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POST 1901 CENSUS PROJECT
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Correspondence Log


Name:
Ms. Nancy Karetak-Lindell Sitting on the Fence

Political Party:
Liberal Party of Canada

Constituency:
Nunavut

Province:
Northwest Territories

Telephone:
(613) 992-2848

Fax:
(613) 996-9764

Email:
Karetak-Lindell.N@parl.gc.ca

Address:
House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6


Constituency Address:
PO Box 344
Arviat, Nunavut
X0C 0E0

PO Box 1930
Iqaluit, Nunavut
X0A 0H0


10/07/2002 - email to MP nancy Karetak-Lindell from Gordon A. Watts.
    From: Gordon A. Watts
    To: MP Karetak-Lindell, Nancy
    Sent: Monday, October 07, 2002 11:44 AM
    Subject: Post 1901 Census legislation

    Dear Ms. Karetak-Lindell

    At long last there has been a public acknowledgement by the Government of Canada that they have an interest in the concerns of Canadians, and others, that seek continuing access to Post-1901 Census records.

    That acknowledgement took the form of inclusion of a statement in an address of the Hon. Don Boudria, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. The address was made to the Newsmakers Breakfast at the National Press Club, 3 October 2002. It was titled "The Government's Fall Legislative Program". On page four of Mr. Boudria's notes for that address, he states:

    "Other legislation will also be introduced respecting:

      The release of 92-year old census records for historical research purposes - which responds to recommendations and work done by parliamentarians in the House and Senate such as MP Calder and Senator Milne;"

    This acknowledgement of our concerns, on behalf of the government, is welcome news. It does not yet mean, however, that continued public access of Historic Census records has been approved and those records are now available to access for purposes of research. The proposed legislation has not yet been brought down, and it remains to be seen if, when it is brought down, it meets the needs and expectations of those seeking access. Senator Lorna Milne continues to work with the Hon. Allan Rock, Minister of Industry, to ensure that the end result does meet those needs and expectations.

    I remind you that what we seek is exactly the same unrestricted access to records after 1901 that is currently available for those records up to and including 1901.

    I currently show you on the MPs Scoreboard of the Post 1901 Census Project website (at the URL following my signature) as "sitting on the fence". You have been given this position by virtue of the fact that you have yet to give a definitive response stating your support, or otherwise, for public access to Historic Census records, 92 years after collection. (Or, at least, that I have seen no such response.)

    In view of the fact that the Government has now stated it's intention to introduce legislation that will hopefully address our concerns, will you now give a definitive response stating your supportive position for such legislation?

    I am not one of your constituents, but in writing to you I believe that I speak on behalf of a great many others who are your constituents. As such, I hope that you will afford me the courtesy of a response to this message. In responding to my message with a supportive answer to my question, so that it might be posted to your correspondence log, you would likely save yourself a great many similar requests by others.

    Thank you for taking the time to read my message, and for responding thereto. Have a great day!

    Sincerely

    Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net
    Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee
    1455 Delia Drive
    Port Coquitlam, BC
    V3C 2V9

09/21/2002 - email to MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell from Vince Hunter.
    From: Vince Hunter
    To: Larry Bagnell, MP; Ione Christensen, Sen.
    Cc: Willie Adams, Sen. ; Ethel Blondin-Andrew, MP ; Nick Sibbeston, Sen ; Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP
    Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 4:45 PM
    Subject: Fw: Post 1901 Census - A Summary

    With the Proroguing of the current session of Parliament, new bills will have to be reintroduced for a third time for the release to the public of the Post 1901 Census. I hope your interest in having the Census released to the National Archives will result in your support of these new bills.

    I include a summary of the Post 1901 Census oddyssey below to refresh your memory.

    Yours sincerely,

    Vincent Hunter, vinceh@internorth.com
    Yukon Member,Canada Census Committee
    Whitehorse, Yukon

    -------Original Message-------
    From: "Gordon A. Watts"
    To: "Canada Census Campaign"
    Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 6:09 PM
    Subject: Post 1901 Census - A Summary

    Greetings All.

