in excess of 10,000 signatures on petitions for each of the House of Commons, and the Senate. With Parliament recessed until 19 September we have a couple of months in which to greatly increase these numbers. While in our previous petition blitz British Columbia led the parade for numbers of signatures gathered, this time Alberta has greatly outshone all other provinces. This was accomplished because both the Alberta Genealogical Society and the Alberta Family History Society mailed copies of the petitions to each of their members with a request to gather signatures and return them before a goal date set by each organization. While this entailed a small cost to the societies, even that cost was minimized by including the petitions, which had been printed double sided, with the mailing of their normal newsletters. Both groups gathered in excess of 2,500 signatures on each of the House of Commons and Senate Petitions. Imagine the numbers of signatures we could present when Parliament resumes in the fall if every genealogical and historical society, in every province, followed the example of the AGS and AFHS. MP Murray Calder and Senator Lorna Milne would need dollies to wheel the petitions into the House of Commons and the Senate. One of the major problems in our campaign to regain public access to Historic Census Records has been that the vast majority of Canadians are not aware that Census records after 1901 have been closed by Statistics Canada. Most give little or no thought to Census, except when required to complete the forms every five years, and are unaware of the great importance placed on Census by genealogists and historians. Aside from gathering signatures on petitions, each of us must make an effort to inform our friends, neighbours, relatives, and local media regarding the situation, and what is being done to remedy it. We must continue to write our MPs, and now our Senators, seeking their support for public access to Historic Census Records. Occasionally we receive questions about a deadline for receiving petitions. There is NO DEADLINE. We will continue to collect signatures and send them in until such time as we have achieved our goal. Recently, because of things beyond my control, there has been difficulty in having the Post 1901 Census Project website updated. While many files have been updated they have not yet been loaded on the server. I do not have direct access to the server and must rely on someone else to load the files. I hope that these problems will soon be resolved. New additions to the web pages will be a Scoreboard and Correspondence Logs for Senators, similar to those for Members of Parliament, and a letter sized poster (downloadable in PDF format) for use in gathering petition signatures. My wish for each of you is for a safe and happy summer, and may your vacations be everything you want them to be. May it also be productive for gathering petition signatures and for informing others about the importance of regaining public access to Post 1901 Census Records. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en francais http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm

Hi All Is there anyone who could lookup the 1901 census for Nelson BC and get me any Dill's that were living there at that time. Thanks Pat Ontario

FINAL TRIP HOME Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson officially opened Canada's first national military cemetery, a site at Ottawa's Beechwood Cemetery set apart for the interment of those veterans who have fought in Canada's wars and for whom, until now, the country has not had a distinctive resting place. Those who have served in Canada's Armed Forces, many of whom spent their careers moving from one community to the other, will also be able to call this cemetery their own. It will serve as a final home to the many dedicated, and transient, members of our military. In the strictest sense, the National Military Cemetery is not Canada's first military cemetery, if one considers this country's many war dead who are buried overseas. There are also more than 17,000 war dead resting in the National Field of Honour near Montreal. As well, there are a number of cemeteries in this country where sections are set apart and maintained for the burial of veterans. But it is appropriate that Canada, like many other countries, will now have a national resting place for the military. Such a facility is particularly appropriate these days because of the ongoing role of Canada's military in world affairs, particularly peacekeeping. Indeed, all who serve in Canada's military should have the option of being buried in the uniquely appropriate National Military Cemetery. ------------------------------------------ To all:- Let us not forget the Korean War National Cemetery, situated at Meadowvale Cemetery, Brampton, Ontario -- in memory of 585 Canadians who did not return from Korea. Muriel M. Davidson <davidson3542@home.com>

Pam, Thanks for the offer but David Fancy is going to have a chance to get it this afternoon. Carole

