Thursday, May 19, 2005

Post 1901 Canadian Census Access---------Bill S-18

Update: May 20, 2005

Bill S-18 didn't even get to the debate stage today in the House of Commons. Please contact your Members of Parliament to express your support for this bill & ask for their help in 'fast tracking' its passage.

People in Canada's genealogical, historical & heritage communities have been working since 1999 to ensure Canada's historical censuses are released for study & research now & in the future. There are not many days left in this session. We do want to see this bill passed.

May 19, 2005
Tonight, I am posting Gordon Watt's most recent letter concerning the passage of Bill S-18 through the House of Commons.

This bill, an amendment to the Statistics Act, will ensure historians, genealogists and others future research access to Canada's Post 1901 Censuses.

Please contact your M.P.s to ask for their support in speedily passing this bill---most of us would like to see the House waive debate, & give this bill its second & third reading tomorrow morning, so that it can be voted on tomorrow, & passed.

This bill is supported by many, many Canadians, including all four House Leaders and 209 Members of Parliament, the Information Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner, the Chief Statistician, the National Archivist, the Canada Census Campaign, and the Canadian Historical Association, as well as genealogical and historical associations from across Canada. This is a non-partisan issue.

For more information, see the websites: 'POST 1901 CENSUS PROJECT: Open the door to Canada's Historic Census' (See the addresses for the French/English websites in Gordon's letter below)

from Gordon Watts

"...the Projected Order of Business for the House of Commons now shows Bill S-18 on the agenda for tomorrow, Friday 20 May 2005. It appears under 'Government Orders', which are dealt with from 10:00 to 11:00 AM Eastern Time.During most days of the week, 'Government Orders' normally have two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. On Fridays however,the House normally adjourns earlier than on other days to allow time for those MPs who must travel. The Projected Order of Business for Friday shows only the one morning session for 'Government Orders'.There are four other government Bills listed for the same time period so it remains to be seen how much time will be allotted for Bill S-18.

Happy Hunting
Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net
Co-chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC

http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census in English
http://www.globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm en Francais

Permission to forward without notice is granted"

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Nominating Women as Canadian Historic Persons

In Canada, the Historic Sites and Monument Board designates certain Canadian persons, events and sites as 'historic'. Few women & few women's history events or sites have been designated so far.

"...any provincial or territorial figure of significance prior to the entry of the province or territory, in which the individual is active, into Confederation may be considered to be of national significance: but, post-Confederation figures who are of provincial or territorial significance must be proven to be of historic significance on the national scale, if they are to merit federal commemoration." [ quoted from Parks Canada, November 1990 guideline: http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/crit/crit4_E.asp ]

A person (or persons) or the group they represent should have "made an outstanding and lasting contribution to Canadian history", while an event should represent "a defining action, episode, movement, or experience in Canadian history". [quoted from Parks Canada, http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/crit/crit1_E.asp ]


With some exceptions, individuals nominated must have been dead twenty-five years, and events need to have taken place at least forty years ago.

So far, in British Columbia, where I live, only two women have been so designated---Emily Carr in 1950 and Helen Gregory MacGill, designated in 1998.

Several other B.C. women have recently been nominated: Susan B. Allison, early white settler in the Okanagan/Similkameen areas, Elsie Gregory MacGill, aeronautical engineer, Mary Ellen Smith, politician, Margaret Rose (Madge) Watt, Metchosin Women's Institute, founder of the Women's Institutes in England and founder of the Associated Country Women of the World.


For more information about the Canadian women who have been designated,
see Parks Canada's "Sites, Persons & Events in Women's History" at:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/lhn-nhs/femmes-women/itm3-/index_e.asp

If you know of someone you feel should be designated, or if you belong to a group which would like to nominate someone, check the Historic Sites and Monuments Board website for information. There is a good explanation of the details you will need at:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/designation/designation2_E.asp

You might also like to ask other related groups or individuals for assistance with your application or for support for your nominations, for example, the British Columbia Historical Federation, the Women's History Network of British Columbia, or local historical, heritage or civic/municipal associations.

British Columbia Historical Federation www.bchistory.ca
Women's History Network of B.C. www.members.shaw.ca/whnbc


For more on-line about the four women recently nominated from British Columbia, see:

Susan B. Allison: "A Wild Free Life" by Maggie Pickering (PDF)
http://www.triangle.co.uk/pdf/viewpdf.asp?j=wow&vol=8&issue=3&year=2001&article=Pickering_WOWR_8_3&id=24.69.255.202

Elsie Gregory MacGill: "Canadian Women in Science", Library & Archives Canada
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/women/002026-409-e.html

Mary Ellen Smith: "Then & Now: Women in Canadian Legislatures"
http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/200/301/nlc-bnc/celebrating_women-ef/women97/esmith.htm

Margaret Rose (Madge) Watt: "A Canadian Woman of the 20th Century Who Has Made a Difference " by Rose Fenner
http://www.svanciswomensinstitute.bc.ca/awatt.html

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Genealogy & Getting Organized with DearMYRTLE

Aha! I see that DearMyrtle's monthly 'getting organized checklists' have just been published in a book of their own.

"DearMYRTLE's FINALLY GET ORGANIZED: A 12-month Sure-Fire System by Pat Richley. Copyright 1995-2005. Week by week checklist for genealogists who live in the real world. No longer available on Myrt's website. 35 pages, paperback. 5.5" X 8.5" $6.95 " [U.S.A.$]

This is well worth the price, I'm sure.

Check DearMyrtle's bookshelf at: http://www.dearmyrtle.com/

There are package deals too, for example, for $10.90 [U.S.A. $]
you can get DearMYRTLE'S Finally Get Organized with

"DearMYRTLE's JOURNALS & PERSONAL HISTORIES: A Weekly Plan for Success by Pat Richley. Copyright 2005. A weekly plan for success. Myrt won't let you write for more than 15-20 minutes using this plan! 20 pages, paperback. 5.5" X 8.5" $5.95 ...

JOURNAL - a day-by-day account of one’s life, such as a diary.
PERSONAL HISTORY - one’s life story, usually written later in life, explaining birth, schooling, military marriage, occupation, hobbies and interests. "