    A number of people have asked for a point by point summary of the Post 1901 Census issue. Because of this I have compiled the following Summary. Feel free to circulate it to those you feel will be interested. It will shortly be included on the Post 1901 Census Project website which, I am happy to say after the problems of the past few days, is once again accessible.

    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.

    ***********************************

    Post 1901 Census Issue Summary

  • 235 years of Census records, from the first Census of New France in 1666, up to and including the 1901 national Census of Canada, currently reside in the National Archives of Canada and are accessible to any person or body for purposes of research.


  • Clauses in the Access to Information and Privacy Acts make specific provision for public access to 'personal' information contained in Census 92 years after collection.


  • The National Archives of Canada Act provides that the National Archivist shall determine what records of government are of historical or archival value and that shall be deposited in the National Archives.


  • The National Archivist, Ian E. Wilson, has determined that records of Historic Census do have historical or archival value and are, in fact, a National treasure. He has formally requested Statistics Canada to turn control of the 1906 Special Census of the Western Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) over to his control.


  • Statistics Canada (i.e. Chief Statistician Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi) refuses to turn control of Historic Census records after 1901 over to control of the National Archivist of Canada.


  • The rational for this refusal is based on misinterpreted legislation and Instructions to Officers and Enumerators of Census going back as far as 1905, and Statistics Canada's claim that a 'promise' was made to the people of Canada that confidentiality of Census was perpetual.


  • Statistics Canada has been unable to provide a single piece of documented evidence that a 'promise' of 'confidentiality of Census in perpetuity' has ever been made. It does not exist!


  • In November 1999, then Industry Minister John Manley appointed an Expert Panel to study and make recommendations regarding public access to Historic Census Records. Their report, finally made public 15 December 2000, found no evidence that legislators of the day intended that records of Census were to remain confidential for all time. They recommended allowing public access to all Census records, past, present and future, 92 years after collection. They urged caution only in the method by which records from 1918 to 2001 were made available.


  • In making the Report of the Expert Panel on Access to Historical Census Records public, then Industry Minister Brian Tobin discounted the recommendations contained therein, claiming that 'further broad-based consultations with all Canadians' was required. He stated these consultations would take place with already mandated reviews of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts.


  • The review of the Access to Information Act took place and the report released with no mention of public access to Historic Census records - it was not part of their mandate. A review of the Privacy Act is not expected to be completed within three years, and access to Census is likewise not included in the mandate of those expected to review it.


  • In December 2001 and January 2002 a series of Town Hall Meetings and Focus Groups were conducted across Canada. Of 157 presenters at the Town Hall Meetings, 151 were fully supportive of unrestricted public access of all records of Census, 92 years after collection, in accordance with current legislation.


  • Each of these 151 presenters likewise rejected the so-called 'compromise solution' being pushed by Statistics Canada as being too restrictive in who might access the records, what information might be accessed and what might be done with information retrieved.


  • The 'compromise' does not do what it is proposed to do. It would be excessively expensive to set up and maintain, and would be a bureaucratic nightmare to administer. It would prevent access for the greater portion of the Canadian population that do not live within reasonable travel distance to a government office holding copies of the Census records.


  • Instructions to Officers and Enumerators of Census from at least 1901 to 1946, having the Force of Law, contain clauses that state that records of Census "have value as a record for historical use", that "The census is intended to be a permanent record", and "its schedules will be stored in the Archives of the Dominion." If any 'promise' was made to the people of Canada regarding Census it was this.


  • On 5 March 2002, Calgary lawyer Lois Sparling, on behalf of the Canada Census Committee and many thousands of genealogists and historians, submitted an Application for Judicial Review to the Federal Court of Canada. The purpose of this Application is to obtain a Writ of Mandamus to compel the Chief Statistician of Canada to turn control of 1906 Census schedules over to the National Archivist. It was later modified to include a request for certain declarations relating to public access of these records. At the time of writing the legal action is proceeding more or less as expected.


