| Name: | Mr. Stephen Owen |
| Political Party: | Liberal Party of Canada |
| Constituency: | Vancouver Quadra |
| Province: | British Columbia |
| Telephone: | (613) 992-2430 |
| Fax: | (613) 995-0770 |
| Owen.S@parl.gc.ca |
| Address: | House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 |
| Constituency Address: | 5315 West Boulevard Vancouver, British Columbia V6M 3W4 |
03/16/2003 - letter from MP Stephen Owen to Muriel M. Davidson.
March 16, 2003 Muriel M. Davidson 25 Crestview Avenue Brampton, ON L6W 2R8 Dear Ms. Davidson, Thank you for your letter of March 5, 2003 concerning Bill S-13, "An Act to amend the Statistics Act". Indeed I will support this government bill when it is introduced in the House of Commons. The proposed legislation will clarify the Statistics Act and enable the release of records taken between 1911 and 2001. In doing so, the act will meet the needs of genealogist and historians, who seek legitimate information on their families and communities, while at the same time, it will ensure appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy of individuals. Again, thank you for writing. Sincerely, Stephen Owen 10/07/2002 - email to MP Stephen Owen from Gordon A. Watts.
To: MP Owen, Stephen Sent: Monday, October 07, 2002 11:44 AM Subject: Post 1901 Census legislation Dear Mr. Owen 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 05/18/2001 - email to MP Stephen Owen from Muriel M. Davidson. From: "Muriel M. Davidson" To: Owen, Stephen MP Sent: Friday, May 18, 2001 11:41 AM Subject: About Time You Realized Tobin Will Do NOTHING! To Stephen Owen, MP:- It is about time you and others realized Brian Tobin plans to do NOTHING except have a fancy title and collect salary as such. By now his office must have at least four layers of wallpaper -- due to the number of letters forwarded to him. My opinion of a good Member of Parliament is one who has an opinion which concerns his/her constituents. There have been many signed petitions from residents of your area -- have YOU ever asked any if they are interested in family research? Your last reply to me put you on an uncomfortable picket YES/NO fence, and possibly waiting to be told what to say and how to vote. Private Member's Bills are FREE votes -- the Liberal party cannot dictate, you could vote as constituents desire. Would it be possible to have a straight-forward answer, FOR or AGAINST? Let's try to make British Columbia as GOLDEN as other provinces -- letters to Brian Tobin is not an answer. Muriel M. Davidson Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee 05/08/2001 - email to MP Stephen Owen from Melville R. Andress. Mr. Stephen Owen MP. Vancouver Quadra House of Commons Ottawa,ON. K1A 0A6. Dear Mr. Owen; Please advise your sources of information re: "-explicitly prohibited by law." is a mis-statement of fact. Neither Parliament's paid minions or it's elected politicians have been able to produce evidence that such a law was ever passed and promulgated in the Canadian House of Commons. With due respect Sir, may I recommend to you the reading of : "The Myths of Census" by Gordon A. Watts. Mr Watts has widely circulated this thirty-six page research treatise among ALL members of the House of Commons. If Mr. Watt's research was faulty and in error, surely those who are in favour of perpetuity of closure of Census Records would have seized upon such ammunition to shore up their weak case? The truth is, in their failure to come up with a rebuttal would be justification for the bench to throw the case out of court? So let us get on with the process of ensuring that genealogists, historians and medical researchers are allowed access to Post 1901 Census Records. Please Sir, do your homework and make this possible. On a final note, enlightened governments - world wide - see no problem with access of their Census Records. As a matter of fact, some have a shorter time of sealing than is suggested by Canadians. Sincerely, Melville R. Andress. cc. Brian Tobin MP 04/30/2001 - email from MP Stephen Owen to Melville R. Andress. April 30, 2001 Thank you for your electronic mail message regarding the release of post-1901 historical census records. The inability to access individual returns from the censuses taken after 1901 has generated considerable debate and interest from many Canadians who had expected that these records would be publicly available in 2003. However, the release of individual census records following 1901 is explicitly prohibited by law. Starting in 1906, the legislation contained statutory confidentiality provisions such that only the person named in the record could have access to his/her information. Nevertheless, I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your comments to the Honourable Brian Tobin, Minister Responsible for Statistics Canada, in order that he be aware of your position regarding this matter. Sincerely Stephen Owen cc Brian Tobin M.P. 04/30/2001 - email from MP Stephen Owen to Marge MacDonald. April 30, 2001 Thank you for your electronic mail message regarding the release of post-1901 historical census records. The inability to access individual returns from the censuses taken after 1901 has generated considerable debate and interest from many Canadians who had expected that these records would be publicly available in 2003. However, the release of individual census records following 1901 is explicitly prohibited by law. Starting in 1906, the legislation contained statutory confidentiality provisions such that only the person named in the record could have access to his/her information. Nevertheless, I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your comments to the Honourable Brian Tobin, Minister Responsible for Statistics Canada, in order that he be aware of your position regarding this matter. Sincerely Stephen Owen 04/15/2001 - email from MP Stephen Owen to Muriel M. Davidson. OTTAWA Mar 15, 2001 Muriel Davidson Canada Census Committee Brampton, Ontario Dear Mrs. Davidson, Thank you for your electronic mail message regarding the release of post-1901 historical census records. The inability to access individual returns from the censuses taken after 1901 has generated considerable debate and interest from many Canadians who had expected that these records would be publicly available in 2003. However, the release of individual census records following 1901 is explicitly prohibited by law. Starting in 1906, the legislation contained statutory confidentiality provisions such that only the person named in the record could have access to his/her information. I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your comments to Minister Tobin, for his information, so that he will be aware of your position regarding this matter. Sincerely, Stephen Owen c.c.: Honourable Brian Tobin, Minister REsponsible for Statistics Canada CONSTITUENCY:- 5315 West Blvd., Vancouver, BC V6M 3W4 Tel (604) 664-9220 OTTAWA:- Room 202, Wellington Building, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Tel: (613) 992-2430 Fax: (613) 995-0770 11/27/2000 - Mr. Stephen Owen was elected to the House of Commons 27 November 2000. |
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