Federally incorporated in 1983 under the auspices of the Council of Maritime Premiers, the GENEALOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE MARITIMES/ INSTITUT GÉNÉALOGIQUE DES PROVINCES MARITIMES is the accreditation body for professional genealogical researchers in Atlantic Canada. Representing as it does accredited genealogists from the four eastern Canadian provinces, the Institute is particularly concerned with access to information in a free and democratic society. It is that concern combined with a dedication to exploring our collective Canadian heritage which prompts the Institute to make a formal statement in regard to access to all Canadian census returns based on an established release process . These issues certainly relate to general cultural concerns presented for discussion before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: the Federal Government impacts directly on freedom of access for it is Parliament which controls that access to public records; trade in information can not proceed if awkward barriers are maintained; current technological changes have had a dramatic impact on the professional genealogist to the extent that it may be said that it is one of the most sensitive vectors of that change in communications, and professionals are indeed concerned with the furtherance of archival and museum support to collect and make accessible records of the Canadian cultural and heritage sectors.
The Institute believes that all Canadians have a right of access to census information to explore their own heritage and history. Termination of census access post-1901 will deny Canadians in general and those whose ancestors arrived later than 1901 full celebration of that inheritance. Indeed, it may be argued that it will create a second class of Canadians- 'late comers" who are not permitted to know anything about their identity, nor to establish global links with their distant kin.
Access to census material is a crucial component of family genetic research. A number of societies in the Atlantic region and elsewhere in Canada encourage fancily history research to assist family members, medical researchers and public understanding of specific genetically linked diseases and conditions. Tay-Sachs, Huntingdon's Chorea, Niemann-Pick Syndrome, Hemophilia, and Breast Cancer are just a few of the genetically linked disorders which necessitate extensive family research. Closure of the census returns will have a devastating effect on genealogical reconstitution in these fields.
Cultural heritage is closely allied to family connections. Exploration of the latter can increase appreciation of one's own particular familial and ethnic history. At the same time it can stimulate one to be aware of the interconnections among the large population. Atlantic Canadians are particularly aware of that multi-faceted heritage. Open access to census records permits the furtherance of that understanding of oneself, one's ethnic background, and the larger society to which Canadians owe allegiance.
The Institute believes that restrictions on access to civil government records in a free and democratic society endangers the rights enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Resort to archaic laws prohibiting in perpetuity any public access to records opens the possibility of expansion of further restrictions in other areas. Moreover, in an age of increased openness to information, it would place Canada in an unfortunate light.
The Institute recognizes the right to privacy and a time frame for release which ensures that privacy in regard to government records. It is imperative, though, that the scheduled release of census material be continued so that Canadians will be able to take seriously the belief that they live in a free and democratic country which encourages its citizens to explore and celebrate their history and heritage-both the particular heritage of family, and the greater history of society,
The Institute believes that census records are more than bare statistics. These records are the material of both the academic historian and the genealogist from which they create local, provincial and national history.
It is to be hoped that the Canadian government at the close of the twentieth century will ensure that present and future generations of its citizens can continue to search out and write that on-going history.
Respectfully submitted by Allen B. Robertson, Ph. D., CG (C), President,
GENEALOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE MARITMMS/ INSTITUT GÉNÉALOGIQUE DES
PROVINCES MARITIMES
1999 Februrary 23 Halifax, Nova Scotia