  • To date (September 2002), more than 55,000 signatures have been sent to Ottawa seeking to regain public access to Post 1901 Census records on the same basis as records up to and including 1901 are currently available.


  • There is still a requirement for signatures on petitions (downloadable from the Post 1901 Census Project website), and for letters to be sent to MPs and Senators seeking their support for access. With an expected proroguing of the current session of Parliament on 30 September 2002 all Bills and Motions (including Bill S-12) will cease to exist. It is expected that Senator Lorna Milne and MP Murray Calder will immediately re-introduce their Census Bills. This will be the third time our Bills have been started from scratch. It is therefore essential that we continue to reinforce our desire for access with our elected and appointed representatives.

08/28/2002 - email to MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell from Vince Hunter.
    From: Vince Hunter
    To: Ms. Nancy Karetak-Lindell
    Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 1:31 PM
    Subject: An Improtant Message

    Dear Ms. Karetak-Lindell,

    It has come to my attention that you are one of the very few MP’s who has not responded to the following question:

    Would you, as a member of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada and representing northern Canadians, Vote for or against a Bill supporting the release to the public of the Post 1901 Census Records after 92 years, starting with the 1906 Census?

    Before you send me your reply, I would ask you to read an article written for the Toronto Star describing the great need for the 1906 census release. It explains the entire situation very well. The URL for the article is: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~downhome/1906census.html . If you cannot get to a computer to view this article, I would ask your assistant that initially reads this e-mail to download a hardcopy for your viewing when you can find some time.

    I do hope your answer is in the affirmative, as is your Yukon counterpart, Larry Bagnell’s support. I and close to 8 million family historians pray for the release of those post 1901 census so that we can complete our family research and pass on the family “Tree” to our future families.

    It is important to me that I receive your personal answer to the above question and I thank you for taking the time to read my e-mail.

    Sincerely,

    Vincent Hunter vinceh@internorth.com
    Yukon Member, Canada Census Committee
    Whitehorse, Yukon

03/23/2002 - email re: MP Nancy Karetak-Lindall from Marcel Mason. While not a direct response from Ms. Karetak-Lindall, it is sufficient to rate a fence, indicating a non-committal response. We hope that she continues her "lean" in the right direction and so states her intention.
    From: Marcel Mason
    To: "Muriel M. Davidson"
    Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2002 7:52 PM
    Subject: Nunavut MP Position on 1901 Census

    Good evening Muriel,

    While I did not get a chance to talk directly to Nancy during her short trip to Iqaluit for the 2002 Arctic Winter Games I did have the opportunity to speak to one of her staff members from Ottawa (a Susan S. - cannot spell last name but have it at the office).

    According to Susan Nancy is 'leaning towards voting in favour' of the bill to make the census information public.

    Again according to Susan, she is waiting for a 'bit more guidance from the government' on this before making a final decision.

    We had a decent discussion on how valuable the census information could be to people looking into their family history.

    It seems that her staffer is interested in starting down the genealogy trail herself but is unsure how to get started so we talked for a bit about how she could go about it.

    Marcel

12/29/2001 -- email to MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell from Lyn Duncan.
    From: Lyn
    To:
    Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2001 3:00 PM
    Subject: Canada Census Committee - post 1901 census to National Archives

    Dear MP Ms Nancy Karetak-Lindell

    Would you please have the courtesy to answer 'your position' on the question of releasing from Stats Canada (after 92 yrs) to our National Archives, the census in question. I believe you must surely have an opinion on this most important issue of our very heritage.

    I am a Canadian that wants to know when my ancestors arrived in Canada from the US. Who did they travel with? Which children were still living with them when they arrived here?? Were they farmers or merchants? The only way I will find out is through access to the census. Please, please help.

    I expect to hear from you soon, and anxiously await your personal reply.

    With great respect -
    Lyn Duncan, White Rock, B.C.

