Greetings All. I have this morning received an indication that our efforts to regain public access to Historic Census Records in Canada is having an effect. While it is not widely visible (or even minutely visible) to most, I am advised that our efforts are putting great pressure on the government to get the Census issue resolved. There are, of course, still those in government and bureacratic circles who oppose our efforts in this regard. One of those is Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski. In his testimony before the Senate Committee reviewing Bill S-12, Mr. Radwanski stated that while he opposed Bill S-12, his opposition to public access of Historic Census Records was not as strong as was his predecessor, Bruce Phillips. He indicated that on a scale of one to ten, it was not a high priority on his list. It seems that Mr. Radwanski has changed his mind on this and he is now digging in his heels on the Census issue. It is therefore time to add yet another step to our campaign. We must let Mr. Radwanski know, in no uncertain terms, just how important it is to us that Post 1901 Census Records in Canada be made available on the same basis as records up to and including those of 1901 are currently available. We therefore encourage ALL genealogists and historians who wish to regain public access to Historic Census Records to write to Mr. Radwanski advising him of the importance of these records to us, and our desire to have access to him. As has been done in the past -- in letters to Members of Parliament and Senators -- feel free to advise him regarding our reasons for seeking this access. As Mr. Radwanski has no vote on Bill S-12, our letters to him should not be seeking specific support for it. Send your snail-mail letters to him at the following address. Mr. George Radwanski Privacy Commissioner of Canada 112 Kent Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3 Mr. Radwanski, for reasons of security, appears to prefer snail-mail and I have been unable to find a personal e-mail address for him. The website for the Privacy Commissioner, however, gives the following address for General Inquiries. [email protected] I would encourage all to use both methods to communicate our desires to Mr. Radwanski. When using email, include the above snail-mail above in your salutation. This effort is to be considered a concurrent step, not a replacement, for puttting in Access to Information Requests for the 1906 Census Records to Statistics Canada and the National Archives of Canada. We continue to encourage making those Requests as well as writing to Mr. Radwanski. Unlike the ATI Requests, there is no legislative restriction that prevents non-residents from participating in this effort. Those living outside of Canada should feel free to write your letters as well. Also, unlike our recent short term faxing of requests to Industry Minister Allan Rock, this is not to be considered a short term effort. We should continue this action until we have obtained our goal. As always, letters to Mr. Radwanski, or anyone else, must be polite and respectful, while still getting our points across. The support of everyone so far is greatly appreciated. With your continued support, we will win this battle. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts [email protected] 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