Many people have been talking about ways to prevent this sort of mess from happening. One of the common things agreed upon was the lack of official communication between the various historical boards and societies and the world of genealogists. See: http://www.achannel.ca/london/news_51255.aspx Apparently there is no national group to co-ordinate info between the hundreds of local societies and hundreds of thousands of researchers. So anything that happens, happens before any real large scale effort is available to correct the mess. I've been writing to Gordon A WATTS who fought the good fight and won us the right to see the 1911 Census of Canada. He wrote a similar article in his Gazette (Just before all this broke) Hopefully Gordon will reply soon and perhaps I can convince Rootsweb to let me set up a mailing list just for this purpose. Nelson Denton Admin of many lists and general big mouth As well as being a pain in the @$%^ to many who would destroy our heritage :-))) ********************************** http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette/gazgw/gazgw-0104.htm Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC ************ Time for a Canada-wide Genealogy Association? A number of times during our lengthy campaign to regain public access to Post-1901 Census records it was suggested to me that there was a need for a Canada-wide umbrella organization to represent genealogists and family historians, and their various regional societies. The idea being that such an organization could promote issues of common interest, such as the release of Census records, and lobby the government on those issues. It was also suggested that should such an organization come into being, I should be the one to head it up. This was not however, something that I wanted to take on. I felt then, and I feel now, that whoever heads up such an organization should live in the Ottawa area so as to have easier access to those federal politicians we hoped to persuade to our points of view. I live on the West Coast, near Vancouver, and I am not willing to move away from family and friends. I feel also that the leader of such an organization should be more politically astute than I am. Politically speaking, I am essentially a one-issue person - that issue being public access to historic census records. The idea of a Canada-wide umbrella organization for genealogists and family historians is a great one. It is not, however, a new idea. There has been such an organization in the past, i.e. the Canadian Federation of Genealogical and Family History Societies (CFGFHS). For some time I had been aware that such an organization had existed, but until recently was unaware what it had been called. It would seem however, that even though it existed, it barely got off the ground before it folded. According to it's website (formed in 1998) there were only 12 member societies, and the last update to the website was 26 October 1998 -- a point in time when our Census campaign was just barely getting started. There was a link on the website to the Post-1901 Census Project website, but little else. In viewing the website it would seem that it had been set up simply as a central point for exchange of information between member societies. There was no indication that it was intended to be a voice to speak on behalf of those societies. Recent attempts to contact anyone connected to the CFGFHS met with failure. Apparently, it was legally wound up some time in late 2005 or early 2006, with whatever assets there were being distributed among the few participating groups. In 1998 the formation of the CFGFHS may have been an idea whose time had yet to come. At that time they may have had no idea of the potential communication power of the Internet, and email, for a network of like-minded societies. Our Census campaign however, demonstrated that power beyond doubt. It has recently been suggested that perhaps the time has now come to bring together Canada's genealogists and family historians in an organization able to speak to concerns of a Canada-wide scope. It has been further suggested that such an organization might be set up as an affiliated committee of the Canadian Historical Association (CHA). The CHA is a well-established and respected organization that since 1922 has represented the interests of historians and the heritage community to government, archive, granting and other agencies. On Friday 16 November 2007, John D. Reid of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) attended a CHA Council meeting to put forth the idea of putting together an organization of genealogists and family historians that would be affiliated to the CHA. I am advised that a number of CHA Council members have responded positively to this suggestion, and that John received a sympathetic hearing when meeting with the Council. I personally think the idea of a Canada-wide organization for genealogists is a good idea, and one whose time has perhaps come at last. I think that if it were put forth as an offshoot of an established organization such as the CHA it would have a good chance at success. Putting such an idea forth however, and having it acted upon are two far different things. Before anything can be done to form such an association representing the interests of genealogical and family history groups there is much work to be done, and many questions that need to be answered. Not the least of these questions is whether or not the proposed membership of such an organization, i.e. provincial and regional genealogy and family history societies, and individuals, would be interested in joining it. With that in mind, I would like to hear from individuals and representatives of the various genealogy and family history societies from across Canada. I would like to know your thoughts regarding the possible formation of an association intended to support, educate and speak out regarding Canada-wide concerns of genealogists and family historians. Would you, or the society you belong to, be likely to participate in such a venture? If so, what subjects and/or issues would you suggest such an organization consider supporting? An association such as that being suggested cannot exist without people to run it. What kind of administrative structure would you or your society find most useful? What kind of staff would you consider necessary to achieve the goals of genealogists and family historians, i.e. volunteer, part-time paid, or ????? Finally, and perhaps the most important consideration - what financial resources would you, as an individual, or as a member of a group, be willing to contribute to sustain a Canada-wide association of genealogists and family historians. This would likely be in the form of an annual membership for individuals and/or groups. Send me your thoughts on this. Click here to send me an e-mail with a subject line of 'Canada-wide Association of Genealogists'. ****************