| Name: | Mr. Scott Brison |
| Political Party: | Liberal Party of Canada |
| Constituency: | Kings--Hants |
| Province: | Nova Scotia |
| Telephone: | (613) 995-8231 |
| Fax: | (613) 996-9349 |
| Brison.S@parl.gc.ca |
| Address: | House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 |
| Constituency Address: | 360 Main St Suite 12 Wolfville, Nova Scotia B4P1C4 |
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05/11/2001 - email from MP Scott Brison to Bob & Terry Brooks. From: Brison, Scott - M.P. To: 'Bob & Terry Brooks' Sent: Friday, May 11, 2001 1:45 PM Subject: RE: Access to the 1911 Census Dear Mr. & Mrs. Brooks: Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding your desire to have post 1901 census data available to the public. I too find hard to believe that restrictions would be put on access to information regarding the 1901 and 1911 census. Surely after so many years, it is doubtful that anyone's privacy would be risked. Last year a Motion (M-571) was introduced in the House of Commons calling on Parliament to release such information. Unfortunately, the government prorogued Parliament meaning that all outstanding bills and motions were wiped off the list for debate. I understand that the motion will be reintroduced, quite soon. I assure you that I will be supporting the motion. Scott Brison, M.P. -----Original Message----- From: Bob & Terry Brooks Sent: April 19, 2001 9:08 AM To: Brison, Scott - M.P.; Casey; Cuzner, Rodger - M.P.; Eyking, Mark - M.P.; Keddy, Gerald - M.P.; MacKay, Peter - M.P.; McDonough, Alexa - M.P.; Regan, Geoff - M.P.; Stoffer, Peter - M.P.; Thibault, Robert - M.P. Subject: Fw: Access to the 1911 Census I sent this earlier today to mr Tobin .I thought you might be interested in reading it also . Please also feel free to reply. Sincerely R.Brooks ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob & Terry Brooks To: tobin.b@parl.gc.ca Cc: NewBrunswick-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2001 9:07 AM Subject: Access to the 1911 Census Dear Mr Tobin I am currently reasearching my family tree for my own satisfaction and as something to pass on to my grand children. I just returned from New Brunswick where my wife and I spent two wonderful weeks with them and my daughter in law . Their regular baby sitter was in the process of having her own child so grandma and grandpa filled in. Our son is currently serving in Eritrea as a captain in the forces. While in N.B. I was able to visit with three remaining older relatives to hear their stories and record for our future generations as much as we can about our familys history. I also visited both the Provincial Archives in Fredericton and the Catholic Archives in St. John. We also visited cousins . All were very interested in the information , (a lot of it already gone from living memory) that I have been able to piece together mostly in the last 6 tears since I retired. The Census records up to 1901 have been literally priceless, without which my initial searches would not have been as successful. When I ask those older members of our family to contribute their personal knowledge of their own lives, that of their parents and siblings, their responses have been almost overwhelming. My briefcase is full of material both from them and from government and Church Archives. My older relatives and myself were much concerned that as much knowledge as possible about our familys history be preserved and handed down to those who come after us. What greater legacy could we leave to our future children than the record of our past generations, their struggles, successes, failures; their lives. Neither I, my family members, or my older family members that I spoke with regarding any possible privacy of personal information concerns, had any reservations whatsoever in the releasing of government acquired census data. In fact this raises the obvious question that if census data is not to be made available for both government and private reasearch why bother going through the process at all? I personally do not believe that our government, especially in 1906 or in 1911 or on later census ever told the public that the information being gathered would remain confidential forever! I believe that census records are an essential resource to people like us (amateur genealogists) and to many others who build their hobby or profession in genealogy. I also strongly believe that this vital information should be available to the public after a reasonable period of time has passed. (90+years) I request that you and your government support legislation that will make it so. My thanks for your time and attention to my "rant of the day" on this very serious issue (to me personally and to many others like me) Robert Brooks Dartmouth N.S. 11/27/2000 - Mr. Scot Brison was re-elected to the House of Commons 27 November 2000. 07/26/2000 - MP Scott Brison has been asked to step down to allow party leader Joe Clark to run in a by-election in that riding on 11 September 2000. The following is a newpaper article regarding this. Mr. Brison will be removed from the Scoreboard following that by-election.
