Greetings All. I copy below FYI another excellent article written by Professor Bill Waiser that was printed on page A15 of this morning's (19 Sept 2001) Globe and Mail. My thanks to Ian Cooper who advised us about the article. 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. ================================ Come to your census, Statscan -- Bill Waiser Statistics Canada is getting desperate. How else can one explain the recent Department of Public Works contract tender to convene 14 town hall meetings (one in every province and territory) and 24 focus group sessions (two in every centre) to survey the public's attitude to the release of historical census records? There's nothing wrong with public consultation. But Statscan has already been down this road. In November, 1999, then industry minister John Manley appointed a blue-ribbon panel to investigate the question of access to historical census records. Statscan not only supported the initiative, but facilitated the committee's activities. The panel, which included a former Supreme Court of Canada judge, heard from various stakeholders; it considered the findings of a March, 2000, Environics poll and the opinion of several focus groups. It found that the majority of those who participated in the national poll support the release of their personal census information after 100 years. The focus groups generally agreed. Many participants appreciated the fact that the future release of census material would allow their descendants to explore family roots. The survey results flatly contradicted Statscan's repeated claim that the release of historic census material would jeopardize future census participation. The panel noted that the previous release of census materials in Canada (up to 1901) had not produced any objection. In fact, the panel suggested that if American and British releases were also included, more than 620 million individual records had been released without a single complaint. Why then, is Statscan commissioning another round of public consultations? The simple answer is that the agency didn't like the panel's recommendations -- in particular, that pre-1918 census records be made available to the public immediately, according to existing regulations. Statscan is also apparently trying to counter a new threat -- the most recent legal opinion on the matter. Since 1978, there have been 11 -- yes, 11 -- legal opinions on the question of public access to historical census materials. The latest, dated Aug. 1, 2000, and made available through access to information, was prepared by a senior counsel with the Department of Justice, who was asked to consider whether pre-1918 census records could be legally released after 92 years without any legislative change. Ann Chaplin's opinion was an unequivocal yes -- noting that if these records were meant to be kept secret forever, why did the Laurier government insist that they be transferred to the National Archives as a permanent record? This legal opinion effectively undercuts Statscan's stubborn refusal to transfer census materials to the custody and control of the National Archivist. It raises serious concern about Statcan's motives. Why is the government agency embarking on yet another round of public opinion surveys in what appears to be a transparent attempt to discredit Department of Justice legal opinions? Surely it's not going to ask loaded questions designed to raise public fears over the release of census materials. Why is Statistics Canada determined to ignore the panel's recommendations, especially when public opinion surveys were involved? Did participants give the "wrong" answers? Most importantly, why is Statscan denying thousands of ordinary Canadians the pleasure of learning more about their ancestor's lives? Isn't 92 years a reasonable waiting period for the release of these records? Those interested in Canada's past deserve to know. --------------------------------------------------- Bill Waiser is writing a history of Saskatchewan for the 2005 provincial centennial.