Genealogists with Canadian ancestry have been watching Library and
Archives Canada (LAC) since they took custody of the 1921 Census of the
Canadian population from Statistics Canada on June 1, 2013 after the required
92 years. The Ontario Genealogical
Society, along with many other organizations and individuals, sent letters to
Library and Archives Canada, The Hon. Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada,
The Hon. James Moore then Minister
of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages and local Members of Parliament. We
advocated for the protection of Library and Archives Canada and our Canadian
archival documents and for the timely release of the census. As President of The Ontario Genealogical
Society and its 3500 members I offered to be a part of the consultation
process. Unfortunately all formal communication
with parties outside of Library and Archives Canada ceased. We were eventually told that dialogue was
already in progress with a third party and that LAC was committed to making the
1921 Canada Census “rich and complex information accessible and available to
all Canadians no matter where they live…”
On
Thursday, August 8, 2013 LAC and Ancestry made separate announcements regarding
their partnership to make this Canadian census available to the public. At present, the census images can be browsed
for free online at www.ancestry.ca and
users are told to return for updates since the collection will be indexed this
year. To quote LAC, “Canadians will be
required to pay for the extra convenience of doing advanced searches from their
home.” Free access will be available in
person at Library and Archives Canada and through hundreds of libraries across
Canada subscribing to Ancestry.ca.
Although The Society is
very pleased that these images are finally available to the public, we are
concerned about its release through a subscription site. The lack of
consultation with Canadian heritage organizations ignored their skills,
experience and offers of assistance.
Details of the arrangement are still unfolding and we hope that answers
to our questions will be forthcoming regarding the arrangement between Library
and Archives Canada and Ancestry. Was
there no Canadian organization that could handle this? Is this deal exclusive
to Ancestry? Has LAC given away its
rights to use the digitized images later on their own web page, indexed or not? Might other organizations have access to the
images and produce their own indexes as has been done successfully in the past,
perhaps then making the information free to all? For how long will there be free access to the
raw images or indexed information on the Ancestry.ca site? Is there a limit to the number of years
Ancestry will have the sole rights before the census might appear elsewhere or
is this material solely in their hands? What of access to the other census
schedules? Why have the microfilms or images not been available at Library and
Archives Canada until now? There are
many unanswered questions being asked by our members and others in the heritage
community. We look forward to more
details.
The 1921 Canada Census
was taken at a very critical time in Canada’s history. For many family researchers whose ancestors
immigrated to Canada after the First World War, this is the first opportunity
to have some insight into their families on North American soil. For many born in other lands, birth and
marriage records may be difficult to find.
This census provides a picture of the individuals and families who
resided in Canada on June 1, 1921. Responses
to the 35 questions on the population schedule alone will possibly answer many
questions about the family and perhaps provide leads to other sources.
Take advantage of these
images to investigate your family in 1921.
Continue to be vigilant in helping to safeguard our heritage archival
documents. Together we represent those
no longer living to ensure their lives and contributions to our country are not
forgotten. Speak for them whenever you
see the need.
Shirley L. Sturdevant,
President
The Ontario Genealogical
Society
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