From: Gordon A. Watts
To: Inky Mark, MP
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 12:23 PM
Subject: Thank you

Dear Mr. Mark

Thank you for your letter, dated 9 Septmeber 2004, in response to my letter to you dated 29 August 2004.

So many times our correspondence to MPs has been ignored or simply referred to someone else without responding to the questions asked. At other times our letters or email to MPs are answered by being told by an assistant that they respond only to correspondence from those living in their own electoral riding. We find this extremely frustrating when in most cases it would take less effort to simply answer the question asked. It is frustrating also when time after time an assistant simply states our concerns "will be brought to the attention" of the MP or Senator and over a period of months or even years an answer to questions asked is never given.

The fact that you have taken the time to respond personally to my letter, and that you have re-affirmed your support for public access to 92-year-old Census records is doubly appreciated.

Re: your comments regarding the possible use of Private Member Bills or Motions, we are very much aware of that possibility. During the course of the past six years of our campaign there have been a number of Private Member Bills and Motions put forth in both the House of Commons and the Senate designed to facilitate the public access to Historic Census records that we seek.

Unfortunately none of the Bills or Motions presented have been successfully brought to fruition, and the possibility that any Private Member Bill might be successfully passed into law is extremely unlikely. Only Motion M-160, presented a number of years ago by MP Jason Kenney has successfully made it through the House. Unfortunately prior to it being voted on, Liberal MP Mac Harb (now Senator Harb) moved a motion to amend that made the end result virtually meaningless. The Liberal majority of the time happily voted in favour of a Motion that had been rendered useless.

Current House Rules governing the processing of Private Member Bills are extremely predudicial against their success. Hence our preference to see a government Bill to address our concerns. We will happily support any Bill (Private Member or Government) that would give us the access we seek, without added conditions or restrictions, and that will assure continued future access in the same manner as Census records up to 1906 are currently accessible. The addition of a single clause to the Statistics Act, as suggested in my earlier letter would accomplish that. On the other hand, we will fight tooth and nail against any Bill that contains conditions and restrictions similar to those contained in the now defunct government Bill S-13.

Thank you again for your personal response, and for your support for what we seek.

Sincerly,

Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net
Co-chair Canada Census Committee
Port Coquitlam, BC

OTTAWA, 9 September, 2004

Gordon A. Watts
Co-Chair
Canada Census Committee
1455 Delia Dr.
Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 2V9

Dear Mr. Watts:

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 my position.

I support the preservation of census records, and the subsequent transfer of these records to the National Archives for public release. I 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.

In respect to the seeking of a government Bill that would add the clause yhou propose, you may want to contact your own Member of Parliament to put forth a Private Member's Bill that would see changes to the Statistics Act. Any member can put forth this type of legislation and it would therefore not be contingent on the governing pary's inclinations.

Thank you again for your correspondence. I trust that I have fully answered your questions.

Sincerely,

Inky Mark, M.P.
Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette

29 August 2004

Mr. Inky Mark
Member of Parliament
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Mark

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
Co-chair, Canada Census Committee

Please note: Originally in this space there was a link to a scanned image of a letter sent by M.P. Inky Mark. Due to a computer crash that image was lost and the link to it has been removed. The position of Mr. Mark in that letter was supportive of the access we seek and earned him his Gold Tick.

"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)"