Census

It's Census Day in Canada today. This is the first time I've done the census in my own household. Sat out on the deck last night, enjoying the balmy weather, and filling in the forms.

For the first time ever, the 2006 census includes a question asking the permission of respondents to have their information publicly released in 92 years' time. As a historian, I can only hope that as many people as possible answer 'yes'. The census is a vitally important source of information for historians and genealogists. So important, in fact, that I'm not sure we should even be asking people's permission to release their personal information nearly a century down the road - it should be taken as a given. I don't think we have the right to deny this information to future generations.

Apparently, the issue of permission was raised in the 1990s, when the 1906 census was first made available to the public. Given that privacy issues have become so important in recent years, I can see why people made a fuss about it. But frankly, I don't think it matters in this case. In 2098, when this census is due to be released, all of us respondents will be long dead - and it's vitally important that the information we record be publicly available.

I suspect that the permission question in the 2006 census will provide a fruitful research topic for future historians. Its inclusion speaks volumes about our current concern with privacy issues.