| Name: | Mr. Gary Lunn |
| Political Party: | Conservative |
| Constituency: | Saanich--Gulf Islands |
| Province: | British Columbia |
| Telephone: | (613) 996-1119 |
| Fax: | (613) 996-0850 |
| Email: | Lunn.G@parl.gc.ca |
| Address: | House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 |
| Constituency Address: | 9843 Second Street Sidney, British Columbia V8L 3C7 |
|
04/22/2004 - letter from MP Gary Lunn to Jean Martyn. April 22, 2004 Jean Martyn Dear Jean Martyn: RE: Bill S-13 Thank you for writing to express support for the release of post-1901 census records. I am pleased to share my thought on this issue. I support the preservation of census records and their subsequent transfer to the National Archives for public release. I share yhour belief that ninety-two years is an adequate length of time to keep these records confidential. This is genearally consistent with the practice in Britain and the United States, where records are kept confidential for 100 and 72 years respectively. However, I will not be supporting Bill S-13, An Act to Amend the Statistics Act, if and when it comes before the House of Commons again. This bill will allow limited access to "tombstone" census information after 92 years. Full access to census records will only be allowed after 112 years. I believe that this proposed legislation further complicates matters by allowing only designated individuals to access records. The designation process will result in a complicated bureaucracy, as well as added costs. Further, it raises the question of who will police the census. I note your petition on the census records issue. In order for it to be certified by the Clerk of Petitions, the document must be presented in a set format, and have at least 25 signatures. I am enclosing information about House of Commons petitions in case you would like to provide a new version. At that time, I would be more than happy to submit it to the Clerk for certification. If certified, I would then present it in the House of Commons. Thanks again for taking time to write. Yours sincerely, Gary Lunn, M.P. 29 August 2004 Mr. Gary Lunn Dear Mr. Lunn Congratulations on your recent election as a Member of Parliament. To have the trust and respect of those who voted for you is a great honour. Members who have been re-elected will be aware of an issue affecting a great many Canadians that seek their personal ancestry through research of Historic Census records. Newly elected Members may not yet be aware of this issue. It has been estimated that in excess of 7.5 million Canadians have an interest in genealogy and family history. These individuals seek to regain the same public access, with no added conditions or restrictions, to 92-year-old records of Census after 1906 that is currently available for 240 years of Census records up to that time. Access to Census records after 1906 is prevented at this time because of the (believed illegal) policy of a federal civil servant - Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi - Chief Statistician of Canada. The Library and Archives of Canada Act (and it's predecessor) has designated to the Librarian and Archivist the authority to determine what records of government are of archival or historical value and that shall be deposited in the National Library and Archives. Librarian and Archivist Ian E. Wilson determined that schedules of Census have archival and historical value. He declared them to be a National Treasure. He requested the Chief Statistician to return care and control of the records in question to his authority. Dr. Fellegi denied that request. The Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Privacy Regulations, make specific provision for personal information collected through Census or Survey to be made available to any person or body for purposes of research, 92 years following collection. The legislation assumes these records to be under the care and control of the National Archivist. By refusing to return care and control of the records in question to the Librarian and Archivist for subsequent public access the Chief Statistician has acted in deliberate contravention of the Library and Archives of Canada Act, the Access to Information Act, and the Privacy Act. He has usurped the authority of the Librarian and Archivist to determine what governmental records are of archival or historical value and that shall be deposited in the Library and Archives of Canada. In dictating policy instead of following policy determined through legislation passed by Parliament he has usurped the authority of that body. Do you believe that any Federal bureaucrat, regardless of how highly placed or regarded, is above the Laws of Canada? Do you believe that a civil servant has the power to dictate policy that contravenes legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada? The Access to Information and Privacy Acts are complementary Acts born of the same Bill debated and passed by Parliament. Do you believe the parliamentarians who passed this legislation would knowingly include clauses in one Act, the effect of which would be to totally nullify clauses in the other? If your answer to any of these questions is 'NO' we ask that you support our efforts to regain the same public access - with no added restrictions or conditions - to Historic Census records after 1906 that is currently available for 240 years of Census records up to that time. We seek nothing new. We seek only that which current legislation states we are entitled to - access that we have had in the past but is currently (believed illegally) withheld from us by the Chief