October 14th 2004

Gordon A. Watts
Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee
1455 Delia Drive
Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 2V9

Dear Mr. Watts,

I would like to thank you for your recent letter regarding public access to Census records.

As someone who has personally been involved in examining my own family's history, I understand the interest and urgency of your members and other organizations interested in genealogical research.

The Senate bill that you refer to, S-13 (An Act to Amend the Statistics Act), has not yet been re-introduced in the Senate or the House, although I suspect that it will be at some point this fall.

My interpretation, and that of the Chief Statistician and National Archivist, whom I met with together on this topic about a year ago, is that although this situation or proposed solution is hardly ideal from any perspective, the two groups have been working together for some time to forge a solution. It is their interpretation that after public town halls and years of reflection with both agencies that S-13 and the accompanying forms for access information from the historical census' is an effective compromise and I do support them.

Privacy is an issue of great concern to me. Recently, Lockheed Martin, the American based largest arms dealers was granted the contract to perform the next Canadian census. I was part of an effort to have Statistics Canada de-scope that contract, to ensure that all Canadian information remains within Canada. As you may know any information of yours housed or processed in the United States could be subject to the Patriot Act.

Just as I believe Canadians today do not want an arms dealer to have access to their personal information, I believe that any Canadian who may have thought that their proivate information might be perpetually private should have their privacy respected. I also believe that with advances in legislation and changing understandings of the importance of historical research, the needs of historians and genealogists cannot be ignored in this issue.

As always with a compromise, nobody can be completely satisfied with the outcome, but I do believe tha the best effort has been made and in good faith. I will support S-13 when/if it returns for debate in the House of Commons.

Thank you for the opportunity to allow my consideration of the issue to be shared with the interested members.

Yours truly,

Brian Masse, MP Windsor West

29 August 2004

Mr. Brian Masse
Member of Parliament
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Masse

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
Co-chair, Canada Census Committee