My Thanks to Elizabeth in Ottawa who forwarded this to me this afternoon. I have so far been unable to locate it online or through Hansard but I continue to search. It would appear unfortunate that Mr. Radwanski appears to be following in Bruce Phillips footsteps in referring to "promises of confidentiality" that do not exist. It is gratifying however to get some hint that the Report of the Expert Panel favours allowing access to Historic Census. Now if John Manley would stop sitting on the report and release it to the public we might begin to smile a little. Happy Hunting. Gordon ----- Original Message ----- From: Elizabeth To: Gordon A. WATTS Sent: Friday, 22 September, 2000 3:00 PM Subject: A hint of the report contents! Gordon - There was an article by Jim Bronskill in today's Ottawa Citizen that I thought you might not be aware of. I have transcribed it below FYI Elizabeth ========================== Panel recommends census data be public Information would not be available for 92 years By Jim Bronskill A federally appointed panel recommends changing the law to make personal census data available to the public 92 years after it is collected. An insider familiar with the panel's report says members have suggested deleting a provision of the Statistics Act that many argue prohibits disclosure of individual census answers. Adoption of the measure would pave the way for eventual release of data from future population counts. For instance, personal data from the 2001 census would be accessible in 2093. However, the recommendation could also extend to the release of at least some historical data collected by census-takers from 1906 onward. George Radwanski, the interim federal privacy commissioner, confirmed as much during an appearance before a Commons committee yesterday. Mr. Radwanski told MPs he understands the five-member panel, whose report has not been formally released, advocates "simply reviewing previous legislation and making public that historical census data." For years, historians, authors and other researchers could pore over census returns, which were transferred to the National Archives after 92 years. However, that changed in the 1990s when Statistics Canada argued that legislation prohibits it from disclosing returns filed in 1906 and subsequent years. Industry Minister John Manley, the cabinet member responsible for the statistics agency, appointed the expert panel, composed of four academics and a retired judge. The panel submitted its report to Mr. Manley at the end of June, but the minister's office has refused to make the document public. Over the years census-takers have gathered increasingly personal information, touching on religion, fertility and, in the next census, sexual orientation. In his first appearance before a Commons committee, Mr. Radwanski, whose appointment has yet to be confirmed by Parliament, warned against releasing census data gathered under promises of confidentiality. He said that would be a "very, very unhealthy thing," adding "it's very important to address this in a way that does not violate undertakings." The Privacy Commissioner's Office has indicated it would not object to very limited access to the data for legitimate genealogical research. The commissioner's office is also open to the idea of future census data being made available to the public as long as people were told their answers would be released at a later date. However, the office believes the 92-year rule should be lengthened to ensure no personal census information about living individuals is released.