June 27, 2000 Ms. Muriel M. Davidson I would like to thank you for your letter regarding the post 1901 census. I have been following the development of this issue for some time, and agree that historians, genealogists, and others researching their family histories gain valuable information from census data. I have communicated with the Minister Responsible for Statistics Canada, the Honourable John Manley, and expressed my hope, and that of many Canadians, that there will soon be a resolution of this issue. To date, the Minister has been considering two options: amending the law to allow future census data to be released, or retroactive changes to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Canada Act to release the post 1901 census information. In light of the considerable public debate on this issue, the Minister announced the creation of an Expert Panel on Access to Historical Census Records, which will be active over the next few months. I look forward to seeing the report of the Expert Panel in order to make an informed decision. There are clearly competing interests in this situation. The commitment to privacy that was made when the data was collected from individuals is against the legitimate desire of historians, genealogists and others to have access to this information. Sincerely, Marlene Catterall, M.P. Ottawa West-Nepean MC/pc4-jl/davidson