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From: "Muriel M. Davidson" <>
Subject: [CCC] Re: [NS-L] Post 1901 Census -- Senate Hearing Testimony
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 22:18:20 -0400
References: <039c01c2ffe5$bb3806c0$767ba8c0@gordon1> <002501c30076$a08ad5a0$6cfede18@RichardNoble>


Hello Ric and all MY Down Home friends and relatives:-

It has been a LONG time since Senator Lorna Milne asked for my
help, way back in March 1999. She is a personal friend, and it
has been interesting doing this work for all of us.

However, ALL future census records will be protected -- NO huge
bonfires on Parliament Hill. There will ?possibly? be a small
tick box where we would click on "I agree" and the ONLINE
version should be on very shortly -- as soon as possible after
June, 2003.

Since 1999, we have had the displeasure of seeing three Private
Member's Bills "go down the drain". Senator Milne was invited
to present the government bill -- which had a few words added
by others, one of whom was appointed by Mulroney.

The Members of Parliament of Nova Scotia are 100% supportive
and are waiting for Bill S-13 to arrive in the House of Commons.
Check the scoreboards, Senator Milne did not have sufficient
Senatorial support -- the House of Commons support is about
186 out of 298 -- CHECK YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT!
http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index6.htm

The Senators are appointed, as is the Chief Statistician - by
Mulroney! As for Senator Milne "learning her lesson", she
knows the political scene very, very well - here is one 32-page
article as given by the main "enemy" -- see Page 7
http://www.odysseus.it/sfabw/Fellegi%20EffectiveStatSystem.pdf

When the 1911 census goes ONLINE, hopefully Jeff Paul or other
would put the "undertaking" in symbols -- Happy Face -- agree
and Sad Face -- do not agree!!
I am very proud of our Nova Scotian ELECTED politicians, but
three appointed ones let us down!
Muriel M. Davidson
Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee
Brampton, ON -- formerly Liverpool, Sydney, Dartmouth, NS
=========
Having followed the 1911 census struggle for sometime, I would offer the
following.

First of all a major thank you to Gordon, Muriel and many others who worked
so hard for the release of the census records. It would appear that the
struggle is coming to a close. [Do not be too certain]
I will also offer my thanks to Senator Milne, and assume like a lot of
people, she has learned a lesson. When dealing with elected officials, you
can almost assume, that they will take the point of view of their employees
rather than the will of the people. [Fellegi was appointed, as are Senators]
I do not want to particularly bash elected politicans, but we give them way
too much credit. You have to remember that these people are really just
normal people like you and I. Becoming a minister does not give them more
brains than you or I. First of all, they are put into a job, that they have
had no training for. Don't kid yourself for a minute, there is no training
for the job. So they have to rely on civil servants for advice. It always
amazes me, how they listen to that advice, and never seem to ask the right
questions, but I digress.
Their bill will pass, there will be a leadership change, and hopefully
Martin will give Copps a thrashing. Anyone who is a genealogist, please
don't make the mistake of backing Copps. It was Rock and her that screwed up
our plans.
But all is not lost. On the bright side, hopefully the bill will pass the
house shortly, and finally I will get to look at the 1911 census. And that
was the goal, was it not. I can use the information, that I need. I am not
going to publish the census, but rest assured that I will use information
in my family history. And assuming I live a few more years, I might get to
look at 1921 and maybe even 1931. That was not possible before.
And hey, by the time the census records from the 2000s are due to be
released, there will have been many more governments, and our descendants
can take up the fight.

Keep that in mind. We can look at the census. Before the bill, Felligi
would not even let the National Archives have it. So we did accomplish
something. [We accomplished much more than we realize - to date]
I would much prefer no undertaking, but I can live with that. I don't like
it, but I can live with it.
And remember in the future, to tick the release box. Smile.
Ric



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