Greetings All. Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! It's too good to be true, I know, but... ...our efforts are starting to pay off! I received a wake up call from the Honourable Senator Lorna Milne this morning. She called to advise me that the Federal Government of Canada hs finally recognized the concerns of genealogists and historians insofar as regaining public access to Historic Census records is concerned. It is OFFICIAL. The Honourable Don Boudria, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons made an address to the Newsmakers Breakfast this morning (3 October 2002) at the National Press Club. The topic of his address was "The Government's Fall Legislative Program". On page four of an eight page summary of notes, Mr. Boudria noted, in relation to the coming months... "Other legislation will also be introduced respecting: -- The release of 92-year old census records for historical research purposes -- which responds to recommendations and work done by parliamentarians in the House of Commons and Senate such as MP Calder and Senator Milne;" Finally!! We are pleased that in making this announcement, Mr. Boudria saw fit to recognize the work of our champions in the Senate and House of Commons, Senator Lorna Milne and MP Murray Calder. A word of caution. Our work is not yet finished. Nor will it be finished until such time as the legislation referred to has been introduced, gone through the hoops in the House of Commons and the Senate, and has received Royal Assent to be passed into law. We have made a giant step forward in our effort to regain access, and can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. We look forward to viewing the legislation mentioned by Mr. Boudria and hope that our concerns do not get lost in the details. We must be vigilant to ensure that such legislation meets our concerns and provides the same access to Post 1901 Census records that we currently have for records up to 1901. Senator Milne assured me that she will continue to work on our behalf in this regard. Take a breather. Savour the moment. Then send a low-key message to your MP and Senator seeking their support for this legislation when it is introduced. Stress that you seek the same access to Post 1901 records that we currently have for earlier Census, and that we do not view (as indicated by another Minister there may be) a 'check-box option' on the Census forms as desireable. Our thanks to all for your past and future support. Without the support of all of you, nothing would be happening. Have a GREAT day!!!!!!! Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm