I was under the impression that this contract had been cancelled due to public pressure against it. Am I wrong Shirley ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tweetybird" <tweetybirdone@cogeco.ca> To: <CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, October 09, 2004 11:33 PM Subject: [CCC] 1906 CENSUS I DO NOT LIKE THIS IDEA AT ALL > Subsidiary of US weapons manufacturer will help conduct Canada's 2006 > census > > Sat Oct 9, 2:35 PM ET > > STEVE LAMBERT > > (CP) - The federal government has finalized a $43.3-million deal that will > see the 2006 census conducted with the help of the Canadian subsidiary of > a > U.S. weapons manufacturer. > > While Lockheed Martin Canada Inc. won an open competition for the work, > some > peace groups and opposition politicians are concerned about taxpayer > dollars > going to a weapons-builder. > > "There's a moral issue, I believe, in having an arms manufacturing > industry > . . do our census data collection among citizens who are very diverse and > also have relatives . . abroad who could be hurt from the actual products > they use," New Democrat MP Brian Masse said in an interview from his home > in > Windsor, Ont. > > "We're concerned about Lockheed Martin's advocacy of the Star Wars program > of missile defence," said Darrell Rankin, an organizer with the No War > Coalition in Manitoba. > > Lockheed Martin officials were not immediately available for comment. > > When negotiations with the company began more than one year ago, federal > officials defended the contract, saying Lockheed Martin helped the United > States and the United Kingdom modernize their census programs. > > Under its contract with Statistics Canada, Lockheed Martin Canada will > develop hardware and software to process census forms, even ones filled > out > by hand. > > "It's very specialized software, using scanners, to actually digitize > hand-written responses from 13.6 million households," said Anil Arora, > director of the federal census program. > > The computer programs will, for the first time, allow Statistics Canada to > accept census forms filed electronically. > > There are safeguards in place to ensure the private company cannot get > access to the census information, Arora said. > > Lockheed Martin has worked in the United States to develop the space-based > missile-defence system, which has been dubbed Star Wars, and its Canadian > subsidiary has worked with the Canadian military. The company also works > in > the information technology sector. > > While the company will supply the technology for the census, it will not > have access to any completed census forms. > > "All the locations where questionnaires and data are handled are > Statistics > Canada sites," said Arora. > > "They are completely isolated. There's no external connection from the > outside that anybody could hack into." > > Critics fear some census information could leak out and make its way into > the hands of the U.S. government. > > They point to the U.S. Patriot Act, which was enacted following the > terrorist attacks of 2001. It allows the FBI (news - web sites) and other > U.S. authorities access to information held by private American companies. > There are concerns that power might extend to companies in Canada and > other > countries with headquarters in the United States. > > "It's our understanding that it makes Canadian information vulnerable," > said > Masse, who is the NDP's industry critic. > > British Columbia's privacy commissioner has launched an investigation into > how the Patriot Act might affect B.C. residents. > > Two firms with American headquarters have bid to help administer medical > billings for the province. > > Privacy commissioner David Loukidelis is examining whether the Patriot Act > would let the U.S. government force such companies to hand over personal > information about British Columbians. > > Statistics Canada says security concerns about the census are not valid. > > "No private sector contractor will have access to completed census > questionnaires," said Arora. > > That information, Arora added, will only be available to Statistics Canada > employees who have signed confidentiality agreements. > > Carol (tweetybird) > > Home page:<http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tweetybirdgenealogy/> > > Visit my home page for "Home Children" information > and other "world wide" links plus various passenger lists. > > Family Tree; <http://www.tweetybirdfamily.bravehost.com/> > Searching : > Hart, Haslip, Jackson, Stevens, Little, Budge, > Chipman, Welch, Russell, Johns & Glover > > > > > > > > > > > ==== CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN Mailing List ==== > How to unsubscribe from Digest Mode. Send a message to > CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN-D-request@rootsweb.com that contains > (in the Subject line and body of the message) the command > -- unsubscribe -- and no additional text. >