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OTTAWA, November 2, 2004 -- An Act to amend the Statistics Act was introduced in the Senate of Canada today. The proposed bill would enable access to both past and future census records.

This bill has two key provisions:

• personal census records for censuses taken between 1911 and 2001 inclusive would be released 92 years after each census; and

• starting with the 2006 Census, Canadians will be able to decide if they will allow their personal census information to be released publicly after 92 years. Individual census records would be released only when consent is given.

The proposed legislation will permit access to historical census records and ask Canadians for their consent for the release of their future census records. It meets the legitimate interests of genealogists and historians while continuing to put all appropriate safeguards in place to protect the privacy of individuals

"Informed consent about the use of one's own personal information is a matter of fundamental privacy protection," said the Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Statistics Canada. "Canadians should have the right to decide for themselves if they want their personal census records to be made publicly available in the future. I am proud of the active consent provisions of this bill which satisfy the highest standard of privacy protection."

The proposed legislation includes revisions in response to concerns raised by parliamentarians over the previously proposed bill (Bill S-13), tabled on February 5, 2003. This bill died on the order paper following the prorogation of Parliament on November 12, 2003.

Statistics Canada, in conjuction with Library and Archives Canada, will, as part of the 2006 Census public communications campaign, encourage Canadians to allow future access to their cencus records to preserve Canada's history for future generations

For further information on the proposed legislation, please contact:

Media Relations
Statistics Canada
(613) 951-4636