| Name: | Mr. Bryon Wilfert |
| Political Party: | Liberal Party of Canada |
| Constituency: | Oak Ridges |
| Province: | Ontario |
| Telephone: | (613) 992-3802 |
| Fax: | (613) 996-1954 |
| Email: | Wilfert.B@parl.gc.ca |
| Address: | House of Commons, Ottawa K1A OA6 |
| Constituency Address: | 225 East Beaver Creek Rd. - Suite 231 Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 3P4 |
10/28/2002 - letter from MP Bryon Wilfert to Ronald Patrick.
Mr. Ronald Patrick Stouffville, Ontario Dear Mr. Patrick: Thank you for your email on October 26, 2002 regarding the release of Post 1901 Census Records. On October 3, 2002, Government House Leader Don Boudria stated that the government will be introducing legislation to allow for the release of 92-year old census records for historic research purposes. Industry Minister Alan Rock should be introducing the legislation in the next few weeks, and I intend to support it. Thank you again for your email. Yours truly, Bryon Wilfert, M.P. Oak Ridges 09/20/2002 - email to MP Bryon Wilfert from Frank McKerry.
To: Bryon Wilfert, MP Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 3:48 PM Subject: Post 1901 Census Mr. Bryon Wilfert, M.P. Oak Ridges: It is noted on the Post 1901 Census Site that you have not replied to their request to support the Vote in the House on the release of the Post 1901 Census from Statistics Canada to Archives Canada and make them available to the public. The request was for a Yes, No or Undecided at this time. You have failed to reply to any of the many request for your answer. The Committee running this campaign would like to have an answer from you, so that they can gauge their strength on this Bill that will be once again coming back to the floor of the House. Have you taken the opportunity to ask any of your constituents about this Bill ? Many of them are waiting after many years of stand-offs, put-offs, and rangling with the Director of Statistics Canada, who has tried every way he can to block the release of these Census. Would you please take a minute and answer if you are in favour of this Bill and will support it, or will vote against it, when it comes to the floor of the House ? Many of your constituents that sent you to the House to represent them are awaiting the release of these Census to complete their family tree and ancestry, please don't let them down. Not being one of your constituents, but researching family in your area, the vote you make will have an effect on me and many others in Canada and around the world, so please vote YES. Respectfully M. Frank McKerry C.D. Vernon, B.C. 06/08/2001 - email to MP Bryon Wilfert from Bev Sobkowich.
To: Wilfert.B@parl.gc.ca Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 5:53 PM Subject: Right of access to census information Dear Bryon, Hope all is well with you. We are writing to ask that you please support public access to Canadian Historic Census Records, 92 years after collection. This came to light for Frank and myself as we became deeply involved in working on our family trees. We are able to get our census information from England and the USA and all other countries we have ancestors in, but our own country will not allow access to information from the beginning of the 20th century which really seems a violation of our rights. For instance, Frank and I would like to access information on our Grandparents and Great Grandparents and other early ancestors in Canada. We and many others who want to know their family history are unable to do this although we can write to England and have a relative find all pertinent census information on our ancestors there. Would you please get to the bottom of this illogical decision and put it to right for all of us out here who are thoroughly frustrated by this....our right to access is contained in Regulation 6(d) of the Privacy Act of Canada. Thanks a lot, Bryon. Best Regards from Frank and Bev Sobkowich Chilliwack,BC 04/10/2000 - Extract from Hansard showing speech given by MP Bryon Wilfert on Motion M-160. Mr. Bryon Wilfert (Oak Ridges, Lib.): Madam Speaker, many historians, genealogists and researchers had expected that the 1911 census records would be publicly available in 2003, 92 years after the taking of the census. They were dismayed to find out that this was not to be the case. Canada's censuses up to and including 1901 were taken on the acts of parliament which did not contain a specific confidentiality provision having the force of law. As a result census records up to and including the 1901 census have been transferred to the national archives and are now available for public access. However, starting with the 1906 census, access to individual census records is explicitly prohibited by law. There seems to be a general perception that Statistics Canada has taken an arbitrary position on the matter and is simply refusing to release the 1911 census records. This is certainly not the case. In fact, the agency is respecting the legislation for which censuses have been taken since 1906. Starting in 1906, the legislation giving authority to collect census information contains statutory confidentiality provisions. These provisions are such that only the person named in the record may have access to