Canadian Census-1911
Donna Cucheran
and after, will never be released to the public. I found this in the LDS
Lethbridge Family History Center website mentioned earlier. It is at
www.leth.net/fhc Check out the General Canadian Resources and go down to
the last point in the Census section and then read it and weep. There is an
e-dress to mail all of the M.P.'s in Canada. All you Americans out there,
please let them know that your country hasn't fallen apart due to the
availability of the Census reports there, we northern neighbors need your
help. And all you fellow Canuks, get on your keyboards and send them a line
if you ever want to be able to search these records.
acar...@home.com
who has just started researching the Canadian side of her family I was
horrified to find out that no census were available past 1901. Now to
learn that 1911 is the last we will see has made me furious. How can
the Canadian government make decisions like this without letting the
public know. Mind you, speaking as a first generation Canadian I have
never had much respect for our governments ability to make smart choices
in any field.
What can be done to bring this to the attention of the entire Canadian
public, not just those interested in genealogy? How can we make people
aware of the necessity of releasing this information? How can we make
them care?
Thank you all for listening to my opinions.
Alisa
acar...@home.com
S & R Chernoff
light of day is the already released 1901. The rules of the game were
changed for all subsequent census so unless the powers that be are
persuaded to change the legislation what we have now is all we will get.
Rumors are still persisting that some of the schedules for subsequent
census has already been destroyed without benefit of being microfilmed
although a letter I received from the Stats Canada people deny this. I
urge everyone to keep writing the members of parliament - only they can
change the legislation but they won't do it without prodding from the
genealogical community.
Rita Chernoff
> snip <
... to learn that 1911 is the last we will see has made me furious. How
DOUG
I have recently found out that most of the census records after 1901 come under
the privacy act and cannot be released until they are 100 years
old. Also, if you have ever been a part of a census in Canada in the last many
years,you would have noticed they do not take the names of the individuals in
the home only the number of adults & children. Therefore,
that type of census is no good to anyone.
The only way I have been able to search, is to use the Vital Statistics and that
isn't always that great either. In Ontario the only way I've been able to get
any where is to purchase info from the Registrar Generals Office.
Unfortunately, I don't have an unlimited supply of money.
Yours in Genealogy
Doug
Mr. & Mrs. Sterling
way I do, but if they are dead set on not making anymore census records
public, why take them? Believe me, I asked them this too.
Carol
S & R Chernoff wrote in message <3643C0...@sk.sympatico.ca>...
Mary Arthur
census information being used by both the government and private
individuals for purposes not in the intersts of the public. The law made
it possible for people to tell the truth in the knowledge that the
information would be used for statistical purposes so the governments
would know in advance how much money to budget for people who would be
retiring, for schools and so the provinces would get their 'fair' share
of federal money.
The census was not designed so we could trace our ancestors!
As for the complaint that people didn't know; it was clearly stated at
the beginning of all the census forms I have filled out!
Mary Arthur
Mr. & Mrs. Sterling wrote:
>
> I had sent them a letter yesterday. I don't know who else feels the same
> way I do, but if they are dead set on not making anymore census records
> public, why take them? Believe me, I asked them this too.
> >Rita Chernoff
Diane Reid
old is going to be of any use to 99% of the popupation when it is
released? My oldest neice will be 16 in 2001, when we next have a
census. If the 2001 census information is released in 2101, she'll be
116 and most of the information on the form will apply to her parents,
not to herself!
Diane
Mary Arthur wrote:
>
> Lets be fair: the law was changed because people were concerned about
> census information being used by both the government and private
> individuals for purposes not in the intersts of the public. The law made
> it possible for people to tell the truth in the knowledge that the
> information would be used for statistical purposes so the governments
> would know in advance how much money to budget for people who would be
> retiring, for schools and so the provinces would get their 'fair' share
> of federal money.
> The census was not designed so we could trace our ancestors!
> As for the complaint that people didn't know; it was clearly stated at
> the beginning of all the census forms I have filled out!
> Mary Arthur
--
"The Universe began not with a bang, but a smile"
See my web page at http://www3.sympatico.ca/dr.reid/
Donna Cucheran
to Canada from Romania with 2 brothers, and family, in 1899. Immigration
records for them have been destroyed, whether in a fire or otherwise. The
Census records would have been the only information I could find on about
fifteen of my relatives all living in a little sod hut out in the Canadian
prairies. Any information on them before immigration to Canada is all in a
language that has not been spoken for a century and hidden somewhere in the
Ottoman Archives in Istanbul where I can't get to it. Maybe in the year
2101, your descendents or those of your niece will want to research your
history. They won't be able to then, like we can now. Granted, personal
information is no longer included in the Census, but in 1901, 1906, and 1911
it was.
Donna
Diane Reid wrote in message <3645DC0C...@sympatico.ca>...
Leland Harvie
national letter writing campaign, details available at
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Recreation/GANS/statscan.html
Thank you,
Leland Harvie
Halifax, Nova Scotia
It is indeed the case that, under current legislation, the 1911 and
other post-1901 census records cannot be transferred to the National
Archives of Canada for subsequent public release. This is not a policy
decision but is based on law.
For your information, attached is a paper entitled "By law, census
records are not available after 1901" which outlines the authority for
collecting censuses before and after 1901 and other information
related to the release of historical census records. I think you will
find it of interest.
Thank you for having taken the time to make your views on this matter
known.
Louise Desramaux
Privacy Coordinator
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada
By law, Census records are not available after 1901
Introduction
The release of individual census records is explicitly prohibited by
law for all censuses following 1901. This has dismayed the many
genealogists and researchers who had expected that the 1911 census
records would be publicly available in 2003, 92 years after the taking
of the census.
There are competing interests at issue here, both legitimate and both
important. Not everyone is aware of the "other side of the coin" - so
to speak. There is a perception that Statistics Canada has taken an
arbitrary position in this matter and is circumventing the 92 year
rule by its decision not to transfer the records. This is not the
case. In fact, the agency's hands are tied.
Census records collected in 1901 and prior years
The Privacy Act provides for the transfer of records to the National
Archives. It permits such transfers only if there are no other acts
with different or stronger protection. In other words, records can be
transferred to the National Archives only if there are no provisions
in another piece of legislation that prevent that transfer.
The records of censuses taken in 1901 and in prior years have been
transferred to the National Archives for public access. This was
possible because the legislation that was used to collect these census
records did not contain any provisions that prohibited their transfer.
Up to 1901, Census-takers were instructed to protect the
confidentiality of the information while collecting it, but these
instructions did not have the force of law. Thus the information
contained in these records is protected only by the Privacy Act which
stipulates that National Archives can make these records available to
the public 92 years after the taking of the census.
The 1906 and subsequent censuses
Starting in 1906, however, and in subsequent censuses, the legislation
that gave the authority to collect census information contained
statutory confidentiality provisions. These provisions are such that
only the person named in the record may have access to his/her
information.
There is also no time limitation on the access. Even when the person
is deceased, the provisions are still in effect. As a result,
Statistics Canada, without breaching the Statistics Act, cannot
transfer the census records taken under the authority of the 1906 and
subsequent Statistics Acts to the National Archives. The fact that the
United States and Britain both release census records is an issue of
different legislation and, perhaps, of culture when it comes to the
taking of a census.
Information recorded on microfilm
Statistics Canada continues to hold all individual returns of census
questionnaires collected between 1906 and 1986. These records have
been transferred from questionnaires to microfilm and are available
for access by individual respondents who need to confirm birth dates
for pension purposes, passports, etc. The destruction of the 1911 and
later census records held on microfilm was never a consideration by
Statistics Canada although the paper questionnaires themselves have
been destroyed in accordance with approvals given by the National
Archives of Canada.
As a result, Statistics Canada does not have the option, as has been
suggested by some genealogists and researchers, of being able to
filter out the more sensitive information from early census records
since microfilm technology, unlike newer technology such as optical
imaging, does not lend itself to severance. The original paper
questionnaires would be required for this.
The Statistics Act
Like any law, the Statistics Act can also be amended - e.g. to permit
the release of individual records after 92 years. But, this is where
an important principle of privacy protection comes into play: is it
right to alter retroactively the conditions under which information
was provided by Canadians? Should Parliament declare, in effect, as
invalid the explicit guarantee of indefinite confidentiality that was
promised to Canadians when the data were collected?
This issue is very complex. While there is undeniably great value
attached to nominative historical census records, there is also great
value attached to the aggregate information that can be produced from
current and future censuses. That information is and will be used for
a multiplicity of purposes, many of which are requirements contained
in various pieces of legislation to meet specific needs, for example,
transfer payments to provinces and the determination of electoral
boundaries.
Canadian citizens have always demonstrated unstinted cooperation in
providing personal information about themselves when asked to
participate in a census or in other surveys conducted by Statistics
Canada. The most important factor contributing to this cooperation 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 cooperation given to future censuses
and surveys. A substantial decrease in such cooperation could
seriously jeopardize Statistics Canada's ability to carry out its
national mandate of producing reliable, timely information on which
many users depend. This information is also a fundamental pillar of
our democratic system, because it is one of the measures that electors
use to evaluate the performance of their governments. This must not
ever be taken lightly.
jenn...@my-dejanews.com
"Donna Cucheran" <ra...@powersurfr.com> wrote:
> It has just come to my attention that all Canadian Census reports from 1911
> and after, will never be released to the public. I found this in the LDS
> Lethbridge Family History Center website mentioned earlier. It is at
> www.leth.net/fhc Check out the General Canadian Resources and go down to
> the last point in the Census section and then read it and weep. There is an
> e-dress to mail all of the M.P.'s in Canada. All you Americans out there,
> please let them know that your country hasn't fallen apart due to the
> availability of the Census reports there, we northern neighbors need your
> help. And all you fellow Canuks, get on your keyboards and send them a line
> if you ever want to be able to search these records.
>
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Advance Genealogy Systems
>Donna
>
>I have recently found out that most of the census records after 1901 come under
>the privacy act and cannot be released until they are 100 years
>old. Also, if you have ever been a part of a census in Canada in the last many
>years,you would have noticed they do not take the names of the individuals in
>the home only the number of adults & children. Therefore,
>that type of census is no good to anyone.
Subsection 8(3)(d) of the Privacy Act gives the length of time as "in
cases where the information was obtained through the taking of a
census or survey, 92 years have elapsed following the taking of the
census or survey containing the information."
Having been a census taker in recent years, I know that we did take
names, not only numbers of adults and children.
Doug is correct in stating that the post-1901 census records are
considered as coming under the privacy act.
For those who really want access to the information from the post-1901
census records, especially those from 1911, I refer you to the
excellent site at
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Recreation/GANS/statscan.html
maintained by the Genealogical Society of Nova Scotia.
>The only way I have been able to search, is to use the Vital Statistics and that
>isn't always that great either. In Ontario the only way I've been able to get
>any where is to purchase info from the Registrar Generals Office.
>Unfortunately, I don't have an unlimited supply of money.
>
>Yours in Genealogy
>Doug
>