The text of Bill S-18 at first reading is available on-line at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/38/1/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/S-18/S-18_1/ContentsE.html In other Senate business from Wednesday.... Debates of the Senate (Hansard) 1st Session, 38th Parliament, Volume 142, Issue 12 Wednesday, November 3, 2004 The Honourable Dan Hays, Speaker Access to Census Information Presentation of Petition Hon. Lorna Milne: Honourable senators, I have the honour to present 1,432 signatures from Canadians in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia who are researching their ancestry, as well as signatures from 317 people from 13 states of the United States and one from South Africa who are researching their Canadian roots. A total of 1,750 people are petitioning the following: Your Petitioners call upon Parliament to take whatever steps necessary to retroactively amend the Confidentiality- Privacy clauses of Statistics Acts since 1906, to allow release to the public after a reasonable period of time, of post-1901 Census reports starting with the 1906 Census. Including the 20,987 signatures I presented to the Thirty- seventh Parliament and over 6,000 signatures I presented to the Thirty-sixth Parliament, I have presented petitions with over 28,737 signatures all calling for immediate action on this very important matter of Canadian history.

The Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday, November 16, 2004, at 2 p.m. The status of the Bill S-18, An Act to ammend the Statistics Act can be tracked at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/bills.asp?Language=E There are still many steps. Yesterday I wrote to my MP, the Hon. Geoff Regan specifically requesting his support for Bill S-18 when it is introduced in the House of Commons. It will be interesting in the debates to see where some honourable members really stand on the issue. Bill S-18 An Act to amend the Statistics Act Senate 1st Reading November 2, 2004 Debate(s) at 2nd Reading 2nd Reading Committee Committee Meeting(s) Committee Report Debate(s) at Report Stage Report Stage Debate(s) at 3rd Reading 3rd Reading House of Commons 1st Reading Debate(s) at 2nd Reading 2nd Reading Committee Committee Meeting(s) Committee Report Debate(s) at Report Stage Report Stage Debate(s) at 3rd Reading 3rd Reading Royal Assent: Statutes of Canada: In Force: This bill comes into force when it receives Royal Assent.