An excellent letter Juanita. I hope that others will post their letters as well. Gordon ----- Original Message ----- From: "joseph macdonald" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2003 8:19 PM Subject: [CCC] To Hon Terry Stratton, Comment on you speech on May 15, 2003 Dear Honourable Terry Stratton, I read your speech contained in the Hansard Report for May 15, 2003. Statistics Act, 'Bill to Amend.' "It is not possible to recreate and to pretend that what happened back then in its historical context should be changed. History cannot be changed. The attitudes of the people from that time were what they were. I am convinced that confidentiality was important at that time, and that it was important for the reasons I cited above. We should pay respect to that mentality, to that way of thinking, and thereby should not go there out of respect." Respect for whom, may I ask? I don't believe anyone is trying to recreate history, or change its historical context, but one man's interpretation of it taken out of context can greatly distort it. Do you really believe that it is paying respect to that mentality, to that way of thinking, and thereby should not go there out of respect.? Hon. Stratton, your idea of respect and my idea of respect are definitely not the same. The Opening up of the West and the Head count of 1906. The Head count was compulsory (mandatory if you will) just as it is today minus the large intrusion of gov't into their 'privacy' that we have now. The Government of the day painted a pretty picture as they lured people from around the world to come and settle there. Many went, though not as many Canadians from the East as the government would have liked but a few went. They came from many nations and the tough and hardy pioneers struggled and survived. They learned how to be self sufficient, and quickly learned that the government wasn't there to give them the assistance they needed or that was promised. Those that weren't equipped for it, moved on to more developed areas, returned to their former homes or they perished. Maybe the only record of many of those Pioneers was the name on the 1911 census form. You mention Louis Riel, but no mention of any of the names of the hardy Pioneers of the West, the very people who built the west and deserve just as much respect as Louis Riel. We can find Louis Riel's name in history books, the names of the Pioneers are on census records. You use the SARS that struck Toronto, with the Flu epidemic of 1918. Remember that SARS, though it created a stir, and many people were scared and rightfully so. It was contained and kept within a hospital environment. It did not sweep across the country. The Flu epidemic swept across this country, and people were literally dying in droves. These very people, even with the dead and dying around them, did not run and hide or demand their 'privacy'. They cared for their families, loved one, neighbours, friends. They weren't depending on a government to see them through. Actually they didn't trust the government. All the government did for them would be slap a 'quarantine sign' on their door and be on their way. These people were a far closer knit society than what we have today. They depended on each other for their very survival, and they worked together as a family as a community, they buried their dead, and they wept and mourn their loses and they carried on. Do those that died deserve respect by being forgotten because they weren't the elite of society or elected representatives of the people? I think not Hon. Stratton, for somewhere in this country there is a child or grandchild, or even a great grandchild, who will find that name on the 1911 census and pay them the respect they rightly deserve. The name may not be important to you or me, but it will be to them. They will gleam from that sheet of paper, the parent they may never have known, or the grandfather, or great grandfather. He may have only been a dirt farmer, in the west that tilled the soil. A coal miner in the east who descended into the bowels of the earth. The fisherman that harvested the bounty of the seas and got pittance for it. He may have been so poor that he couldn't provide insurance for his family, because every cent went to support his family. Oh, yes, the government wanted to know if he had the insurance or not. He was special and is worth discovering for someone, for he was their father, their grandfather, their great grandfather. What really was the mood of the Nation after WWI? You apparently think that everyone wanted to crawl in a cubby-hole, protect their 'privacy' and shut out the world. I don't believe so. The people were more aware of who they were and what they could accomplish. WWI was the catalyst that made the common people aware they could take charge. They were tired of being made to feel second class citizens, slaves to industrialist, or to governments running their lives without them having some say in the matter. They wanted input. The common folk realized they could bring about the change only by entering the political arena themselves. The leaders amongst them stepped forward and answered the call, and the people supported them. When you want change, you don't go into hiding. They weren't the ones cowering behind wanting 'privacy and confidentiality', they were right out their demanding their rights as citizens of this country. They were demanding that their elective representatives truly and honestly represent them. If anyone was hiding behind 'confidentiality clauses' in the early 1900s it was those elected MPs and appointed Senators 'who were more interested in their own self-preservation' than they were in being representatives of the Canadian People. Your quote, " I believe we owe it to them to speak in that historical perspective and to try to understand from whence they came and why they made decisions they did at that time. It is important for us to never forget that in this chamber." Yes, Honourable Senator Stratton, we do owe it to them, as their sons and daughters and we owe it to our children and their children, to see that their names and memories are preserved, even if it only exists on a census record stored and preserved in the National Archives of Canada for those who want to discover their roots. It is important that the Senate chamber and the House of Commons, not forget those who made this country great, 'The Canadian People.' The names on the 1911 census are some of those Canadian People. Sincerely Juanita MacDonald Whycocomagh, N.S. ==== CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN Mailing List ==== Keep up to date on Post 1901 Census Issues at http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/ en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm