| Name: | Mr. Jay Hill |
| Political Party: | Conservative |
| Constituency: | Prince George--Peace River |
| Province: | British Columbia |
| Telephone: | (613) 947-4524 |
| Fax: | (613) 947-4527 |
| Email: | Hill.J@parl.gc.ca |
| Address: | House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 |
| Constituency Address: | 8612 100th Avenue Fort St. John, British Columbia V1J 1X1 |
11/15/2001 - email to MP Jay Hill from Gordon Blanchard.
To: Hill.J@parl.gc.ca Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 9:52 PM Subject: Bill C-312 Dear Mr. Hill: I would like to ask you to support Bill C-312 becoming votable. I would like to stress the importance of having the Canada Census information available for my genealogy research. I am trying to complete the data for my family tree and would find the Census information very valuable. Thanks for your consideration. Gordon Blanchard, Alberta. 05/10/2001 - email from MP Jay Hill to Marge MacDonald. While Mr. Hill states the party position rather than his own it is felt this response, coming directly from him, is sufficiently different from his original replies to warrant the awarding of his gold tick From: Hill, Jay - M.P. To: M Macdonald Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2001 8:58 AM Subject: RE: Access to Census Records OTTAWA May 8, 2001 Marge MacDonald Maple Ridge, BC Dear Mrs. MacDonald, Thank you for your letter expressing support for the release of post-1901 census records. I appreciate knowing your views on this issue and am pleased to be given the opportunity of providing you with our position. The Canadian Alliance supports the preservation of census records and the subsequent transfer of these records to the National Archives for public release. We believe that keeping the records confidential for the historical 92-year period is an adequate length of time, and that this is generally consistent with the practice in Britain and the United States where records are kept confidential for 100 and 72 years respectively. Once again, thank you for your correspondence on this very important issue. Sincerely, Jay Hill, M.P. -----Original Message----- From: M Macdonald Sent: April 8, 2001 10:38 AM To: Hill, Jay - M.P. Subject: Access to Census Records Mr. Jay Hill: As a Canadian citizen and resident of B.C., I am writing to express my support for the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Access to Historical Census Records. I encourage you to take a strong stand on BILL S-12 AND BILL C-312 which will allow the publishing of the 1911 Census records and any future census records as well. As a genealogist, I depend heavily on census returns. The Expert Panel acknowledges that these records are important and says they should continue to be made available. The government's deferral of this matter for further study is puzzling to say the least. Most other BC MP's have stated their support yet you remain undecided. I have been researching my families' roots for over 8 years. Without such records as the Census' being available for all to review, it makes the search very difficult, if not impossible. This particular census is especially vital to my research and I'm sure to many others. My families originated in Europe and immigrated in the late 1800s to the US and then to Canada in the early 1900s. I have been successful in tracing many ancestors through the US Census and the UK Census, without which, it would not have been possible and hopefully with your support I will be able to continue to do so through the Canadian Census. Most of the vital information is contained in the first decade of the 1900s, when the immigration level was at high peak. Many members of our families have developed a great sense of history in finding their roots and I feel it can only enhance them as citizens of our country. Genealogists everywhere have volunteered many, many hours to the realization of their searches and I feel that with the release of this census information and future census information, it will only heighten others' interest as well. I strongly urge you to support these two bills S-12 and C-312. Thank you. Yours sincerely, Marge Macdonald, Maple Ridge, B.C. 05/31/2000 - email from MP Jay Hill to Donna McMillan-Kjorsvik.
To: 'Donna McMillan-Kjorsvik' Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2000 10:29 AM Subject: RE: Census release Dear Ms. Kjorsvik, Thank you for your recent email expressing your support of proposed changes to the Statistics Act that would permit the release of census records taken after 1901. The independent panel created to study and advise the government on this issue is expected to report its recommendations by today. You can rest assured my colleague Mr. Charlie Penson, M.P., Official Opposition Industry Critic, will certainly be giving the matter careful consideration and commenting on the panel's findings once the report is made available. If you are interested or require any further information on this topic you can go to the Statistics Canada website at: http://www.statcan.ca/english/census96/interm.htm I thank you once again for taking the time to share your views on this sensitive issue. Sincerely, Jay Hill, MP
I finally received an answer from Jay Hill, MP Prince George, Peace River wherein he thanks me for my support of census release, but failed to commit himself one way or the other. Very disappointing. Jack Hebert
To: 'Adele J. Turner' Sent: May 31, 2000 9:24 AM Subject: RE: Post 1901 Census Dear Ms.Turner, Thank you for your recent email expressing your support of proposed changes to the Statistics Act that would permit the release of census records taken after 1901. The independent panel created to study and advise the government on this issue is expected to report its recommendations by today. You can rest assured my colleague Mr. Charlie Penson, M.P., Official Opposition Industry Critic, will certainly be giving the matter careful consideration and commenting on the panel's findings once the report is made available. If you are interested or require any further information on this topic you can go to the Statistics Canada website at: http://www.statcan.ca/english/census96/interm.htm I thank you once again for taking the time to share your views on this sensitive issue. Sincerely, Jay Hill, MP P.S. Threatening to vote for someone else does not ensure a faster response or affect my opinion on difficult issues.
Sent: May 28, 2000 2:55 PM To: Hill.J@parl.gc.ca Subject: Post 1901 Census Please read and reply to this very important question which is pertinent for all of those interested in history and more specifically to the present and future family history researchers. Are you, as an elected Member of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada, voting 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)? Please please please vote FOR the release of the census! Does your party want my vote in the next election? How you vote the above question could make the difference in how I vote in the next election. Thank you, Adele Turner North Vancouver, BC
Thank you for your email expressing concern regarding post-1901 census records. Data from censuses taken up to and including the 1901 census have been transferred to the National Archives of Canada and are widely available. However, under current legislation, post-1901 census records cannot be transferred to the National Archives of Canada for subsequent public release. The confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act of 1906 override the section of the Privacy Act that permits the transfer of records to the public domain after a 92 year waiting period. Therefore, no legal authority exists to undertake the transfer of post-1906 census records to the National Archives. Currently, there is no proposal to change the Statistics Act to allow access to these census records. One of the most effective ways of securing the co-operation of Canadians in the gathering of statistics is to unconditionally guarantee the confidentiality of all supplied information. A retroactive amendment to permit disclosure of historical census records could be viewed as a betrayal of past statutory guarantees and could impact the willingness of the public to participate in future surveys. Careful consideration must be given to the effect that this could have on the national statistical gathering system. In the interest of privacy protection, MP Rahim Jaffer, Reform's Chief Critic for Industry has opted not to introduce legislation to amend the Statistics Act of 1906 at this time. Should a private member's bill on this matter be introduced in the House of Commons, the Reform Party will examine the issues that such a law might raise for both genealogists and the general public. Once again, thank you for taking the time to share your views on this sensitive issue. Sincerely, Jay Hill, MP
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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