| Name: | Mr. Peter MacKay |
| Political Party: | Conservative Party of Canada |
| Constituency: | Central Nova |
| Province: | Nova Scotia |
| Telephone: | (613) 992-6022 |
| Fax: | (613) 992-2337 |
| Email: | Mackay.P@parl.gc.ca or mackap1@parl.gc.ca or mackap2@parl.gc.ca |
| Address: | House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 |
| Consituency Address: | 980 East River Rd New Glasgow, Nova Scotia B2H 3S8 Tel: 902-752-0226 Fax: 902-752-0284 219 Main Street No 303 Antigonish, Nova Scotia B2G 2C1 Tel: 902-863-7005 Fax: 902-863-7006 P.O. Box 184, Chedabucto Mall Guysborough, Nova Scotia B0H 1N0 Tel: 902-533-2685 Fax: 902-533-2677 |
|
10/20/2004 - letter from MP Peter MacKay to Gordon A. Watts. October 20, 2004 Mr. Gordon A. Watts Dear Mr. Gordon A. Watts Thank you for your email dated September 8th kindly forwarded by Muriel M. Davidson as well as your letter dated August 29th expressing support for the release of post-1901 census records. I appreciated knowing your views on this issue and am pleased to be given the opportunity of providing you with our position. The Conservative Party 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 Britian and the United States, where records are kept confidential for 100 and 72 years respectively. Thank you for taking the time to contact my office. Sincerely, Peter MacKay, MP
To: "'Muriel M. Davidson'" Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 1:45 PM Subject: RE: Census Ms. Davidson: Mr. MacKay is travelling in British Columbia, however I wanted to ensure that you received a response to confirm that Mr. MacKay is in support of your initiatives regarding the release of the 1911 census. I trust this will be of assistance to you. Maureen Murphy-Makin EA to Peter MacKay, M.P. 02/17/2002 - email to MP Peter MacKay from Patti Shields.
To: MacKay.P@parl.gc.ca Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2002 7:32 PM Subject: Post-1901 Census records Feb. 17, 2002 Dear Mr. MacKay, On June 9, 2000 I emailed you regarding the subject of release of Post-1901 Census records, asking for your position on the matter. On June 16, 2000 you replied stating your intention was to vote in favor of releasing these records. I was proud and thankful to have the support of my MP in this matter as it is essential to have access to Census material. I am an amateur genealogist and find these records of great value to pursue my research. Then on April 19, 2001 I emailed you to thank you for your continued support. You replied on June 15, 2001 informing me that you had decided to agree with the decision not to release these records. This was very disappointing to say the least. On July 10, 2001 Gordon A. Watts, Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee sent you an email requesting clarification on your position. You have yet to respond. I was hoping his words and the information he provided would encourage you to rethink your position. I am sending this email today to ask you to reconsider your position. Have you been to the Post-1901 Census Project Website? You should check it out: http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/ I really think you need to become better informed about this situation. I can only hope you at least will reassess your position. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Patti A. Shields R.R. # 1, Sherbrooke, NS 08/07/2001 - email to MP Peter MacKay from MP Muriel M. Davidson.
