All concerned with regaining public access to Historic Census Records - with no added conditions or restrictions - are encouraged to write to their parliamentary representatives. Addresses to write to certain government Ministers and bureaucrats are shown in the chart below. E-mail addresses for Members of Parliament and Senators are located on their respective Scoreboards.

Many people wish to be sent a letter that they might copy and send to MPs and Senators. At one time there were several sample letters on this website but they rapidly became outdated and were no longer relevant to current happenings. As a result they were removed.

There is an inherent disadvantage in providing a sample letter in that after receiving so many identically worded letters those to whom they are directed tend to view them as 'form' letters and for the most part they are ignored. It is far preferable for each person writing to put things in their own words so that each message, even though they seek the same thing, is slightly different.

This being said, however, in writing your letters you should be aware of the following relevant points:

Current legislation, namely the Access to Information and Privacy Acts, makes specific provision for public access to information obtained through the taking of a Census or Survey, 92 years after collection.

Public access to Historic Census records is currently denied (believed illegally) by policy dictated by a federal civil servant - Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi - Chief Statistician of Canada.

The policy dictated by the Chief Statistician is in direct contravention of the National Archives Act (now the National Library and Archives Act), the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The National Archives Act (now the National Library and Archives Act) delegates to the National Archivist the authority to determine what records of government are of archival or historical value and that SHALL be deposited in the National Archives. It is NOT the function of the Chief Statistician to make this determination.

National Archivist Ian Wilson has determined that records of Census have archival and historical value. He has, in fact, declared them to be a National Treasure. He requested the Chief Statistician return care and control of the records in question to him. Dr. Fellegi denied that request.

240 years of Historic Census records up to those for 1906 currently reside in the National Library and Archives of Canada and are available to public access with no conditions or restrictions. They are also available through many other libraries and archives as well as through genealogical and historical organizations, educational institutions and inter-library loan. Scans of original Schedules of Census for the 1901 National Census and the 1906 Census of the Northwestern Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are currently available online through Library and Archives Canada.

We seek the same public access, with no additional conditions or restrictions, to Historical Census records after 1906 that we currently have for records up to that time.

We seek nothing new. We seek only to regain that which we have had in the past, and that current federal legislation states we are entitled to.

In writing your letters keep in mind the following. Be polite and respectful. You are seeking the cooperation and support of those you are writing to - you do not want to anger them by being disrespectful or offensive.

You want a response to your letter so be sure to include full contact information, i.e. name, address, postal code, etc. Some MPs and Senators prefer to contact constituents directly by telephone so include your telephone number.

There is no 'official' status regarding degrees of importance for different forms of communication, however some Members of Parliament and Senators place a greater degree of importance on hand-written letters, followed by type-written letters, and then e-mail. Many pay more attention to letters that are hand-written (providing they can read the hand-writing) because they feel the individual has taken the time and effort to personally write out their letter. If you send your letter by email, take a few minutes to print it out and mail it as well. If mailed in Canada, correspondence to MPs and Senators require no postage. Using odd sized envelopes, and paper and envelopes of a colour other than white may more quickly catch the attention of the recipient.

Some Members of Parliament and Senators have indicated a preference of sending responses by Canada Post. Others like the personal touch of a telephone call. When writing include your full postal address and telephone number (including area code).

If we wish to see any further Census records released in Canada we must continue to fight for them. We must continue to let our parliamentary representatives know how we feel.

Thank you all for your continued support. Happy Hunting.