Many thanks, Garth!!! I had written to Dr. Jim Pankiw several times -- with no response. This letter will get rid of the BLUE ??? and Gordon Watts will assign him another symbol. I am pleased he will be supporting Jason Kenney's Motion M-160. I do not know Jason, but my husband and his brother worked for his grandfather, Mart Kenney in Woodbridge, Ontario. Muriel M. Davidson <davidson3542@home.com> ====================================== Garth Ulrich wrote: > Hi Muriel, > I am forwading a response that I received from my MP. > > Regards, > Garth Ulrich > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Subject: 1901 Census > Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 16:20:28 -0400 > From: "Pankiw, Jim - M.P." <Pankiw.J@parl.gc.ca> > To: "'Ulrich'" <gulrich@sk.sympatico.ca> > > Thank you for your email regarding census records. This issue is of > interest to many people and I am happy to answer your concern. > > The Minister responsible for Statistics Canada, the Honourable John Manley, > has asked Statistics Canada to develop options for changing the current > legislation to allow access to census records. As it stands, there are two > possibilities; the first option contemplates amending the Statistics Act to > allow records, starting with the 2001 Census and carrying on from there, to > be transferred to the National Archives of Canada to be subsequently made > available to the public; the second option is to retroactively change the > confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act to allow the 1911 and all > censuses taken thereafter to be eventually placed in the public domain. > > On November 12, 1999, the Minister announced the creation of an Expert Panel > on Access to Historical Census Records. The panel has been studying the > possibilities mentioned above and will make their recommendation to the > Minister in the near future. > > When the Minister introduces legislation in the House of Commons I will take > a close look at the Bill to determine if there is a balance between the need > to protect personal privacy and the demands of genealogists and historians > for access to census records. > > At this time there is no legislation before Parliament to vote on with > respect to this issue. Both Murray Calder's Bill C-484 and Lorna Milne's > S-15 DIED on the order paper when the Liberals prorogued Parliament last > summer. Neither Bill was resubmitted to Parliament in the fall session. > There is, however, a Private Members Motion which has been put forward by a > Canadian Alliance MP, Jason Kenney. M-160 urges the Government to do > everything possible to ensure that the post 1901 Census records are released > some time after 2003, and I expect to be voting in favour of this Motion if, > or when, it comes to a final vote. > > Although, I will be voting for M-160, I feel that it is important to point > out that a Private Member's Motion should not be confused with a piece of > legislation, or a Government Bill, because a motion does not automatically > produce a law when passed. However, the fact is, tabling a Motion in the > House is the only means by which the Official Opposition can encourage the > Government to take action on a specific issue. For all practical purposes > though, passage of M-160 is unlikely to have any effect whatsoever on the > Government and I suspect that Minister Manley will simply continue to defer > making any decision regarding census records until after the next election. > > Again, thank you for writing and sharing your views on this important issue. > > Yours sincerely, > > Dr. Jim Pankiw, M.P. > Saskatoon-Humboldt ========================== There is one error being passed along in the above copy, and very possibly Gordon Watts will have the correct wording from Hansard. This involves Senator Lorna Milne's Bill S-15 -- it is alive -- at present, but under the name of another senator. Muriel M. Davidson