To: MacKay.P@parl.gc.ca Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 5:53 PM Subject: Just A Bit of Confusion, Peter!!! To Peter MacKay, MP:- There seems to be some confusion whether you are in favour of the release of Post-1901 census records. This is one quote from a message sent by you:- After further reflection and consultation with various Canadians regarding this matter, please be assured that I do support the release of the release of the 1911 Census records and will make my position well known on this issue at such time that a vote is taken. Another memo sounded as if you were not in favor of census release. I do understand the procedure, and know very definitely dialogue must take place. There are laws which need updating for us to regain the release of the census records, which included the ones of 1901. Please let me know -- this is not being sent to the CENSUS list, as yet. Please send a reply before the 14th or after the 25th of August as I will be Down Home -- where you are! Muriel M. Davidson Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee 07/10/2001 - email to MP Peter MacKay from Gordon A. Watts requesting clarification of Mr. MacKay's position re: public access to Historic Census Records. From: Gordon A. Watts To: Peter G. MacKay Cc: Patti Shields Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2001 4:13 PM Subject: Your Position Re: Public Access of Post 1901 Census Mr. MacKay. I copy below two correspondences from you to Ms. Patti Shields. The first one dated June 2000 has been copied from your Correspondence Log on the Post 1901 Census Project Website at http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/ . It is one of three in which you have indicated your support for public access to Historic Census records. In this letter, and in another letter to Gwen Christy (July 2000) you specifically state your support for access to these records, and in the third letter to Mrs. Muriel M. Davidson (12 October 1999), while you do not specifically state your support for access, you certainly give that impression. Your second correspondence to Ms. Shields, dated 15 June 2001, while very similar in many respects to your previous letter, appears to convey a complete turnaround from your previous position in that you state "I agree with this decision not to release the 1911 Census." This, I am sure, will be a big disappointment to your constituents who seek to utilize Post 1901 Census Records to seek information on their ancestors. You are currently shown on the MP Scoreboard as having a Gold Tick of support for public access to Historic Census Records. I would not like to have to change that to a Red X of opposition and would respectfully request that you clarify your position to me as soon as possible. Should you in fact have changed your position to one opposing public access to Historic Census records, 92 years after collection as allowed by Regulations attached to the Privacy Act, I would appreciate being advised as to the reasons for so doing. In giving such reasons please do not make reference to "promises" and "guarantees" so often touted by Statistics Canada and the Privacy Commissioner. Many months of research dedicated specifically to finding such "promises" and "guarantees" have proven that they do not exist. Statistics Canada was requested through Access to Information to provide documented evidence that such "promises" and "guarantees" existed, and were communicated to the people of Canada, and have been unable to do so. There is no stated "promise" or "guarantee" in any statute or regulation, Canada Gazette, Proclamations of the Governor in Council, public media, or any other source from 1871 until the present, that confidentiality of Census Records would last forever. I urge you to read the Report of the Expert Panel on Access to Historic Census Records. It is available through Statistics Canada and on their website. I would urge you also to seek from Industry Minister Brian Tobin, the truth regarding his announcement (15 December 2000) that "further broad based discussion with all Canadians is needed" and would be held in conjunction with already announced reviews of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts. On 26 March 2001 I participated in roundtable discussions conducted by the ATIA Review Task Force and was advised by members of that Task Force that a review of, and recommendation relating to Public Access of Historic Census Records did not form part of their mandate, and that little would be said about it in their final report. Someone is not telling the truth. Mr. Tobin has refused to respond to, or even acknowledge receipt of, several email, faxes, and letters sent by me since 26 March 2001. As a closing point of interest, when visiting the MP Scoreboard, check the Correspondence Log for your party leader Joe Clark. There are four letters there in which Mr. Clark voices his personal support, and the support of the PC Party, for public access to Historic Census Records. I sincerely hope that your personal reply, at your earliest convenience, will reaffirm your support for allowing public access to Historic Records, 92 years after collection, as allowed by Regulation 6(d) attached to the Privacy Act. Thank you for taking the time to read my email. Gordon A. WATTS gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee 06/15/2001 - email from MP Peter MacKay to Patti Shields. This correspondence would appear to reverse Mr. MacKay's clear statement of support given in his message sent to Ms. Shields 06/16/200 and repeated to Gwen Christy 07/07/2000. A message with wording identical to this one was sent to Betty Lunsden on 17 October 2001. June 15, 2001 Ms. Patti Shields Wine Harbour Sherbrooke, N.S. Email: patti.shields@ns.sympatico.ca Dear Ms. Shields, Thank you for your correspondence dated April 19, 2001 concerning the releasing of the 1911 census. It was decided that the 1911 Census would not be released to the public because of recommendations made by the Department of Justice upon a review of the legislation. I assure you that this was not an arbitrary policy decision. Starting with 1906, censuses have been conducted under various Statistics Acts, each containing strict confidentiality provisions that protect the information indefinitely. Moreover, the confidentiality provisions found in the Statistics Act override the section of the Privacy Act and the related regulations that allow personal information from a census or survey to be placed in the public domain 92 years later. As a result, Statistics Canada does not have the legal authority to transfer records from censuses conducted after 1906 to the National Archives for release to the public. I agree with this decision not to release the 1911 Census. Canadian law granted the people of 1911 their privacy and even though they may now by deceased they are still protected by the law. The law guaranteed them that their personal information would not become public knowledge and this should remain the case. I have taken the liberty of attaching Section 17 of the Statistics Act that deals with the issue of secrecy. It may be of interest to you that there may be allowances for specific exemptions to this section and in particular Section 17 (2)(d) reads as follows: The Chief Statistician may, by order, authorize the following information to be disclosed: information available to the public under any statutory or other law: This would of course require an act of Parliament to specifically deal with the concerns of those seeking specific exemptions for genealogical purposes. If you have genealogical concerns you should contact the office of the Hon. Brian Tobin, Minister of Industry and the Minister responsible for the census. If you choose to raise genealogical concerns his office can begin a review of the Statistics Act for that purpose. Once again, thank you for your correspondence and I hope the information I have provided was helpful. Sincerely, Peter MacKay, M.P. PC Party Justice Critic 07/07/2000 - email from MP Peter G. MacKay to Gwen Christy.
