EXTRACTS FROM HANSARD -- PROCEEDINGS OF CANADA'S SENATE :

Debates of the Senate (Hansard)
1st Session, 37th Parliament,
Volume 139, Issue 30
Tuesday, May l, 2001
The Honourable Dan Hays, Speaker



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Access to Census Information

Presentation of Petition

Hon. Lorna Milne: Honourable senators, I promised last week that we would be hearing from Alberta this week. I am delighted to have the honour to present 2,115 signatures from Canadians in the province of Alberta - mainly from Calgary but some from Lethbridge, Barnwell and Edmonton - who are researching their ancestry. They petition as follows:

Your petitioners call upon Parliament to take whatever steps necessary to retroactively amend Confidentiality-Privacy clauses of Statistics Acts since 1906, to allow release to the Public after a reasonable period of time, of Post1901 Census reports starting with the 1906 Census.

These signatures, honourable senators, are in addition to the 6,092 I have presented in this calendar year. I have now presented 8,207 signatures to this Parliament and petitions with over 6,000 signatures to the Thirty-sixth Parliament, all calling for immediate action on this very important matter of Canadian history.



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QUESTION PERIOD

Statistics Canada

Census Questionnaire-Omission of Acadians as Cultural Group

Hon. Gerald J. Comeau: Honourable senators, in the latest census, in the question on ethic origin, a number of cultural groups were proposed, but it seems that the Acadians were left out. We must not forget that the Acadians were the first settlers in Canada, after the Aboriginal peoples, of course. What can be done to prevent a repetition of this omission in the next census?

Hon. Sharon Carstairs (Leader of the Government): Honourable senators, I thank the honourable senator for his question. My understanding of the census data - he has the form and I have not yet seen it - is that it was a self-identification process. I do not know why the Acadian people, including myself, have been left out, but I will certainly raise that question with the appropriate minister.

Senator Comeau: Honourable senators, the Acadians do not see themselves as French Canadians. They see themselves as Canadians, but French-speaking Canadians. Can the minister ensure that this distinction is made clear to the officials?

Senator Carstairs: I thank the honourable senator for his question. He is quite correct that there is a distinction between those who identify as Acadians and someone who speaks French. Unfortunately, I can identify myself as Acadian but certainly could not identify myself as someone who speaks French and, therefore, not as a French Canadian. I can assure the honourable senator that I will make the distinction very clear.

Census Questionnaire-Canadian Linguistic Duality

Hon. Jean-Claude Rivest: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Senator Comeau's question is very important. The census questionnaire does not make it possible to follow the demographic evolution of the various cultural groups, including the francophone communities, including the Acadians. More specifically, it does not allow for an evaluation of the proportion of anglophones and francophones in Canada. This question was raised on many occasions at the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages. Unfortunately, the scientists at Statistics Canada did not take this into account. It is very important in terms of the defence and promotion of Canada's linguistic duality, beyond the other ethnic groups, which, of course, are part of the Canadian reality. It is vital to know how many Canadians see themselves as French Canadians and how many see themselves as English Canadians. This has even greater significance in connection with the evolution of the Acadian community.

Hon. Sharon Carstairs (Leader of the Government): I would ask Senator Rivest to give me some specific examples of where he thinks questions could be changed to result in the kind of identification for which he is asking. If he will do that, I assure him that I will take it forward to the appropriate minister.