Greetings All In the past year I have been advised by a number of people that email sent to some of our Parliamentary representative (both MPs and Senators) has resulted in what I assume is an automated response that their message was "was deleted without being read". No reason for the deletion of the message is given. It is my personal opinion that such a response from someone who is supposed to represent the people of their constituency, and who receives payment from the people of Canada for that representation, is not only rude -- but shows a degree of ignorance as well. That is not, however, the reason for my post at this time. I have no idea what would trigger such an automatice response but I can think of two reasons for such an action taking place. The first of those reasons would be that so many messages have been received from a specific person that the MP or Senator feels that it has reached the point of harrassment by that person. In such as case it is likely that a filter has been set up to reject that person's email address. The second reason could be that the MP or Senator has received so many messages relating to the Census issue that a filter has been set up to reject messages that mention "Census". In most cases that have been brought to my attention those representatives sending such messages are those who are shown on the Scoreboards as not having responded to our questions of support. This morning however, I received one such message for an MP that is currently shown on the Scoreboard having a gold tick of support. In this case he is also a newly appointed member to the Federal Cabinet. It is important that before writing to our Parliamentary Representatives you check for their current stated postition on the Scoreboards of the Post 1901 Census Project website at the URL following my signature. Other than possibly thanking those with gold ticks for their support I would not press them further on their position. Concentrate your efforts on those who have not given a definitive answer to our questions, and in particular to those who have not yet had the courtesy to even acknowledge receipt of our correspondence. If you receive a "deleted without being read" response to an email, send your message by Canada Post. Letters to MPs and Senators, posted in Canada, do not require any postage. Many MPs prefer to respond to email either personally by telephone, or by sending a letter. Whether contacting your representatives by email or by letter be sure to include your full mailing address and telephone number. For members of the Cabinet it is unlikely that we will receive anything more than an acknowledgement of receipt and possibly being told our concerns have been 'forwarded to the Minister responsible'. Thank you all for your continued support. Happy Hunting 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 Permission to forward without notice is granted.