| Name: | Mr Peter Adams |
| Political Party: | Liberal |
| Constituency: | Peterborough |
| Province: | Ontario |
| Telephone: | (613) 995-6411 |
| Fax: | (613) 996-9800 |
| Email: | adamsp@parl.gc.ca or Adams.P@parl.gc.ca |
| Website: | http://www.peteradams.org/ |
| Address: | House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 |
| Constituency Address: | 313 Water Street Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7W7 Tel. 705-745-2108 or 1-800-567-4123 Fax. 705-741-4123 |
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09/01/2004 - letter sent to MP Peter Adams from Gordon A. Watts 29 August 2004 Mr. Peter Adamsm Dear Mr. Adams Congratulations on your recent election as a Member of Parliament. To have the trust and respect of those who voted for you is a great honour. Members who have been re-elected will be aware of an issue affecting a great many Canadians that seek their personal ancestry through research of Historic Census records. Newly elected Members may not yet be aware of this issue. It has been estimated that in excess of 7.5 million Canadians have an interest in genealogy and family history. These individuals seek to regain the same public access, with no added conditions or restrictions, to 92-year-old records of Census after 1906 that is currently available for 240 years of Census records up to that time. Access to Census records after 1906 is prevented at this time because of the (believed illegal) policy of a federal civil servant - Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi - Chief Statistician of Canada. The Library and Archives of Canada Act (and it's predecessor) has designated to the Librarian and Archivist the authority to determine what records of government are of archival or historical value and that shall be deposited in the National Library and Archives. Librarian and Archivist Ian E. Wilson determined that schedules of Census have archival and historical value. He declared them to be a National Treasure. He requested the Chief Statistician to return care and control of the records in question to his authority. Dr. Fellegi denied that request. The Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Privacy Regulations, make specific provision for personal information collected through Census or Survey to be made available to any person or body for purposes of research, 92 years following collection. The legislation assumes these records to be under the care and control of the National Archivist. By refusing to return care and control of the records in question to the Librarian and Archivist for subsequent public access the Chief Statistician has acted in deliberate contravention of the Library and Archives of Canada Act, the Access to Information Act, and the Privacy Act. He has usurped the authority of the Librarian and Archivist to determine what governmental records are of archival or historical value and that shall be deposited in the Library and Archives of Canada. In dictating policy instead of following policy determined through legislation passed by Parliament he has usurped the authority of that body. Do you believe that any Federal bureaucrat, regardless of how highly placed or regarded, is above the Laws of Canada? Do you believe that a civil servant has the power to dictate policy that contravenes legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada? The Access to Information and Privacy Acts are complementary Acts born of the same Bill debated and passed by Parliament. Do you believe the parliamentarians who passed this legislation would knowingly include clauses in one Act, the effect of which would be to totally nullify clauses in the other? If your answer to any of these questions is 'NO' we ask that you support our efforts to regain the same public access - with no added restrictions or conditions - to Historic Census records after 1906 that is currently available for 240 years of Census records up to that time. We seek nothing new. We seek only that which current legislation states we are entitled to - access that we have had in the past but is currently (believed illegally) withheld from us by the Chief Statistician of Canada. We ask that you call upon the Government of Canada to immediately direct the Chief Statistician of Canada to obey the Laws of Canada. We ask that he be directed to return care and control of schedules of Historic Census to the Librarian and Archivist of Canada for subsequent public access in accordance with the Access to Information and Privacy Acts. We ask further that you ensure continued public access to Historic Census records by seeking a government Bill that would add to the Statistics Act a single clause, similar to the following: "Original schedules of Census or authentic copies thereof shall, not later than thirty (30) years following collection, be transferred to the care and control of the National Archivist for subsequent public access in accordance with provisions of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Regulations attached thereto." In reading my letter you may not feel any obligation to respond to someone living outside your electoral riding. The votes you cast in Parliament, however, affect all people living in Canada and in that respect your constituency is all of Canada. Considering this, even though I do not reside in your riding I would greatly appreciate your personal response to my letter. Your response, stating your support (or otherwise) of the access we seek, will be posted to your Correspondence Log on the Post 1901 Census Project website. It will be available for viewing by your constituents on the MPs Scoreboard at www.globalgenealogy.com/Census Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and for your consideration of this very important issue. Respectfully Gordon A. Watts 05/06/2003 - email from MP Peter Adams to Muriel M. Davidson.
