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Senators Correspondence Log

Name:
Ione Christensen YES

Political Party:
Liberal

Province:
Yukon

Senatorial Division:
Yukon Territory

Telephone:
(613) 996-5937 or
1-800-267-7372

Fax:
(613) 996-5964

Email:
 chrisi@sen.parl.gc.ca

Website:

Address:
Senate of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A OA4


04/28/2003 -- email to Senator Ione Christensen from Vince Hunter.

    From: Vince Hunter
    To: CHRISI@SEN.PARL.GC.CA
    Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 1:37 PM
    Subject: RE: Bill S-13

    Thank you Senator for letting me know. I sure hope they listen to the majority of the people and change that Bill. In it's present form, it's sole purpose is to hinder researchers for no good reason.

    Regards,

    Vince Hunter

    -------Original Message-------

    From: Christensen, Ione: SEN
    Date: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 13:10:23
    To: Vince Hunter
    Subject: RE: Bill S-13

    Dear Vince,

    Senator Milne has been having problems getting her amendment for Bill S-13, however she has assured me she has agreement that she will be able to get theses amendments in the House. She will not be bring the amendments forward in the Senate.

    Senator Christensen

04/28/2003 -- email from Senator Ione Christensen to Vince Hunter.
    From: Christensen, Ione: SEN
    Date: Monday, April 28, 2003 10:37:29
    To: Vince Hunter
    Subject: RE: Bill S-13

    Thank you Vince, I will go over all this with Senator Milne, I was not in Committee but had heard she was having difficulties.

    Senator Ione


    -----Original Message-----
    From: Vince Hunter [mailto:vinceh@internorth.com]
    Sent: Monday, April 21, 2003 12:47 PM
    To: Christensen, Ione: SEN
    Subject: Bill S-13

    Dear Senator Christensen :

    Shortly, Bill S-13, a government sponsored Bill concerning the release of Canadian Census information beyond 1906 will be coming up in the Senate for 3rd reading. I am deeply concerned that this Bill has been scuttled by Senator Lowell Murray and DR. Ivan Fellegi of Stats Can. Both oppose public access to Historic Census records. During the Senate Committee hearings, Sen. Murray use a political ploy to prevent discussion and voting on amendments that a majority of witnesses supported. I, too, support these amendments because it gives me unfettered access to Census records, which, up to now, has been granted to anyone wanting to trace their family roots.

    The amendments I refer to and would like your support for is :

    a) The removal of Clause 8 - The "informed consent" clause - for future Census.If that cannot be done, at least make it an OPT - OUT provision rather than the PRT - IN as it will be presented in it's third reading.

    b) Secondly, the 1911 and 1916 records should be released without restriction, the same basis used for the release of the 1906 Census and 235 years of earlier records.

    c) Lastly, I don't like having to live with waiting a further 20 years beyond the 92 years release date for disclosing that Census information. It is especially redundant considering the Census practices in Great Britain and the United States. We don't even have to go that far, Newfoundland has unimpeded access to their 1911, 1935 and 1945 Census. Am I ever glad my mother was a Newfoundlander.

    These three concerns and other flaws with S - 13 are covered in greater depth in the submission to the Senate Committee by Gordon Watts, viewable at : http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/S13written.htm Further information and details on this issue are available at : http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/

    Again, I do hope you will lend your support for these amendments when S - 13 comes up for third reading.

    Sincerely - Vincent Hunter - vinceh@internorth.com
    Yukon Member, Canada Census Committee
    Whitehorse, Yukon

09/21/2002 - email to Senator Ione Christensen from Vince Hunter.
    From: Vince Hunter
    To: Larry Bagnell, MP; Ione Christensen, Sen.
    Cc: Willie Adams, Sen. ; Ethel Blondin-Andrew, MP ; Nick Sibbeston, Sen ; Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP
    Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 4:45 PM
    Subject: Fw: Post 1901 Census - A Summary

    With the Proroguing of the current session of Parliament, new bills will have to be reintroduced for a third time for the release to the public of the Post 1901 Census. I hope your interest in having the Census released to the National Archives will result in your support of these new bills.

    I include a summary of the Post 1901 Census oddyssey below to refresh your memory.

    Yours sincerely,

    Vincent Hunter, vinceh@internorth.com
    Yukon Member,Canada Census Committee
    Whitehorse, Yukon

    -------Original Message-------
    From: "Gordon A. Watts"
    To: "Canada Census Campaign"
    Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 6:09 PM
    Subject: Post 1901 Census - A Summary

    Greetings All.

    A number of people have asked for a point by point summary of the Post 1901 Census issue. Because of this I have compiled the following Summary. Feel free to circulate it to those you feel will be interested. It will shortly be included on the Post 1901 Census Project website which, I am happy to say after the problems of the past few days, is once again accessible.

    Happy Hunting.

    Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net
    Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee
    Port Coquitlam, BC

    http://globalgenealogy.com/Census
    en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm

    Permission to forward without notice is granted.

    ***********************************

    Post 1901 Census Issue Summary

  • 235 years of Census records, from the first Census of New France in 1666, up to and including the 1901 national Census of Canada, currently reside in the National Archives of Canada and are accessible to any person or body for purposes of research.


  • Clauses in the Access to Information and Privacy Acts make specific provision for public access to 'personal' information contained in Census 92 years after collection.


  • The National Archives of Canada Act provides that the National Archivist shall determine what records of government are of historical or archival value and that shall be deposited in the National Archives.


  • The National Archivist, Ian E. Wilson, has determined that records of Historic Census do have historical or archival value and are, in fact, a National treasure. He has formally requested Statistics Canada to turn control of the 1906 Special Census of the Western Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) over to his control.


  • Statistics Canada (i.e. Chief Statistician Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi) refuses to turn control of Historic Census records after 1901 over to control of the National Archivist of Canada.


  • The rational for this refusal is based on misinterpreted legislation and Instructions to Officers and Enumerators of Census going back as far as 1905, and Statistics Canada's claim that a 'promise' was made to the people of Canada that confidentiality of Census was perpetual.


  • Statistics Canada has been unable to provide a single piece of documented evidence that a 'promise' of 'confidentiality of Census in perpetuity' has ever been made. It does not exist!


  • In November 1999, then Industry Minister John Manley appointed an Expert Panel to study and make recommendations regarding public access to Historic Census Records. Their report, finally made public 15 December 2000, found no evidence that legislators of the day intended that records of Census were to remain confidential for all time. They recommended allowing public access to all Census records, past, present and future, 92 years after collection. They urged caution only in the method by which records from 1918 to 2001 were made available.


  • In making the Report of the Expert Panel on Access to Historical Census Records public, then Industry Minister Brian Tobin discounted the recommendations contained therein, claiming that 'further broad-based consultations with all Canadians' was required. He stated these consultations would take place with already mandated reviews of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts.


  • The review of the Access to Information Act took place and the report released with no mention of public access to Historic Census records - it was not part of their mandate. A review of the Privacy Act is not expected to be completed within three years, and access to Census is likewise not included in the mandate of those expected to review it.


  • In December 2001 and January 2002 a series of Town Hall Meetings and Focus Groups were conducted across Canada. Of 157 presenters at the Town Hall Meetings, 151 were fully supportive of unrestricted public access of all records of Census, 92 years after collection, in accordance with current legislation.


  • Each of these 151 presenters likewise rejected the so-called 'compromise solution' being pushed by Statistics Canada as being too restrictive in who might access the records, what information might be accessed and what might be done with information retrieved.


  • The 'compromise' does not do what it is proposed to do. It would be excessively expensive to set up and maintain, and would be a bureaucratic nightmare to administer. It would prevent access for the greater portion of the Canadian population that do not live within reasonable travel distance to a government office holding copies of the Census records.


  • Instructions to Officers and Enumerators of Census from at least 1901 to 1946, having the Force of Law, contain clauses that state that records of Census "have value as a record for historical use", that "The census is intended to be a permanent record", and "its schedules will be stored in the Archives of the Dominion." If any 'promise' was made to the people of Canada regarding Census it was this.


  • On 5 March 2002, Calgary lawyer Lois Sparling, on behalf of the Canada Census Committee and many thousands of genealogists and historians, submitted an Application for Judicial Review to the Federal Court of Canada. The purpose of this Application is to obtain a Writ of Mandamus to compel the Chief Statistician of Canada to turn control of 1906 Census schedules over to the National Archivist. It was later modified to include a request for certain declarations relating to public access of these records. At the time of writing the legal action is proceeding more or less as expected.


  • To date (September 2002), more than 55,000 signatures have been sent to Ottawa seeking to regain public access to Post 1901 Census records on the same basis as records up to and including 1901 are currently available.


  • There is still a requirement for signatures on petitions (downloadable from the Post 1901 Census Project website), and for letters to be sent to MPs and Senators seeking their support for access. With an expected proroguing of the current session of Parliament on 30 September 2002 all Bills and Motions (including Bill S-12) will cease to exist. It is expected that Senator Lorna Milne and MP Murray Calder will immediately re-introduce their Census Bills. This will be the third time our Bills have been started from scratch. It is therefore essential that we continue to reinforce our desire for access with our elected and appointed representatives.

10/19/2001 - letter from Senator Ione Christensen to Frank McKerry.
    October 19, 2001

    Mr. Frank McKerry
    Vernon, B.C.

    Dear Mr. McKerry

    As a fourth generation Yukoner I do indeed know the roots of the many persons who came and helped settle bothe the Yukon and Canada.