By David Jackson / Provincial Reporter Windsor - Federal Tory Leader Joe Clark is hoping for a soft landing as he parachutes into Nova Scotia for a byelection. But there is already mixed reaction to Mr. Clark's announcement in Windsor on Tuesday that he wants to replace Scott Brison as MP for Kings-Hants and give the party a boost this fall in the House of Commons. The Alberta native promised residents of the mainly rural Annapolis Valley riding that he'll do his best to represent them. "If elected, I will serve the people and the interests of this constituency with all of my energy, my experience and my skills," said Mr. Clark, a former prime minister who spent 21 years in Ottawa as an MP. "People tend to answer the phone when I call." Mr. Clark, 61, had debated for months whether to ask one of his MPs to resign so he could try to gain a seat in the House and combat the apparent growth in popularity of the PC. But Mr. Clark denied the suggestions that caucus pressure and Alliance Leader Stockwell Day's decision to run in a byelection in British Columbia forced his hand. The Tory said he didn't decide to run sooner because he thought there would be a general election in the fall, and he wanted to prepare for that. Now, he thinks a spring election is more likely. "The place for me to be in a period in which the debate of the country will focus on the House of Commons is leading my party in that House," he told about 75 party faithful in the O'Brien building at the exhibition grounds. Mr. Clark had denied being interested in Mr. Brison's seat during his last visit to the riding in May. He said his projection of a fall election and not knowing whether Mr. Brison would reoffer delayed his decision. Mr. Brison said he will run again. "If that was clear to him at the time, it wasn't clear to me," Mr. Clark said. Mr. Clark, who plans to run in Calgary Centre in the next general election, said he took the issue of voter cynicism in Kings-Hants seriously, and it's already arisen among some Tory supporters. "Here once again we have politicians acting like members of a private club who treat electoral ridings as their own personal toys to pass around at their convenience, while expecting the electorate to remain docile and endorse their actions," Max Pye, Mr. Brison's elementary school principal, wrote Tuesday in a letter to this newspaper. Mr. Pye, of Scotch Village, said he encouraged Mr. Brison to seek the nomination in 1997, supported his campaign financially, and was a "volunteer chauffeur" during the campaign. "Mr. Brison has betrayed the trust of the voters in Kings-Hants," he wrote. "Shame on you Scott." Mr. Clark and Mr. Brison's decision found differing opinions on Windsor's Gerrish Street, where the leader shook some hands after his news conference. "I really like Scott Brison and I think he was doing a good job," said Janet Matheson, pushing a stroller carrying her two sons. "I think they should have left well enough alone." The Falmouth resident said Mr. Clark must have a lot of political connections and could have run elsewhere. "I don't think it was necessary," she said. But Barbara Campbell of Rawdon said she liked the idea of having the party leader as her MP. "I think he can do a lot for us," she said. "It's all about working as a team. You've got to be a team player." Mr. Clark isn't the first federal leader to count on Maritimers for help getting to Ottawa. Then-PC leader Brian Mulroney was elected in Central Nova in 1983. Liberal Leader Jean Chretien won the New Brunswick riding of Beausejour in 1990. Each man went on to run in his home province of Quebec in the next general election and became prime minister. New Democrat MP Peter Stoffer said Atlantic Canadians are tired of being taken for granted by political leaders looking to rent a riding and then turning their backs on the region. "In 1983, Brian Mulroney used Atlantic Canada and we got cutbacks," said the Sackville-Musquodoboit Valley-Eastern Shore MP. "In 1990, Jean Chretien used Atlantic Canada and we got cutbacks. "Now Joe Clark wants to use us and we'll get cutbacks again." Mr. Stoffer said if the Tory leader was really interested in the region, he would have run in the April byelection in St. John's West instead of making a "pitstop" in the Valley "before heading out to somewhere he really wants to represent." Kings-Hants, with a population of 94,000, is considered a Tory stronghold. It includes a large agriculture industry, Acadia University in Wolfville and the military airbase at Greenwood. Mr. Clark will spend the next few days in the riding with his wife, Maureen McTeer. He was joined at the news conference by Nova Scotia Tory MPs Peter MacKay and Gerald Keddy, and four Tory MLAs. The earliest the byelection could be held is Sept. 11. The prime minister will decide the date, and must do so within six months. The Liberal and Alliance parties are expected to decide this week whether they'll run candidates in the byelection. With staff reporters Gordon Delaney and Brian Underhill
Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding your desire to have post 1901 census data available to the public. I too find hard to believe that restrictions would be put on access to information regarding the 1901 and 1911 census. Surely after so many years, it is doubtful that anyone's privacy would be risked. Last year a Motion (M-571) was introduced in the House of Commons calling on Parliament to release such information. Unfortunately, the government prorogued Parliament meaning that all outstanding bills and motions were wiped off the list for debate. I understand that the motion will be reintroduced, quite soon. I assure you that I will be supporting the motion. Yours sincerely, Scott Brison, M.P. Kings - Hants
He mentions that the points has been raised by Jim Jones and that efforts are underway to try to present something to parliment re. the possibility of releasing certain information to those of us with "legitimate genealogical concerns". He makes no commitment either way. All the best, John & Carolyn Butters
A web site has been posted at http://globalgenealogy.com/census to record MP's responses, so that those who are interested, will know the position that their elected representative has (or has not expressed) on the issue. Also included on the web site, is a correspondence log for each Member of Parliament, which will contain responses to this e-mail plus any other correspondence from the MP. The Question: "Would you, as an elected Member of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada, vote FOR or AGAINST a Bill supporting release to the Public, of Post 1901 Census Records, 92 years after they were recorded. ( 1911 census information available in 2003, 1921 in 2013 etc)" If you would like to expand on your position, your entire response will be posted to your individual correspondence log. The Post 1901 Census web site is sponsored by Global Genealogy & History Bookstore. A vast number of e-mails and calls from subscribers and web site visitors, clearly demonstrates that this issue is extremely important to them. Many readers have expressed that their current MP's position on this issue will weigh heavily in their decision process during the next election. |
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