POST 1901 CENSUS PROJECT
Open the door to Canada's Historic Census
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MAY 28-30, TORONTO Speech given by the Honorable Lorna Milne, Senator of Canada I don't have to convince anyone here how important is the work that genealogists do for the preservation and transmission of our history and heritage. We are all sold on the idea, or we would not be here. Weekends like this are important to the work that genealogists do. This time together gives us a chance to share ideas, learn from one another, share problem-solving techniques and address current issues of interest to the genealogy community. It will also give me a chance to pick up copies of some of the census extraction forms that I have run out of. I have a special interest in genealogy, both as the family historian in my family, and as a Senator. I have written 3 family histories and am currently updating and re-writing one of them, although I may never have the time to get it finished. Since I was appointed to the Senate, my time has been completely taken up with my responsibilities there. However, in the Senate, I have been able to address the lack of access to the post-1901 census returns. Originally, I tried to interest some of the MPs in taking up this cause but, although they all approved of the idea, they each felt it was a good subject for some one else to take on. As most of you know, identifiable personal census returns up to 1901 were made available to the public 92 years after the information was collected. The 1901 census returns were released to the public in 1993 and probably all of us here tonight have used them. But, beginning with the 1906 western census, people who answered the questions at the time were given a guarantee by Statistics Canada that the information would be ALWAYS kept secret. This guarantee of confidentiality threatens to prohibit the release of all identifiable census returns after 1901. We all know how important census returns are for genealogy. By knowing a name and the general area where an ancestor lived, we can discover family relationships, trace how these people made their living, and establish the details that are needed to fill in a family tree, such as date of birth and death, date of immigration, and very often, physical or mental disabilities. Genealogy and family history is an important part of Canadian history. This kind of history teaches Canadians about the everyday lives of everyday people. The census returns provide the basic facts for reconstructing the lives of the men and women who built this nation, quietly, diligently, and out of view from the public eye. Genealogy helps round out our history because it examines a different angle of Canada's past. The impact of never releasing the post-1901 census returns would be devastating for this branch of history and for this rapidly growing hobby and business opportunity of ours. I believe that I have found a solution to the problem and I intend to introduce a private member's bill in the Senate to address this issue, for I feel a compromise can be reached between protecting the confidentiality of information provided in the census returns and the historical value the release of census returns has for the historical genealogical and even the medical community. Genealogists are well-placed to help change the law. Genealogists, perhaps more than anyone, understand the impact of not releasing the post-1901 census returns. I would like to outline a few ways the genealogy community can help to change the extremely tight restrictions on accessing census returns after 1901. After my bill is introduced and moves through the Senate, I hope in the fall, it will need to be supported by members of the House of Commons. Support from the House of Commons is most likely to occur if Members of Parliament know how their constituents feel. One of the most effective things you can do is write your Member of Parliament expressing your desire to have the post-1901 census returns made available to the public. Also, writing a letter to the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada, the Honourable John Manley, Minister of Industry, is useful because it lets the Minister responsible for the census know how Canadians are feeling. In addition, tell your stories. Let me know how access to census information has been important to your family history. I have received many letters that are testaments to the value of census returns. The stories are as diverse as the people who write them, but they all have one thing in common: access to census records helps to complete the historical record of ordinary people. Perhaps the census records have helped you identify a relative about whom you knew nothing. Perhaps you want to compile an expanded family tree so that your family has a sense of its history, and census records have been useful in this project. Whatever your uses for census returns have been, let me know. The more that people's experiences are known, the more the historical value of census returns will be appreciated. These stories will be appended to my final speech in the Senate on this census matter and will become part of the permanent record of proceedings in the Senate held in the Archives of Canada. I have a pile of e-mails and letters THIS high and growing! Finally, I am introducing petitions in the Senate. A number of groups have provided me with petitions calling for the release of the post-1901 census returns and I am presenting these as a lead-up to the introduction of my bill. Gatherings such as this one are an ideal place for a petition to be signed. I have information on petition requirements in case anyone is interested and I hope that a petition form will be available here for everyone to sign. As I said, I intend to introduce my Private Member's Bill in the fall, at the very beginning of the next session. And when my bill gets introduced, it will mean another round of letter writing. The genealogy community has been the most vocal in calling for the release of the post-1901 census returns, and your support has been instrumental in bringing this issue to the attention of politicians and government officials. And let me tell you, your support is already having an effect and the Government is very aware of what is going on! Also, I am personally keeping Minister Manley in touch with what I am doing, and frankly, he approves! He arranged for a meeting between myself and the Chief Statistician a few weeks ago, at which Manley's staff was present, and I believe we are making headway, and may have found a way around the problem, to circumvent it! We genealogists understand how important family history is to Canadian history. And I urge you to keep writing letters and sending petitions to pressure your own MPs for a change in the law. And, remember, the price is right! Letters to the Senate and the House of Commons are postage free! I wish everyone an enjoyable weekend, sharing and learning together.. From Lorna Milne |
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