Canadian Census Records in the Future

The problem is that we have now denied to our descendants the same right to history that we grant ourselves. For 44 per cent of Canadians, information from the 2006 census will not be available in 2098. Why? Because, in complying with an act of Parliament in 2005, Statistics Canada included in the 2006 census a question asking whether respondents would consent to public release of their personal information after 92 years. Just 56 per cent of Canadians agreed.

So reads part of a story located in a Globe and Mail article this week (www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070912.wcomment0912/BNStory/National/home, emphasis mine).

This was one of the prices paid for our ability to publicly access the 1911 Census, says Lois Sparling, the lawyer who acted on behalf of family historians and academic historians across the country.