Thank you very much for your reply to my email Mr. Siksay and stating that you support the preservation of Canada's historical documents. I have forwarded your reply to our Co-Chairmen so that they can record it on our site. You can monitor your response by going to the following site: http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index6.htm You can also go to this same site and download petitions (House of Commons & Senate) if you wish to support this with a signature. Once again, thank you for your support, (Miss) Adele Turner North Vancouver, B C -----Original Message----- -----Original Message----- From: Siksay, Bill - M.P. [mailto:Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca] Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 10:19 AM To: Adele Turner Subject: RE: Still waiting patiently for your reply after two months... Here is the response that has been provided to questions such as yours. Normally, the critic is the member who would respond on behalf of all the caucus. The letter below was provide by Jack Layton's office. Dear Friend: Thank you for your correspondence about the release of census records through the National Archives. I understand that 1906 and 1911 census information can be released through the National Archives under existing legislation and is consistent with the intent of Parliament at the time and with the National Archives of Canada Act, and Privacy Act and Privacy Regulations. My NDP caucus colleagues and I support the release of census information after 92 years, in the belief that most Canadians would accept this as a reasonable balance of the right to privacy and the collective interest in enhancing the study of history. Once again, thank you for writing. Bill Siksay, MP Burnaby-Douglas ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- From: Adele Turner [mailto:ajturner@shaw.ca] Sent: October 22, 2004 2:00 PM To: Siksay, Bill - M.P. Subject: Still waiting patiently for your reply after two months... Mr. Siksay: You still have not answered my question, "Do you support the preservation OR the destruction of the Post 1901 Historical Census?" You advised me that you forwarded my letter to Brian Masse for comment. Our Committee already has Brian Masse's reply posted to our site. Please see below which I now quote: Name: Brian Masse Political Party: New Democratic Party Constituency: Windsor West Province: Ontario Telephone: (613) 996-1541 Fax: (613) 992-5397 Email: Masse.B@parl.gc.ca or Masseb0@parl.gc.ca Address: House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 Constituency Address: 336-300 Tecumseh Road East Plaza 300 Windsor, Ontario N8X 5E8 07/05/2002 - letter from MP Brian Masse to Vicki Moorhead. Although Mr. Masse is recently elected he has obviously done some research on the Census issue. While he has not specifically stated his support, his letter is viewed as sufficiently supportive to award him a gold tick. Dear Vicki, Thank you for your email supporting the release of census records through the National Archives after a 92-year waiting period. I understand that this issue has received much attention and debate during the past few years including several Private Members' bills in both the House of Commons and the Senate. These bills have received strong support from genealogists and historical researchers across Canada and abroad. While census records up to 1901 have been available to researchers, records from the 1906 census onwards are not being made available due to Statistics Canada's interpretation of current legislation. The main thrust of the Private Members' bills relate to a key recommendation of the Expert Panel on Access to Historical Census Records that also called for the records to be released after 92 years. The final report of the panel was made public in December 2000 and can be found at the following site: http://www.statcan.ca/english/census96/finalrep.htm Statistics Canada had engaged the polling firm Environics to conduct town hall meetings and focus groups across Canada to further look at this issue Information about the outcome of these meetings may be obtained from the Environics website. Meanwhile, a confidential legal opinion, prepared in August 2000 by a Department of Justice lawyer, has come to light. This opinion states that 1906 and 1911 census information can be released through the National Archives under existing legislation. While suggesting new legislation to clarify the situation for censuses after 1918, the opinion states that release of this information appears consistent with the intent of Parliament at the time and with the National Archives of Canada Act, and Privacy Act and Privacy Regulations. Based on all of this evidence, I believe that most Canadians would accept the release of 1911 Census records as a reasonable balance of the right to privacy and the collective interest in enhancing the study of history. I appreciate your interest in this matter and hope that I was able to address your concerns. Please feel free to contact me again on this or any other federal issue of concern. As your federal Member of Parliament for Windsor West, I look forward to continuing to serve our community. Yours sincerely, Brian Masse, MP Windsor West BM/ec CEP 232 -----Original Message----- From: Siksay, Bill - M.P. [mailto:Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca] Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 6:59 AM To: ajturner@shaw.ca Cc: Masse, Brian - M.P. Subject: RE: PLESASE REPLY: OTTAWA August 31st, 2004 Miss Adele J. Turner #67 - 1947 Purcell Way North Vancouver, BC V7J 3H4 604-987-5137 ajturner@shaw.ca Dear Miss Turner, Thank you for your recent e-mail message to me regarding the release of post-1901 census data to the National Archivist. I apologize for not responding to you sooner, but it has taken longer than expected to get my offices set up after the election. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your material to my colleague Brian Masse, MP for Windsor West, and NDP Critic responsible for issues related to Statistics Canada. I believe that the issue you address in your message falls within his area of expertise, so I have sent it to him for his consideration. Thank you again for contacting me on this issue. Sincerely, Bill Siksay, MP Burnaby-Douglas WLS/drf CEP 232