Greetings All. We have a few listers who are very insistent that the only answer to Bill S-13 is to kill it, and they are not shy about putting forth what they believe are facts relating to Bill S-13, what has gone before, and what is currently happening. There is an old saying that states "It ain't necessarily so". While I might agree with some of the points these listers make, there are others points with which I disagree entirely. I have neither the time, nor the inclination to continue a personal head to head confrontation with those listers. I will list below a few realities in the hope that we can start working together, rather than at odds with each other. Not one of us is happy with Bill S-13 as presently worded. S-13 contains a number of conditions and restrictions, some of which we can live with even though we do not wish to, and for which no need has been demonstrated. That does not mean that we should not attempt to see them amended or removed. Clause 8 -- the "Informed Consent" clause is a restriction that we feel we cannot live with, and it must be removed or at the very least seriously amended. This is the worst clause in Bill S-13 in that it would destroy the usefulness of any Census from 2006 and on -- for both historians and genealogists. Contrary to the opinion of some, nothing has yet been 'ramrodded' through. S-13 is currently being debated in the Senate. To date only those Senators who oppose the Bill have had their say, and there are more of those to come, after which supporters of the Bill will have their turn.. Those Senators who have spoken against S-13 do not simply oppose Bill S-13, but oppose access to the Census records in any way shape or form. Senator Murray claims to support S-13 but he does so only as the "lesser of two evils". In this regard he is the same as the Chief Statistician. It appears unlikely that any amendments will be made in the Senate, and so we must try to see that they are made in the House of Commons. Now for the realities that I spoke of above. * Canada has a Parliament in which the House of Commons has 301 Members elected by the people. * It is a Majority government in which the Liberal Party has 169 of the 301 seats. This means that Liberals outnumber members of all other parties combined. * Bill S-13 is a government Bill * If there is a 'directed vote', i.e. Liberal Members of Parliament are told by the PM and the Cabinet how to vote, S-13 could be passed exactly as now worded regardless of how non-Liberal MPs vote. This would happen regardless of how we feel about it. * If we do not advise our elected representatives what we think about the conditions and restrictions of Bill S-13 and ask them to move and support the amendments we seek, it will most certainly be passed as it is currently worded. What can we do about this? First of all we must push the government through our elected representatives for a FREE VOTE as opposed to a 'directed vote'. We must seek a free and open debate on the conditions and restrictions imposed by Bill S-13, and on amendments that we seek to make S-13 more acceptable. We MUST continue to seek amendments to S-13. In order of importance those amendments need are: * Removal of Clause 8 * Release of at least the 1911 and 1916 without restrictions, on the same basis as records for 1906 and earlier have already been released. * Removal of the twenty year period of non-disclosure and the need to commit to an "undertaking" regarding that disclosure. We have been advised that if too many amendments are made to S-13 the government could remove their support for it, thus theoretically seeing it defeated. For those who would like to see the Bill killed, perhaps the surest way of accomplishing that might be to continue pushing for the amendments we seek. If those amendments are moved and passed in the House, one of two things will happen -- either we will end up with a Bill that is more acceptable to us, or the government will withdraw their support and possibly direct a negative vote. Either way, the biggest reality is this: IF WE DO NOTHING, BILL S-13 WILL BE PASSED AS CURRENTLY WORDED -- WITHOUT AMENDMENT!! -- WITH ALL IT'S CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS!! Happy Hunting. Gordon