Statistician of Canada. We ask that you call upon the Government of Canada to immediately direct the Chief Statistician of Canada to obey the Laws of Canada. We ask that he be directed to return care and control of schedules of Historic Census to the Librarian and Archivist of Canada for subsequent public access in accordance with the Access to Information and Privacy Acts. We ask further that you ensure continued public access to Historic Census records by seeking a government Bill that would add to the Statistics Act a single clause, similar to the following: "Original schedules of Census or authentic copies thereof shall, not later than thirty (30) years following collection, be transferred to the care and control of the National Archivist for subsequent public access in accordance with provisions of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Regulations attached thereto." In reading my letter you may not feel any obligation to respond to someone living outside your electoral riding. The votes you cast in Parliament, however, affect all people living in Canada and in that respect your constituency is all of Canada. Considering this, even though I do not reside in your riding I would greatly appreciate your personal response to my letter. Your response, stating your support (or otherwise) of the access we seek, will be posted to your Correspondence Log on the Post 1901 Census Project website. It will be available for viewing by your constituents on the MPs Scoreboard at www.globalgenealogy.com/Census Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and for your consideration of this very important issue. Respectfully Gordon A. Watts 03/23/2001 - letter from MP Gary Lunn to Gordon A. Watts. March 23, 2001 Mr. Gordon A. Watts Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee 1455 Delia Drive Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 2V9 Dear Mr. Watts: RE: EXPERT PANEL ON ACCESS TO HISTORIC CENSUS RECORDS thank you for writing regarding your concerns with Industry Minister Tobin's reaction to the Report of the Expert Panel on Access to Historic Census Records. The release of census records is certainly a vital issue for many of my constituents, including Dr. Hayes, whose message prompted our correspondence. At your suggestion, I have read the panel's final report. I am disappointed that Mr. Tobin has responded by saying that "further broad based consultation with Canadians is needed". In my view, the panel adequately considered the views of ordinary Canadians and representatives of historical, archival and genealogical associations in reaching their conclusions. Further, their report provided the government with spedific and practical recommendations for next steps, without need for additional public consultation. As is so often the case, this Liberal government sems intent on endlessly studying the issue, while ignoring the sensible advice of its own Expert Panel. I recognize that the release of census information is a challenging issue. However, if handled with the due care advised by the Expert Panel, I believe that it can be resolved to the satisfaction of most Canadians. I appreciate that my efforts on this issue have been recognized on your website, and thank you for taking time to write. Yours sincerely, Gary Lunn, MP 07/12/2000 - email from MP Gary Lunn to Muriel M. Davidson. This letter removes Mr. Lunn from the fence and gives him a gold tick.
Dear Mrs. Davidson: RE: CENSUS INFORMATION Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the decision by Industry Canada not to release results of the 1911 census according to schedule. I have previously brought this matter to the attention of the Minister of Insustry, and was subsequently answered through Mr. Ivan Fellegi, Chief Statistician of Canada. I enclose a copy of this response for your consideration. Mr. Fellegi is correct in recognizing that the laws which protect our privacy must be respected, particularly when ensuring the cooperation of Canadians in fully completing the census. I suggest that the census form in future years be modified to allow respondents to decide whether their personal information should be made available after 92 years, as previously done. Regrettably, this does not solve the difficulty of past census years now unabailable to us. Having given this matter considerable thought, I agree with you that releasing this information after a 92 year period does not represent a serious breach of privacy and amending legislation be passed in the House of Commons to this effect. Yours sincerely, Gary Lunn, M.P. (Enclosed with this letter was a form letter from Ivan P. Fellegi of Statistics Canada dated 21 July 1998, and the Statistics Canada handout entitiled "Access to 1911 and Other Post-1901 Census Records")
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the release of Post 1901 census data for the purpose of family research. Due to the volume of correspondence received in my office by fax, e-mail, and regular mail, the average time it takes to respond is 3-4 weeks from receipt. However, I strive to keep as current as possible. For security reasons, I prefer to sign all my correspondence. Therefore if you e-mail me your address and phone number, I would be pleased to respond. For the most part, I reply to correspondence in the order it is received. As you wrote on June 21st, I should be able to reply very shortly after receiving your particulars. Thank you again for taking the time to write. Yours sincerely, Gary Lunn, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands
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. |
|
|
