| Name: | Mr. Peter Milliken |
| Political Party: | Liberal Party of Canada |
| Constituency: | Kingston and the Islands |
| Province: | Ontario |
| Telephone: | (613) 996-1955 |
| Fax: | (613) 996-1958 |
| Milliken.P@parl.gc.ca |
| Address: | House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 |
| Constituency Address: | 14-303 Bagot St. Kingston, Ontario K7K 5W7 |
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05/19/2001 - Please note: With the commencement of the 37th Parliament of Canada in the fall of 2000, Mr. Milliken was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. As such, he must be impartial in his rulings to this august chamber. He does not vote on matters before the House. His position here, being shown as supportive of public access of Historic Census records, was determined prior to his election as Speaker of the House and should not be considered to be influential in regards his current position within the House. (Gordon A. Watts) 05/11/2001 - letter from MP Peter Milliken to Muriel M. Davidson. Ottawa, Canada K1A 0A6 May 11, 2001 Mrs. Muriel M. Davidson Canada Census Committee Member Brampton, Ontario Dear Mrs. Davidson, Thank you for your correspondence regarding the access to census records. I have forwarded your correspondence to Ivan P. Fellegi, Chief Statistician at Statistics Canada, as this matter falls within the jurisdiction of his department. I have asked that Mr. Fellegi keep me informed of this issue by providing me with a copy of his response to you. Please do not hesitate to contact my office should you NOT receive a reply in due course. Thank you for taking the time to write to me. Yours truly, Peter Milliken c.c. Ivan P. Fellegi 06/01/99 e-mail from Peter Millikin to Ben Whiting regarding the issue:
June 1, 1999 Dear Mr. Whiting, Thank you for your letter of May 10, 1999, concerning post-1901 Census reports and the fact that they will not be released. You asked in your letter whether or not I would consider proposing a bill which would support the release of the post-1901 Census reports. As Deputy Speaker, I cannot introduce Private Member's Bills to the House of Commons. I understand that, at the Minister of Industry's request, Statistics Canada has developed options for amending the 'Statistics Act' to allow access to Census records. I have been informed that the Minister is currently considering these options and their implications. I would certainly consider supporting a bill that would provide for the release of the Census information in question. I would, however, want to examine such a bill carefully to determine whether or not it is addressing the important issues of privacy and the confidence of census respondents. I am confident that the Minister will give this matter careful consideration and I will remain informed on this issue as it progresses. Thank you for writing to express your views on this matter. Yours truly, Peter Milliken, M.P. 06/09/99 e-mail from MP Peter Millikin to John Bothwell changing his position:
Dear Mr. Bothwell, Thank you for your letter concerning the release of the 1911 Census and subsequent Census information. I understand that, at the Minister of Industry's request, Statistics Canada has developed options for amending the Statistics Act to allow access to Census Records. I have been informed that the minister is currently considering these options and their implications. I would certainly consider supporting a bill that would provide for the release of the Census information in question. I would, however, want to examine such a bill carefully to determine whether or not it is addressing the important issues of privacy and the confidence of census respondents. I am confident that the Minister will give this matter careful consideration and I will remain informed on this issue as it progresses. Thank you for writing to express your views on this matter. Yours truly, signed Peter Milliken, M.P. 05/24/99 e-mail from Winston Bradley to the Hon. Peter Milliken:
I was disappointed to see your rather sanctimonius negative response regarding the release of post 1901 census information. Particularly from a past pro-Loyalist supporter. Perhaps you can give some thought to abolishing the Income Tax Act - after all it was only supposed to be a temporary Act - or Free Trade or a million other Acts of Parliament that have been changed or modified by politicians over the years. Things change - times change. Denying Canadians a part of their history is about the worst thing a politician like you can do. Department memos have already suggested DESTROYING census records. WOW. I urge you to re-think your position. Winston Bradley,Halifax Nova Scotia 05/28/99 e-mail from John Bothwell to the Hon. Peter Milliken:
No doubt you are by now quite familiar with this issue, and the concerns of myself and fellow genealogists. In my own case I have been waiting some years in anticipation of this (now in question) census release; it is my last hope to find my Paternal Grandmother who disappeared after my Grandfather was KIA in WW1. I would expect that by now you would be aware that keeping this information concealed would be an absolute catastrophe to the Genealogical Community in Canada. We depend entirely on the free international exchange of information, and I am of the opinion that this stupidity will greatly damage the respect which we currently enjoy. Literally Hundreds of Thousands of people world-wide will be deprived of the knowledge of emmigrated family; and in many, many cases, vital historical medical information which may be needed in life or death situations. Please advise me how you would vote, were a Bill or Motion brought to The House of Commons in respect to having this Database released to the public. Yours truly, J.W.Bothwell (Constituent) Kingston, ON. 05/11/99 e-mail from Mary Walpole reporting her responses from Herb Gray and Peter Milliken:
Peter Milliken MP of Kingston and the Islands was much more vocal in his response clearly indicating that he has no intention of supporting a bill that would permit politicians to break promises. He notes that there are competing interests at issue and both sides are legitimate and important but goes on to add that it has been the government's position to honour the promise that was made to census correspondents from 1906 until the present day. I find Mr. Milliken's repsonse quite surprising inasmuch as it was he and John Godfrey that were prepared to storm the United States and reclaim Loyalist land when; the Helms-Burton issue was such a big thing. In addition with the 90 year rule in effect, I daresay none of the people to whom the promise was made would still be living and at this point in time if they were would even care if people knew their finances or whatever questions were asked in that census...... Marie F. Walpole 05/10/99- Letter to MP Peter Milliken from constituent Ben Whiting
I have not written to you, my representative to the House of Commons, in quite some time. However, an issue has come to my attention that I feel very strongly about and I want to find out where you stand on the issue. 'Kingston and the Islands' riding has an active community of family history researchers (genealogists) who are dismayed by the current stand of the government Statistics Canada concerning the release of publically funded census information. Under current legislation, post-1901 Census reports will not be released to the Public after 92 years, as have been previous Census reports up to and including 1901. This information is important to our efforts in recording the history of Canada and the local areas. The social conditions that were present for the early-1900s original legislation have changed dramatically and it is time for a legislative change. Such a change would hurt nobody, yet would aid many in their research. I write to you, as my Member of Parliament, to ask two questions as follow:
"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 Reports after 92 years, starting with the 1911 Census?" Thank you. Sincerely yours B.H. (Ben) Whiting Kingston, Ontario, Canada" 04/30/99- e-mail from The Global Gazette to MP
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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