Remember, as you read the following -- Bill S-18 is a government bill -- Muriel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gordon A. Watts" <[email protected]> To: "Canada Census Campaign" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 1:52 PM Subject: Post 1901 Census Greetings All. Second Reading debate in the Senate on Bill S-18 was adjourned 2 December in the name of Senator Noél Kinsella. At the beginning of this week there were some indications that Second Reading might be finished and S-18 referred to Committee, with the Committee of Social Affairs, Science and Technology possibly meeting on it as early as Wednesday. This even though the Committee website shows that there are currently no Committee meetings scheduled. Obviously this has not happened. The Senate sat on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week and has now been adjourned until Monday, 13 December. While Senator Kinsella was shown in attendence for each sitting day this week, and he did speak on other things, no further debate took place this week on Bill S-18. On the Senate Order Paper Bill S-18 has daily been shown high up in the order of items listed, however it would appear that this order has little meaning as many other items, lower in the list, seem to have taken precedence over S-18. I expect that the last sitting day of the Senate before adjournment for Christmas will be Thursday 16 December. This gives at most four sitting days for Bill S-18 to complete Second Reading debate and to be referred to Committee if this is to be accomplished in a timely manner (i.e. this year). According to the Parliamentary Calendar, Parliament will not resume sitting again until Monday, 31 January. From the time Parliament resumes sitting in January until it adjourns for the summer recess there will be 68 sitting days, possibly 78 days if an extension of sitting days is invoked. Not a lot of time for Bill S-18 to finish being processed in the Senate and then to go through the hoops once again in the House of Commons. If we have any hope at all, before Parliament recesses for the summer, of regaining the public access to Historic Census records we seek, we must continue to inform our parliamentarians how important this issue is to us. Government has been known to rush something through Parliament that is of importance to them. We must make this an issue that is important to them so that they will take steps to expedite passage of Bill S-18. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts [email protected] Co-chair Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census en francais http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f Permission to forward without notice is granted