Bill, I'm putting this out on the list and leaving your message attached because maybe someone else will recognize some of these people. Shame on me for not putting some dates with my Jones people! James H. Jones was born in Gaspe Co., Quebec in 1869, the son of Thomas Jones and Annie Enright. James was from a large family but we don't know all of the children's names yet. He had brothers Joseph A. Jones and Matthew, both of whom died in MN, as James did. There were at least two sisters who were nuns. Don't know when James came out West to BC or when he married Lorena Reeves Lloyd Earle but their first (as far as I know) children were the triplets born 4 Apr 1907, place unknown. Only one child survived longer than two years....it's a wonder any did as they must have been quite tiny. Their 2nd batch of babies, twins, were born in Revelstoke and one died there. They later brought their babies and her children back to Portland where Lorena had lived before. I'll forward your message to my cousin who may have found more Jones siblings by now. Sorry....your names aren't familiar to me. My husband's Hammonds went from ME to Omaha, NE to OR. Good luck! Carole -----Original Message----- From: bill pearson <bpearson@telusplanet.net> To: Carole Hammond <carolehammond@qwest.net> Date: Thursday, June 28, 2001 5:26 AM Subject: NAMES >HI, > I have tryed the Fernie lookup thing with no results, must be that I'am >of the male gender, good luck. > >YOUR TIME FRAME?? and MINE > > This is wierdd i'am looking for 5 Jones,that(maybe) came from England >to Fernie,Jack,Harry,Daniel,Harriet(Jones,Hammond,Pearson) and Emma (Jones,Hammond,Birtwistle). There is one more girl who stayed in England only have her married name:Mrs W.Wilkinson of Bolton,Lancashire. >Harriet was my gmother,married to William S.Pearson, >Emma was my aunt married to Bert Birtwistle,they later moved to the >US(1920) >>From what i can find which is not much,the Jones's,Pearson's,Birtwistle's and could be some Hammond's??????. A whole bunch came to Canada > >Maybe a link >William Hammond Pearson

Hi Carole I will get it for you when I go to the library today Regards David On Wed, 27 Jun 2001 23:03:22 -0700, Carole Hammond wrote: >I was wondering if someone might be able to do a look-up of a death record for a baby boy who may be one of a set of triplets born in 1907 to James H. Jones and his wife Lorena. > >Name: HARRY JONES >Event Date: 1908 9 6 (Yr/Mo/Day) >Age: 1 >Gender: Male >Event Place: FERNIE > >Reg. Number: 1908-09-167547 >B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13105 >GSU Microfilm Number: 1927133 > >Thank you so much, Carole in Portland > > >==== CAN-BRITISH-COLUMBIA Mailing List ==== >To New Subscribers : The online indexes to British Columbia Vital Records are at >http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/textual/governmt/vstats/v_events.htm#indexes >These records are freely available and there are several possibilities for accessing them at a low cost. > >

Hello Fellow Researchers! I do apologize for not sending any OKANAGAN OBITS recently, as I have been swamped with family info. from Ont. and scanning it out to NZ., and have, also, had some probs. with my PC and scanner. So, please, accept my apologies and I will soon get back to you with all of what I have kept for you, shortly, as I am, also, contending with a thousand or so messages for being off-line for a week. Just hang tight, please, and, will be back with you shortly! Thank you for your patience! Shannah twiss_griggs@uniserve.com

I was wondering if someone might be able to do a look-up of a death record for a baby boy who may be one of a set of triplets born in 1907 to James H. Jones and his wife Lorena. Name: HARRY JONES Event Date: 1908 9 6 (Yr/Mo/Day) Age: 1 Gender: Male Event Place: FERNIE Reg. Number: 1908-09-167547 B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13105 GSU Microfilm Number: 1927133 Thank you so much, Carole in Portland

Hi Earlier this week I wrote asking if there was anyone who could get some copies of death registrations for me. I had several replies and I would like to thank all who offered to do lookups for me. Pam Thomson was the first and I had a message from her tonight saying she had them. I really appreciate the great help Pam and thanks again. This seems like a great list. Carol Lylyk Calgary

