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

Debates of the Senate (Hansard)
1st Session, 36th Parliament,
Volume 137, Issue 135
Tuesday, May 4, 1999
The Honourable Fernand Robichaud, P.C., Acting Speaker



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Access to Census Information
Presentation of Petition

Hon. Lorna Milne: Honourable senators, I have the honour to present a petition signed by 213 people who are members of the Ottawa branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society who petition the following:

We THE UNDERSIGNED wish to express our concern over the decision by Statistics Canada to not transfer the 1911 and subsequent census records to National Archives so that they may be released to the public 92 years after the taking of the census, as provided for in Section 6 of the Privacy regulations.

We wish to have access to all census records so that we may continue to use this valuable resource to explore our roots, learn about our ancestors and write about them in family histories for our children and our children's children to see. We believe this is important for our societal values and will add to our Canadian heritage.



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Access to Census Information
Unacceptibility of Petition in Electronic Format

Hon. Lorna Milne: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the practices of this chamber in respect to the ever-changing and evolving technological world in which we live.

We now have the technology to communicate within a matter of minutes with people from both ends of this country and elsewhere in the world. Through my work on the release of census information, I have been receiving e-mails from every part of Canada, the United States, parts of Europe, and even from New Zealand. The Internet is a powerful tool that gets people talking and acting despite the miles between them. However, we, the Senate, have yet to recognize these new forms of communication and the benefits that they impart to our legislative work here in the Senate.

A group comprised of individuals from various parts of this country is working together to gather support for the release of the 1911 census information. Their main media of communication are the Internet and electronic mail. They have gathered well over 600 names on an e-mail petition, which I have been informed is not valid since it has not been signed personally by these 600-plus supporters; only typed and sent from their personal e-mail addresses.

I urge the Senate to consider amending its rules to allow for this form of communication to be properly recognized in our work. We must keep up with the new and constantly improving technology, and not be an impediment to its growth or ignore it completely.