Check the URL given below -- the following paragraph is an excerpt: "As a result, the National Registration File of 1940 is not subject to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act but is instead covered by the Privacy Act. According to this Act, where a person has been dead for more than 20 years, the information is no longer considered to be personal and could be disclosed". ====================================== Received from Mike & Ginger Jalonen <mike-ginger@home.com> on the CAN-SASKATCHEWAN-L@rootsweb.com list:- In response to the many e-mails of interest in the National Registration File, I would like to provide my experiences with the folks from Statistics Canada. First, here is the URL http://www.tbaytel.net/bmartin/natreg.htm It will answer most of the questions you have. The cost is $48.15 per file ($45 + GST). Everyone in Canada over the age of 16, both male and female, was "supposed to" have registered. As someone else on this list mentioned, there were some who simply did not file the information. The lead time of approximately two weeks is a fallacy. I mailed my request on June 16th and finally received a response on August 11th. They found nothing on either of the two individuals I was inquiring about. The good news is that they returned my cheque! I personally spoke to Mr. Paul Johnson, and he told me that this registration was done by a mail in form. It seems strange to me that with a country full of immigrants, many who could not read or write (in any language), the government would rely on the population to complete their own form and mail it in. Since the military were in charge of collecting the information, some records were apparently tossed away as the individuals were considered to be "not of use to the military". However, other records were kept for no apparent reason. The result is that it is not a complete file that was turned over to Statistics Canada. The only way to know if your kin's file is there, is to pay your money and request the information. I am certain for those who find the form properly completed, it would be a genealogical treasure. I wish you all better luck than I had. Ginger, Vernon, BC

> Check the URL given below -- the following paragraph is an > excerpt: > "As a result, the National Registration File of 1940 is not subject to > the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act but is instead > covered by the Privacy Act. According to this Act, where a > person has been dead for more than 20 years, the information is no > longer considered to be personal and could be disclosed". Hi Folks, Did I miss something here? To which clause of the Privacy Act does the above exerpt refer? I thought that our whole problem stemmed from the government claiming that the Privacy Act superceded the Statistics Act where it applies to diclosure of personal information. If the above exerpt is correct in its reference, would that not mean that the government is mistaken as to which Act has precedence? Or is census information specifically covered by other clauses? Gordon, did you find this clause in your exhaustive research? Mary Anne Bohaker Halifax, NS (confused now, but hopeful) ----------------- FindersKeepers Specializing in Nova Scotia Books, History & Genealogy in or out of print. Email: finders@knotwork.com URL: COMING SOON!

Hi Mary Ann I am afraid that you have things reversed re: superceding of Privacy Act over Statistics Act. The federal Privacy Act contains a clause that allows release of "personal" identifiable information on an individual twenty years following their death. The Act deems that information about an individual who has been dead for more than 20 years ceases to be personal information protected by the Privacy Act. It is this clause that allows the information from the National Registration File of 1940, and other records to be made available. Regulations attached to the Privacy Act state that information from Census may be transferred to the National Archives 92 years after collection, SUBJECT TO any other statute that inhibits that transfer. Once transferred to the National Archives, and being under the control of the National Archivist, these records may be made available for research. The specific Regulation states: "6. Personal information that has been transferred to the control of the Public Archives by a government institution for archival or historical purposes may be disclosed to any person or body for research or statistical purposes where (a) the information is of such a nature that disclosure would not constitute an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual to whom the information relates; (b) the disclosure is in accordance with paragraph 8(2)(j) or (k) of the Act; (c) 110 years have elapsed following the birth of the individual to whom the information relates; or (d) in cases where the information was obtained through the taking of a census or survey, 92 years have elapsed following the census or survey containing the information." Statistics Canada takes the position that the Statistics Acts override the Privacy Act and state that they are legally prohibited from transferring control of Historic Census to the National Archives. They base their position on a series of legal opinions solicited from the Department of Justice in the early to mid 1980s. These legal opinions, in my view, are basically flawed as they all considered only one clause of 1906 Instructions to Census Officers and Enumerators that dealt with contemporary Secrecy, while ignoring other clauses in these same instructions that indicated that Census had value as a historical record, would be placed in the "Archives of the Dominion" (now the National Archives) and would be available for future research. If, as the 1905/1906 Statute states, these instructions had the "force of law", then ALL clauses of those instructions have that same "force". Statistics Canada and the Department of Justice cannot pick and choose the ones they want to have the "force of law" and ignore the others. It should be pointed out that these "legal opinions" are just that -- opinions. They have not been tested in a court of law and therefore are not "law". Therefore, contrary to Statistics Canada's statement that transfer of Historic Census to the control of the National Archivist is "expressly prohibited by law", their decision not to transfer these records is in fact a "policy decision" of that department. Hope that this clears up any confusion you might have had regarding this. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. WATTS gordon_watts@telus.net Port Coquitlam, BC ICQ # 9183352 Keep up to date on Post 1901 Census information at http://www.globalgenealogy.com/census and http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Farm/7843/poll.html Download and circulate Post 1901 Census Petitions now from http://www.globalgenealogy.com/census/petition.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Anne Bohaker" <ariana@knotwork.com> To: <CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, 20 August, 2000 8:14 AM Subject: Re: [CCC-L] 1940 National Registration File (Canadian) > Check the URL given below -- the following paragraph is an > excerpt: > "As a result, the National Registration File of 1940 is not subject to > the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act but is instead > covered by the Privacy Act. According to this Act, where a > person has been dead for more than 20 years, the information is no > longer considered to be personal and could be disclosed". Hi Folks, Did I miss something here? To which clause of the Privacy Act does the above exerpt refer? I thought that our whole problem stemmed from the government claiming that the Privacy Act superceded the Statistics Act where it applies to diclosure of personal information. If the above exerpt is correct in its reference, would that not mean that the government is mistaken as to which Act has precedence? Or is census information specifically covered by other clauses? Gordon, did you find this clause in your exhaustive research? Mary Anne Bohaker Halifax, NS (confused now, but hopeful) ----------------- FindersKeepers Specializing in Nova Scotia Books, History & Genealogy in or out of print. Email: finders@knotwork.com URL: COMING SOON!