his or her own information. There is also a time limitation on this access. Even when the person is deceased, the provisions are still in effect. As a result, Statistics Canada cannot make public census records taken under the authority of the 1906 and all subsequent statistics acts without breaching the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada continues to hold all individual returns of census questionnaires collected between 1906 and 1991. These records are on microfilm and extracts are made available only to individual respondents who need to confirm birth dates for pension purposes, passports, et cetera. I would like to make the point that information from the current census records can be released only when written consent of the person named in the record or the person's legal representative has been provided. Also Statistics Canada has never considered the destruction of the 1906 and later census records. These records have been transferred to microfilm and the original paper questionnaires have been destroyed in accordance with approvals given by the National Archives of Canada. We all agree that historians, genealogists and researchers have legitimate reasons for wanting access to historical census records. We also have to recognize and respect the right to privacy of individual Canadians and their ancestors. While there is undeniably great value attached to nominative historical census records, this is where an important principle of privacy protection comes into play. The House is being asked to retroactively alter the conditions under which information was provided by Canadians. Is this right? The privacy commissioner strongly opposes a retroactive amendment to the Statistics Act which would allow the transfer of individually identifiable census records to the National Archives of Canada for archival and access purposes. The commissioner is of the view that allowing third party access to census records for such purposes constitutes a use that is inconsistent with the guarantee of confidentiality that Statistics Canada gave to Canadians when collecting their personal information. He is also of the view that it constitutes a violation of fundamental privacy principles requiring that the personal information be used only for the purpose for which it was collected. On the other hand, many historians and archivists view Canada's census as a national treasure that must be preserved. They argue that the census should be available after a reasonable period of time in order to conduct research which will shed light on the personal and community histories of Canadians. Another argument often used to access Canadian census records is that census records in the United States and the United Kingdom are publicly accessible. I would like to remind my colleagues that this is an issue of different legislation and perhaps of culture when it comes to the taking of a census. While there is undeniably great value attached to historical census records, there is also great value attached to the aggregate information that can be produced from current and future censuses. Much of this value is contained in various pieces of legislation. For example, population counts play a vital role in determining the amount and allocation of federal-provincial transfer payments for Canada health and social transfers, equalization and territorial formula financing. These payments were established at $39 billion in 2000-01 and the census is required to allocate them. Statistics Canada feels that the most important factor contributing to respondent co-operation is the unconditional guarantee given to respondents that the information they supply will be protected. Canada, for almost 100 years, has been able to unconditionally guarantee the confidentiality of the information supplied in the census. Changes to the commitments made to respondents in the past could have a negative impact on the level of co-operation given to future censuses and surveys. A substantial decrease in such co-operation could jeopardize Statistics Canada's ability to carry out its national mandate of producing reliable and timely information. The minister recognizes the importance of historical research but also must take into account the privacy concerns of Canadians. This is why he has created the expert panel on access to historical census records. This panel of eminent Canadians will look at the issues and provide an approach which would balance the need to protect personal privacy with the demands of genealogists and historians for access to historical census records. The five member panel, which is chaired by Dr. Richard Van Loon, president of Carleton University, has been asked to make recommendations to the minister by May 31, 2000. The panel has been provided with all relevant documents and information on this matter. The panel is reviewing this information and is meeting with key stakeholders to seek their views. In my view the House should wait for the expert panel on access to historical census records to make its recommendations before voting on this issue. 04/30/99- e-mail from The Global Gazette to MP
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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