Greetings All. It is with great pleasure that I advise that the ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN ARCHIVISTS has joined our effort to regain public access to Historic Census Records. I copy below, for your information, most of an email message sent to the membership of the ACA, containing two resolutions made at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Canadian Archivists in Winnipeg, June 8 2001. It was sent by Bryan Corbett, President of the ACA. We welcome the participation of the ACA. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en francais http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted. ================================ The attached resolutions were discussed and passed unanimously at the annual meeting of the Association of Canadian Archivists on June 8 in Winnipeg. The Census resolution is being sent to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Leaders of the Opposition, the Minister of Industry, the National Archivist of Canada, the Information Commissioner of Canada, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and the Chief Statistician of Canada. The Access Resolution is being sent to the Access to Information Review Task Force, the Minister of Justice, The National Archivist of Canada, John Bryden, Member of Parliament, the Information Commissioner of Canada and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. As President of the Association of Canadian Archivists I would ask you to write to or call these individuals and Offices to support these resolutions ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN ARCHIVISTS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - 8 JUNE 2001 Motion of Membership on Release of Historical Census Moved by: Terry Cook Seconded by: Tom Nesmith Carried by: UNANIMOUS vote of approval In that the historical censuses of Canada are essential records that allow individual Canadians to situate themselves and their families within the fabric of Canada and serve as a foundational historical record for research in many disciplines necessary to understand aspects of our nation, its peoples, and its identities not available through any other documentary source; In that the Government of Canada after much public lobbying by many interest groups established an Expert Panel of well-respected Canadians representing all aspects of the census-release issue to investigate and resolve this matter thoroughly; In that the Expert Panel issued its report over six months ago recommending release of the historical censuses according to the terms of the Regulations of the Privacy Act of Canada that balances release of government information and protection of personal information while it is still sensitive, a position that this Association formally supports; In that the Expert Panel found that after researching the relevant records that there never was an alleged promise of confidentiality to Canadians regarding the census, and that by contrast depositing the census in the National Archives was explicitly an accepted part of early census policy; and In that national censuses of 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901 have been released for many years now to hundreds of thousands of users via microfilmed copies in numerous Canadian archives, as have all Newfoundland censuses before 1949, and that there has never been a single privacy complaint lodged against the release, widespread use, or publication of any of this historical census data; Be it resolved, that the Association of Canadian Archivists * strongly urges the Government of Canada to implement immediately the findings of the Expert Panel without change, and especially without the unnecessary additional delays of awaiting possible reviews of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act; * strongly urges the Government of Canada to release immediately to the custody and control of the National Archives of Canada the Western Census of 1906 and the National Census of 1911 so they may be released 92 years after creation as legislation directs, and directs Statistics Canada to arrange for the subsequent transfer of all subsequent census data to the National Archives for the years 1921-1991, and to protect electronic versions according to National Archives' instructions for the years 1996 and onward; and * instructs its President to convey this motion to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Leaders of all Parliamentary Parties, the Minister of Industry, the National Archivist of Canada, the Information Commissioner of Canada, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and the Chief Statistician of Canada. ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN ARCHIVISTS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - 8 JUNE 2001 Motion of Membership on Access to Information Review Task Force Moved by: Terry Cook Seconded by: Tom Nesmith Carried by: UNANIMOUS vote of approval In that the Government of Canada has created an Access to Information Review Task Force (P.O. Box 1178, Station B, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5R2) to review the clauses and operation of the federal Access to Information Act; In that archivists as information professionals have vital interests in Access to Information either directly at the federal level or through federal legislation often being mirrored in other jurisdictions; In that archivists have long experience in administering access to information/freedom of information legislation across Canada, and in dealing with researchers using that legislation to access archival holdings covered by such legislation; Be it resolved, that the Association of Canadian Archivists * supports the Government of Canada in its review of the Access to Information Act; * urges the Task Force to use the expertise of archivists in its deliberations through direct contact with appointees of the Association's President * urges the Task Force to maintain the historical and just balance between citizen's rights, on the one hand, to access government information for many research purposes and to hold government accountable through reliable records as the basis of democracy, and, on the other hand, to prevent the early disclosure of sensitive personal information that constitutes an invasion of privacy; * urges the Task Force to recognize the clear linkage between any realistic implementation of the right of access and the effective management of the information of Government in all recording media (including especially electronic records), grounded by control of authorization of all records destruction by the National Archivist of Canada; * urges the Task Force to strengthen the authority (and resources) of the Information Commissioner and National Archivist in promoting better records management, including expanded punitive powers and penalties for non-compliance with record-keeping directives; * urges the Task Force to expand the scope of the Act, so that the schedule of departments and agencies subject to the Act is made identical with those of the Privacy Act and the National Archives of Canada Act with which they are related; * urges very strongly the Task Force to introduce a passage of time clause, requiring that all government records should be released by their creating department or by the National Archives twenty-five (25) years after their creation. A passage of time clause exists in Privacy Act regulations and in the more effective access-lease rules before 1983. If there are rare exceptions to this blanket release date, save only for sensitive personal information that has longer passage-of-time release dates already, these should be justified for continued closure only on a case-by-case basis made before the Information Commissioner, who would rule on their validity, subject to appeal to the courts. This places the burden rightly on government to demonstrate why records should remain closed rather than on citizens to request (at their time and expense) that they be opened; * urges the Task Force to consider, in light of recent impasses on this release of historical censuses, inserting an explicit census release clause in a revised Act; and * instructs its President to convey this motion to the Chair of the Access to Information Review Task Force, the Minister of Justice, the National Archivist of Canada, the Information Commissioner of Canada, and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Bryan Corbett University Archivist University of Alberta Archives University of Alberta Book and Record Depository (BARD) 100, 8170 50th Street Edmonton, Alberta CANADA T6B 2E2 Tel: (780) 466-6123 Fax: (780) 466-5210 E-Mail: Bryan.Corbett@ualberta.ca The University of Alberta Home Page is located at http://www.ualberta.ca/archives/ The home page of the Association of Canadian Archivists is located at: http://aca.archives.ca The home page of the Archives Society of Alberta is located at: http://www.glenbow.org/asa/home.htm