Hi Sharon. Thanks for your posting. As usual the information you post is timely and informative. I hope that some of our subscribers will take up your suggestion. While we are anxiously awaiting the report of the Expert Panel, originally due by 31 May but now delayed until the end of June, to see what direction we have to head in, the more people in positions such as Ms. Clancy that we can educate, the better our chances of achieving our goals. Thanks again for your interest in our problem, and for the information you provide. Happy Hunting. Gordon ----- Original Message ----- From: Sharon Sergeant <sharon_sergeant@yahoo.com> To: <CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, 09 June, 2000 11:37 PM Subject: [CCC-L] Boston Canadian Consulate Hello, This evening, I enjoyed an informative and entertaining talk at the The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) meeting at Boston College: "The Emigrant Pattern from Ireland to Canada" by Mary Clancy, the Canadian Consulate General to New England There are some reports that 80 per cent of Canadians claim Irish ancestry. There is certainly anecdotal evidence that many French speaking Canadians are descendants of Irish orphans adopted by French families. Ms Clancy is originally from Halifax, where she was elected to the House of Commons. She also served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship & Immigration. As a special envoy appointment to Grosse Isle by the Prime Minister, she was instrumental in the memorials and tributes to the Irish cholera victims, as well as the doctors, nurse and priests who sacrificed their lives. During the Q&A period, Ms Clancy talked about how closely the National Archives and Statistics Canada work together since they are under the same minister. This promoted a question about the Post 1901 census release. Ms Clancy's brief response was that the census data (note: the 1905 census data is now 95 years old) is protected by Canada's privacy laws. One person from the audience suggested that that needed to be changed, but the topic was dropped and the session ended shortly thereafter. The connection between current generations needing census information in the twentieth century to find the ties to the nineteenth century Irish orphans was never made - even in the span of only minutes between the topics. It seems clear that more work must be done to educate Canadian government officials about the relevance of the Post 1901 census issue to other issues directly in their venue or specific knowledge and understanding. In Ms Clancy's case, it would seem that messages from any Irish-Canadians, her prior Nova Scotia constituency or current New England responsibilites could help that education process. Ms Clancy's own great grandfather's were from County Tipperary. If you wish to express your concerns about the end of census data availability to Ms Clancy, in addition to your own MP or the non-Canadian citizen petitions, the contact info is as follows; Ms. Mary Clancy Consul General to New England Canadian Consulate General Three Copley Place, Suite 400 Boston, MA 02116 tel: (617) 262-3760 fax: (617) 262-3415 Further info about the Canadian consulate is available at http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/~boston/1.htm Further info about TIARA is available at http://tiara.ie/ Further info about the Post 1901 Canadian census capaign is at http://www.globalgenealogy.com/census/ Thanks, Sharon Sergeant http://bostonstates.rootsweb.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com