Dear Mr. Cadman I have just taken great pleasure in adding your email to Muriel M. Davidson, copied to myself and Melville Andress, to your correspondence log on the Post 1901 Census Project website at http://www.globalgenealogy.com./census This email removes you from "the fence" and gives you a gold tick denoting your support for allowing access to Post 1901 Census records after a reasonable period of time. I have just finished modifying the files that will reflect this change in your status and they should be loaded within a day or so. It was a great disappointment to us when Mac Harb made his motion to amend Motion M-160, thus virtually rendering it ineffective. I note that the Liberal party was out in full force to vote in favour of the amendment, and then the motion as amended. With a vote of 144 to 102 one might wonder where the 55 absent Members of Parliament were. Those missing votes might have made the difference in voting down the amendment, and passing the motion as originally stated. I note with interest your reference to the Report of the Expert Panel on Access to Historic Records and the statement that it "recommended that the government introduce legislation making census records available to the public 92 years after it is collected". This was also reported an article in the Ottawa Citizen that indicated Interim Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski had commented regarding this while addressing a Committee of the Commons. I have as yet been unable to determine to which committee the article referred. Have you been fortunate enough to view this report? Despite numerous requests that Industry Minister John Manley immediately release to the public the Report of the Expert Panel on Access to Historic Census he has yet to do so. I have also made an ATI Request for that report but have yet to see it. Would you consider, during Question Period, posing a question to Mr. Manley, asking why he continues to refuse to release the Report of the Expert Panel on Access to Historic Census to the public , and also when he intends to do so? I thank you again for your stated support for allowing access to Historic Census records. Gordon A. WATTS gordon_watts@telus.net Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC 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: "Cadman, Chuck - M.P." <Cadman.C@parl.gc.ca> To: <davidson3542@home.com> Cc: <mandress@uniserve.com>; <gordon_watts@telus.net> Sent: Friday, 29 September, 2000 10:24 AM Subject: Post 1901 Census Record Dear Ms. Davidson Further to our e-mails regarding post 1901 census records, I am writing to inform you of my support to release these records to the public. Census data is important for historical and family history research. Without releasing post 1901 census this research would be seriously hampered. Not allowing release of census records for 92 years, I believe, establishes a reasonable balance between protecting personal privacy and the need for access to census records for research purposes. Jason Kenney, Official Opposition Finance Critic, introduced in the House of Commons a Private Members' Motion, M-160. The Motion reads as follows: That, in the opinion of this House, the government should take all necessary steps to release the 1911 census records once they have been deposited in the National Archives in 2003. The government amended Mr. Kenney's Motion by removing the word take and replacing it with consider taking. With the Liberal government having the majority in the House of Commons, the amended Motion was passed. The net effect of this is that the government can now do whatever it wants. Also, a federally appointed panel has recommended that the government introduce legislation making census records available to the public 92 years after it is collected. It is time for the government to take action on this issue. Sincerely, Chuck Cadman, M.P.