    Bill S-12 is an important Bill for persons who are searching for ancestral roots. I do not know what "question paper" you are referring to but I always have and will continue to support Senator Milne's Bill. I do wish persons who are so into research, would do a little more on the Senators they are sending abrupt letters to. Also, I do and always have had e-mail. I can be reached at chrisi@sen.parl.gc.ca

    Ione Christensen
    Senator - Yukon

10/09/2001 - letter from Senator Ione Christensen to Marge MacDonald.
    October 4, 2001.

    In regards to your letter of September 28 on Bill S-12, I would like to state that I do not know where you obtained the information on my being "undecided".

    I fully support Bill S-12.

    Sincerely,

    Ione Christensen

09/29/2001 - letter to Senator Ione Christensen from Marge MacDonald.
    Dear Ms. Christensen:

    I am aware that you are 'UNDECIDED' regarding the release of the 1906 and subsequent Census records to the public.

    As a Canadian citizen, I do support the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Access to Historical Census Records, and I encourage you to take a strong stand on BILL S-12, which will allow the publishing of the post 1901 Census records and any future census records as well.

    I have been researching my families' roots for many years. Without records such as the Census' being available for all to review, it make the search very difficult, if not impossible. These particular census are especially vital to my research and I'm sure to many others, since huge number of our forefathers immigrated during this period.

    The Expert Panel acknowledges that these records are important and says they should continue to be made available.

    I strongly urge you to support Bill S-12, making the information available to future generations of Canadians.

    If you have bery good reasons why you cannot support this Bill, I would appreciate knowing what they are. Thank you.

    Respectfully,

    Marge MacDonald
    Maple Ridge, BC

07/01/2001 - letter sent to all Senators by Gordon A. Watts.

    Honourable Sir or Ms.

    Greetings.

    You may be aware that in the past several years a great many Canadians have been seeking to regain public access to Historic Census Records, 92 years after collection, as allowed by Regulations attached to the Privacy Act. Public access to Census Records after 1901 is currently prevented because of misinterpreted legislation and faulty legal opinions from Justice Canada that cause Statistics Canada to withhold control of these records from the National Archivist.

    In November of 1999, then Industry Minister John Manley commissioned a panel of experts to study and make recommendations relating to public access to Historic Census Records. Their Report was submitted at the end of June 2000. It was finally made public, because of an Access to Information Request, on 15 December 2000. Current Industry Minister Brian Tobin, on releasing the Report of the Expert Panel on Access to Historic Census, rejected the recommendations contained therein, stating that “further broad based consultation with all Canadians” was required. It is the considered opinion of this writer that Mr. Tobin has likely not even read the Report of the Expert Panel, and is taking his direction from Chief Statistician Dr. Ivan Fellegi, who opposes public access to these records.

    I urge each of you to read for yourself the findings of the Expert Panel on Access to Historic Census Records. It is available in hard copy, or accessible on the Statistics Canada website at:
    Briefly, the Expert Panel found that a guarantee of perpetual confidentiality was not intended to apply to the census. They felt that it had always been intended that census records would eventually become public and did not view any legislation deemed necessary to do so as breaking of a promise to respondents. The Report recommended allowing public access to all Census records, past, present and future, 92 years following collection. They advised caution only regarding any legislative steps that might be thought necessary to effect release of Census between 1921 and 2001. They suggested that any legislative change felt necessary be done in the National Archives Act rather than in the Statistics Act.

    This message is being sent to all Members of the Senate of Canada to ask for individual responses to a specific question regarding how you would vote on a Bill supporting public access to Historic Census Records. An example of such would be Bill S-12, presented to the Senate by the Honourable Lorna Milne. Bill S-12 has received second reading and has been referred to Committee. Bill C-312, identical to S-12, has been presented to the House of Commons by MP Murray Calder.

    The Question:

      “Would you, as a Member of the Senate 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.)”

    A website dealing with Post 1901 Census has been posted at

    http://globalgenealogy.com/Census

    Among other things, it contains an explanation of the problem, petitions to download, links to various submissions to the Expert Panel, Bills and Motions relating to Historic Census, extracts from Hansard for the House of Commons and the Senate, and to columns written by myself that have been published in the Global Gazette -- an e-magazine published by Global Genealogy. The website also contains ‘Scoreboards’ showing the position of MPs and Senators relating to the above question.

    Your response (or lack thereof) to the question above will be recorded on the Senator’s Scoreboard located on this website. Should you wish to comment, or elaborate on your position, a correspondence log for each Senator is accessible from the Scoreboard. Correspondence to or from you that has been forwarded to me, will be recorded in this log.

    The Post 1901 Census web site is sponsored by The Global Gazette, an online magazine serving the genealogical and heritage community. A vast number of e-mails and calls from subscribers and web site visitors, clearly demonstrates that this issue is extremely important to them.

    I look forward to your early reply. Thank you.

    Sincerely,

    Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net
    Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee

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