Following is the letter forwarded by mail to Mr. David Emerson, the newly appointed Industry Minister. The Hon.David Emerson, Minister of Industry 11th Floor, East Tower, C.D. Howe Building 235 Queen Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5 Canada Re: Release of 1911 National Census Dear Sir: Please accept my congratulations and best wishes for success in your appointment as Minister of Industry. As a member of the Canada Census Committee, I draw your attention to the Chief Statistician’s refusal to release control for the 1911 Census data to the National Archivist. According to law the 1911 Census should have been released June 1, 2003 and to date this has not happened. As the Minister now responsible for Stats Canada, it falls within your authority to direct the Chief Statistician to immediately take steps to transfer this control to the National Archivist You may or not be aware that for the past seven or so years there has been a public campaign by genealogists and family historians seeking to regain the public access to Historic Census records after 1901 that has been improperly, (and believed illegally), withheld from public access by Canada's Chief Statistician, Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi. The campaign has sought to regain the same unrestricted access to records after 1906 that has been available for 240 years of Census records up to that time. We have made submissions and provided more than 65,000 petition signatures in an effort to voice our concerns for all who are searching for their historic family information. A history of our struggles with the Chief Statistician is well documented on our website, www.globalgenealogy.com/Census. Included here are findings of an Expert Panel, and the results of cross-Canada Town Hall meetings, which all show agreement that there was misinterpretation on the part of the Chief Statistician w! ith relation to the instructions given to Enumerators. Our law presently states that release of Census data must occur 92 years after collection. During the last session of Parliament there was an attempt to push through Bill S-13, supposedly to ‘correct’ a deficiency, (a deficiency only perceived by the Chief Statistician). Thankfully Parliament closed down in time to prevent passage, which ultimately would have done nothing to correct anything, except add an additional 20 more unnecessary years to the release time, and provide the Chief Statistician with more control. Most other countries in the world vary in release date from 70 years upwards. Canadian taxpayers fund a Heritage Ministry, and what is more meaningful to our heritage and history than knowing and understanding our origins and ancestry, to say nothing of valuable medical information to be found. Mr. Wayne Easter has stated thus "In this age when criticism is levelled at our educational institutions for not making Canadian history courses readily available to our students, this attempt by Stats Can to further remove Canadians from their recorded historical roots must not be allowed to happen". The only resolution acceptable must be the same unrestricted public access for records after 1906, as is presently available for the existing 240 years of records up to that date. Access to these records is currently permitted under The Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and no legislative changes should be necessary for us to view these or future records. What is required is a government which will live up to the pre-election promises the Prime Minister made of less interference by bureaucrats, and as well would require the Chief Statistician to obey the laws of the land. To date we have not had such a government. After all, the Chief Statistician does not have the legal right to enact or propose laws for anything, his is an appointed position and perhaps has served its usefulness. We would request that you introduce a Government Bill which would add to the Statistics Act, a single clause similar to the following: "Original schedules of Census or authentic copies thereof shall, not later than thirty (30) years following collection, be transferred to the care and control of the National Archivist for subsequent public access in accordance with provisions of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Regulations attached thereto." Yours respectfully, Freda Stewart

I just found this article from "The Scotsman". http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3275333 I hope there is a hue and cry in the USA over this, but somehow I doubt it. Mary Anne

Hi Mary Anne. There is nothing new in the type of information this article refers to -- The Census departments of both Canada and the US have always collected information regarding the nationality or ethnicity of respondents to Census. It has also always been collated to show ethnic concentrations in various neighbourhoods. I might suggest, without any specific knowledge, that the picking out of Arab-Americans in this instance was likely due to how the Freedom of Information request was worded. If that request specifically requested what information regarding the distribution of Arab-Americans was provided to the government, then that is what they would have been given. If the FOI request however sought information generally about all ethnic concentrations in neighbourhoods then the same information for each ethnic group would likely have been provided. What information is provided to originators of FOI requests (ATI in Canada) is generally greatly influenced by how the question is worded. Media reports resulting from responses to FOI requests can likewise depend greatly on how the reporter worded their request. In many cases they can be greatly misleading. In this instance the report might be misleading in suggesting the Census Bureau specifically provided information relating only to Arab-Americans while ignoring other ethnic groups. I personally think that is unlikely -- but then again I did make a mistake once. <]:-) Have a great day! Gordon ----- Original Message ----- From: <ariana@hfx.eastlink.ca> To: <CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2004 4:30 AM Subject: [CCC] Privacy concerns over US Census Data I just found this article from "The Scotsman". http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3275333 I hope there is a hue and cry in the USA over this, but somehow I doubt it. Mary Anne