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OTTAWA – November 2, 2004 – This afternoon the government announced long-awaited legislation that will govern the release of census information. Senator Lorna Milne (Liberal – Ontario), who has been fighting for the release of historic census records since 1998, was quick to proclaim that the bill meets the needs of Canada’s genealogists, historians, and archivists.

“Under Bill S-18 Canadians will have unrestricted access to all censuses taken before this date immediately upon the 92nd anniversary of each census. This is the kind of access that Canadians deserve and have been fighting for since 1998.” Milne explained.

S-18 also contains provisions that will see Canadians indicate o>n future census forms whether or not they want to have their census information released after 92 years for future research.

For six years Canada’s research communities and the government have been debating how to balance the need for privacy against the importance of the census as a historic document. Until now, no one has been able to find a system for access to the records that everyone was willing to agree to. Senator Milne credits Minister Emerson’s work on the file for finding that agreement.

“Minister Emerson decided from the outset that he was going to solve this issue quickly and with common sense” Milne revealed. “He was able to quickly identify the fundamental needs of both Statistics Canada and Canada’s researchers. This bill accommodates both sets of needs”.

In addition to Minister Emerson and Senator Milne, the Canada Census Committee, the Canadian Historians Association, and the Association of Canadian Archivists all endorse this bill without amendment.

“With that kind of support, I would hope that the bill would pass through both Houses of Parliament quickly” said Milne.

For more information, please contact Jeff Paul at 613-947-9744 or 613-715-2965.