07/13/2001 - email to MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell from Muriel M. Davidson.
    From: Muriel M. Davidson
    To: Karetak-Lindell.N@parl.gc.ca
    Sent: Friday, July 13, 2001 4:29 PM
    Subject: Will YOU Take Five Minutes To Answer, Please????

    To Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP:-

    To date there has not been one word from you to either myself or to Marcel Mason, Canada Census Committee member for Nunavut.

    You may think that, since Nunavut is such a new part of Canada, the census records do not count -- but they definitely do, although these might be found under North-West Territories.

      QUESTION:-

      As an elected Member of Parliament, elected to follow the wishes of YOUR constituents, have you discussed Post-1901 census release with them?

      QUESTION:-

      Should your consitiuents desire census release, are YOU willing to SUPPORT Bills and Motions for release of Post-1901 Census Records, e.g. 1911 in 2003 -- and automatic transfer to National Archives.

    Regardless of your political party, YOU should be able to take a few minutes from the vacation provided by Parliament and answer the above questions. We would prefer not to receive mention that Brian Tobin is planning further consultation -- he is not, to our knowledge.

    Many people in Canada elected their Members of Parliament -- we only ask they speak on our behalf -- not by dictation.

    Looking forward to a very early reply -- your blue ? is messing up your part of the scoreboard.

    Muriel M. Davidson
    Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee

06/18/2001 - email to MP Nancy Karetak-Wilson from Muriel M. Davidson.
    From: Muriel M. Davidson
    To: Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP
    Sent: Monday, June 18, 2001 5:58 PM
    Subject: No Reply to April 1999 Letter To Date!!!

    To Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP:-

    When the Member of Parliament Scoreboard is updated, YOU will be the only one who has not made a commitment, one way or the other -- you have not even replied.

    Global Genealogy set up the MPs Scoreboard in April 1999 and you were contacted by them -- no reply.

    Go to: http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Score5.htm

    Click on your name for verification -- found in the NWT, Yukon and Nunavut listing --

    Today I have learned of another Private Member's Bill to hopefully gain access to our 1906 (prairies) and 1911 census, plus later ones.

    Will you SUPPORT motions and bills introduced to gain access to the census records -- used by family researchers?

    If you know Marcel Mason, you may reply to him -- Marcel is a member of the Canada Census Committee -- he will forward it to me.

    Muriel M. Davidson
    Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee

05/22/2001 - email to MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell from Muriel M. Davidson. The colour of the text in the original email was Blue.

    From: Muriel M. Davidson
    To: Karetak-Lindell.N@parl.gc.ca
    Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2001 11:48 AM
    Subject: You Are the ONLY One With A BLUE ???

    To Ms. Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP:-

    The colour of this type is the one colour I dislike -- it tells me the Member of Parliament deigns to answer letters from people, e.g. myself.

    Today I received a YES/NO reply which will eliminate one BLUE ????, and we have a GOLD tick for another elected Member of Parliament of our Canadian North. The changes on the scoreboard will show soon at

    http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Score5.htm#NWT

    QUESTION:-

    How will you vote when Murray Calder's PMB C-312 comes to the floor of the House of Commons?

    Have you asked any of your constituents -- one of whom is a member of our Canada Census Committee.

    I have heard from the well-known grapevine that Brian Tobin has enough copies of letters to wallpaper his office at least four times -- so could you possibly change the answer -- as YOUR constituents would wish.

    I will be looking forward to your answer -- would it be possible to obtain any signatures on Senate petitions for Senator Lorna Milne -- Nunavut is a favorite vacation spot for Lorna and her husband.

    Muriel M. Davidson
    Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee

04/30/99- e-mail from The Global Gazette to MP
    This e-mail has been transmitted to all Members of Parliament to ask for individual responses to a specific question regarding how you would vote if a Bill to reverse earlier legislation depriving Canadians of the important heritage information contained in census records after 1901, was tabled.

    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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