To: "'Muriel M. Davidson'" Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 11:22 AM Subject: RE: Post-1901 Census: OPEN DEBATE and AMENDMENTS Needed re Bill S-13! Dear Muriel, YES! Peter -----Original Message----- From: Muriel M. Davidson [mailto:muriel_davidson@sympatico.ca] Sent: May 5, 2003 8:59 PM To: Adams.P@parl.gc.ca Subject: Post-1901 Census: OPEN DEBATE and AMENDMENTS Needed re Bill S-13! To Mr. Peter Adams, M.P. Dear Sir:- The government bill, S-13, sponsored by Senator Lorna Milne is finishing the Third Reading, followed by the voting process. Following this, the contentious bill "to release census records" will be presented in the House of Commons. In the past, you have supported other census bills and motions, and this is the first time we are asking for support of Bill S-13. We, as Canada Census Committee members, do not agree with all the conditions outlined by the government -- see below. We sincerely hope you read all the information available, as Bill S-13 imposes undesirable conditions and restrictions on access! http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Score3.htm#ONT The latest column by Gordon Watts is in the Global Gazette http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette/gazce/gazce9.htm The column covers all the problems, plus restrictions. An extract of debate in the Senate for one day is at http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Sen70.htm en français http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Sen70_f.htm Canada Census Committee members are requesting Members of Parliament to accept AMENDMENTS, vote in favour of these to get rid of the following restrictions inserted in this government bill:- 1. Removal of Clause 8 -- the supposed "informed consent" clause. If total removal of Clause 8 is not acceptable in the House of Commons, we hope the OPT-OUT provision will be passed. With the restrictions, a census form with NO mark would be regarded as NEGATIVE -- information never to be released. 2. Removal of all restrictions or conditions for access for at least the 1911 and 1916 census -- hopefully for all census records. 3. Removal of the "twenty-year" period during which only partial or "tombstone" information may be disclosed -- also the need to commit to an "undertaking" regarding the partial disclosure. The amendments, if passed, would make the 1911, 1916 and later census records without restrictions, same as for 1901 and 1906. Looking forward to a positive 2003 reply -- only one word needed, which is YES. You or your assistant may reply by e-mail. Muriel M. Davidson muriel_davidson@sympatico.ca Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee 25 Crestview Avenue, Brampton, ON L6W 2R8 905-451-3542 11/15/2001 - email to MP Peter Adams from Gordon Blanchard.
To: Adams.P@parl.gc.ca Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 9:49 PM Subject: Bill C-312 Dear Mr. Adams: I am writing to ask for your support in making Bill C-312 votable. I am doing my family history and make tremendous use of the U.S. Census information. I would also like to be able to use the Canada Census information to aid in my research for the members of my family that lived in Canada since the 1800's. Thanks for your consideration. Gordon Blanchard, Alberta. 02/05/2001 - email from MP Peter Adams to Muriel M. Davidson.
Date: Monday, February 05, 2001 To: Muriel M. Davidson Subject: RE: Sincerely hope YOU will say YES Dear Muriel, Thanks for your most recent note. The answer is 'yes'! Best wishes, Peter Adams, MP Peterborough 02/01/2000 - email from Muriel M. Davidson to MP Peter Adams.
Sent: February 1, 2001 8:36 PM To: Adams.P@parl.gc.ca Subject: Sincerely hope YOU will say YES! To: Mr. Peter Adams, MP:- Your GOLD tick from the previous census session looks so great, I hope you will support Senator Lorna Milne and Murray Calder again. My letter to you is a request for your assistance in rightfully gaining access to our heritage, yours and mine -- our Canadian census records. At present, due to present laws, the last available census one may view is the 1901 census -- family researchers hope to search further than that. Due to the cremation and scattering of ashes, we are often confronted with NO written record of the death of a loved one, unless the church records have recorded this part of one's life. Family history often is recorded from newspaper obituaries, if one is inserted in the paper. Therefore, the only reliable records in Canada would be our census records, as we often find some religious denominations have sealed records. I do not believe family history should have had to be brought into politics, but to gain release, this has had to be. Senator Lorna Milne and Murray Calder, MP will be re-presenting Private Member's Bills and if passed, each census would go automatically to the National Archives for our perusal - at a time period set by Parliament. QUESTION:- Will you, as an elected Member of Parliament, SUPPORT these Bills when these are presented by the above-mentioned? This would mean 1911 records released in 2003, 1921 in 2013 -- unless a time period of release is changed by law. Check http://globalgenealogy.com/census/index6.htm - for scoreboard. More census information at http://globalgenealogy.com/census Looking forward to a positive YES reply with YOUR signature, either in e-mail or letter form. Attached is a memo which denotes the feelings of many Canadians who wish to search for family members. Muriel M. Davidson Canada Census Committee Member 25 Crestview Avenue Brampton, Ontario L6W 2R8 12/08/1999 - extract from a letter sent to Hon. Paul Martin, Minister of Finance, by MP Peter Adams, acting as Chair/President of the Government Caucus on Post Secondary Education and Research. While it is known that at least one member of this caucus does not favour allowing access to Post 1901 Census it is presumed that MP Peter Adams, by including the following statement in the letter, does.
A web site has been posted at http://globalgenealogy.com/census to record MP's responses, so that those who are interested, will know the position that their elected representative has (or has not expressed) on the issue. Also included on the web site, is a correspondence log for each Member of Parliament, which will contain responses to this e-mail plus any other correspondence from the MP. The Question: "Would you, as an elected Member of the House of Commons 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)" If you would like to expand on your position, your entire response will be posted to your individual correspondence log. The Post 1901 Census web site is sponsored by Global Genealogy & History Bookstore. A vast number of e-mails and calls from subscribers and web site visitors, clearly demonstrates that this issue is extremely important to them. Many readers have expressed that their current MP's position on this issue will weigh heavily in their decision process during the next election. |
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