Boutilier's Pt. St. Margaret's Bay, NS Dear Ms. Christie: Thank you for your email dated June 9, 2000 in regards to the release of the 1911 Census records. After further reflection and consultation with various Canadians regarding this matter, please be assured that I do support the release of the release of the 1911 Census records and will make my position well known on this issue at such time that a vote is taken. Once again, thank you for writing me on this issue and for pursuing this important matter. Yours truly, Peter G. MacKay, MP Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough
Dear Ms. Shields: Thank you for your email dated June 9, 2000 regarding the subject of release of the 1911 Census. The federal government has indicated that the 1911 Census will not be released to the public. I have been advised that this was not an arbitrary policy decision but was the result of recommendations made by the Department of Justice upon a review of the legislation. Starting with 1906, censuses have been gathered under various Statistics Acts, each containing strict confidentiality provisions that protect the information indefinitely. Moreover, the confidentiality provisions found in the Statistics Act override the section of the Privacy Act and the related regulations that allow personal information from a census or survey to be placed in the public domain 92 years later. Consequently, Statistics Canada does not have the legal authority to transfer records from censuses conducted after 1906 to the National Archives for release to the public. I have taken the liberty of attaching Section 17 of the Statistics Act that deals with the issue of secrecy. It may be of interest to you that there may be allowances for specific exemptions to this section and in particular Sect. 17(2)(d) reads as follows:
It will be my pleasure, in consultation with my colleague Jim Jones, PC Industry Critic to undertake to raise your concerns with the Hon. John Manley, the Minister responsible for the Census. Please be advised that it is my intention to vote in favour of supporting the release of Census records starting with the 1911 Census. Once again, thank you for contacting me regarding this matter of great importance. Yours truly, Peter G. MacKay, MP Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough
Dear Ms. Davidson: This is in reply to your letter dated September 1, 1999 regarding the subject of release of the 1911 Census. it has been decided that the 1911 Census will not be released to the public. I have been assured that this was not an arbitrary decision but was the result of recommendations made by the Department of Junstice upon a review of the legislation. Starting with 1906, censuses have been conducted under various Statistics Acts, each containing strict confidentiality provisions that protect the information indefinitely. Moreover, the confidentiality provisions found in the Statistics Act override the section of the Privacy Act and the related reulations that allow personal information from a census or survey to be place in the public domain 92 years later. Consiquently, Statistics Canada does not have the leagal authority to transfer records from censuses conducted after 1906 to the National Archives for release to the public. I have taken the liberty of attaching Section 17 of the Statistics Act that deals with the issue of secrecy. It may be of interest to you that there may be allowances for specific exemptions to this section and in particular Sect. (17)2)(d) reads as follows:
This would of course require an act of parliament to deal with the concerns of those seeking specific expemptions for genealogical purposes. It will be my pleasure to undertake to raise your concerns with the Hon. John Manley, the Minister responsible for the census. It will be my recommendation that his office begin a review of the Statistics Act for the purpose of accommodating the legitimate genealogical concerns you have raised. If I can be of any further service to you on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours truly, [Signature] Peter G. MacKay, MP Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough
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. |
|
|
