2006 Census: Release of Personal Data after 92 Years

The following was taken from the 2006 Census Website

2006 Census: Release of Personal Data after 92 Years

In early May, all households across the country will receive a census questionnaire. Eighty percent of households will receive a short form questionnaire with eight questions, while 20% will receive a long form questionnaire with 61 questions. The long and short form questionnaire each include the following question (number 8 on the short form or number 53 on the long form) on the release of personal data after 92 years.

Consent to the release of census information in 92 years will help future generations better understand the Canada of today, and will greatly benefit historical, academic and genealogical research.

The following question is for all persons who usually live here including those less than 15 years old. If you are answering on behalf of other people, please consult each person.

53

The Statistics Act guarantees the confidentiality of your census information. Only if you mark "YES" to this question will your personal information be made public, 92 years after the 2006 Census. If you mark "NO" or leave the answer blank, your personal information will never be made publicly available.
Does this person agree to make his/her 2006 Census information available for public release in 2098 (92 years after the census)?


Yes


No

Beginning with the 2006 Census, people in Canada will be asked to consent to public access to their census records 92 years after the census. For those who give explicit permission, Statistics Canada will transfer their information to Library and Archives Canada in 2098, which in turn will make it publicly available. For those who do not give permission, their personal information will not be transferred.

Statistics Canada is givingn everyone who completes the census the option of deciding if their census records should be released in 92 years. Informed consent about the use of one’s personal information is a matter of fundamental privacy protection. Everyone who provides census information should decide for themselves if they want their personal census records to be made publicly available in the future.

On Tuesday, May 16, 2006, become part of history and “count yourself in”!

Now for my comments on the issue, which of course is why all 2 or 3 of you read this blog, so I'll keep you waiting no longer.

I do understand why they are including this question on the questionaire, but what I don't get is why if nothing is checked, it's assumed that you DO NOT want your information released. Most people, in my opinion and in my observance, really don't give a $h*t one way or the other... If someone is REALLY against having their information relased, they're going to be sure to check the "no" box, whereas if they don't care, they might not check anything...

What this means is that a lot of people who don't have a strong opinion one way or the other are going to skip that question, or just honestly forget to answer it, and that will preclude their information from being shared when the census data is released. The main people that affects are our decendants who might be trying to research their family. For anyone who has tried to do this in any way, you know that this is already a fairly large and difficult undertaking in many ways, let alone if this information was kept from you because someone "forgot" to check a box in 2006!

In case you can't tell, this one really bugs me... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check "yes" on the census form to allow your information to be relased in 92 years. Honestly, how is it ever going to affect YOU personally? It's not. You'll be long gone by that time, but it will allow future family members to know a little bit more about you and who you were!