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Archiver > ONTARIO > 2002-11 > 1036612331


From: "Gordon A. Watts" <>
Subject: Re: [ONT] Re: CGC survey
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 11:52:11 -0800
References: <5.0.2.1.0.20021031135213.00a70b30@mail.durham.net>


Hi Sher and all.

Your message certainly conveys a certain amount of scetpticism regarding
the process the on-line survey which may or may not be deserved. You
appear to have your doubts also regarding the CGC symposium held this
past week-end as well as about the people that attended it.

I am not sure how many of those attending were 'certified genealogists'
( I am not certified in anything) but there was a broad spectrum of
representation from genealogists, historians, archivists, librarians,
academic demographers, and others, including a couple with commercial
interests. All were genuine in what they put forth as needs and
priorities regarding content, partnerships with the various groups, both
present and not present.

We were not invited to attend the symposium to be told what the
government (in the form of Heritage Canada, and the National Library and
Archives of Canada) had decided would be placed in the online part of
the Canada Genealogy Center. We were invited to discuss among
ourselves, and representatives of the CGC, the National Library and
Archives of Canada, what we viewed as necessary content for the CGC, and
how that content might be achieved. We were also invited to set
priorities for providing the content we viewed as necessary. We
discussed possible partnerships with the various organizations and
individuals represented.

All in all, I feel that the symposium was a worth-while effort, and if
things are followed through as we expect, the Canada Genealogy Center
will prove to be of great benefit to us all. Do not forget that this
symposium was a first step towards the formation of the CGC. There is
expected to be further (and I expect continuing) consultations with the
various stake-holders, i.e. you and I, to ensure that this venture is a
success. I find it encouraging that they have seen fit to consult with
us, rather than setting things up on their own and saying "there it is,
like it or not". Not many government departments have taken similar
steps to find out the opinions of people outside their own departments.

I would expect that one of the methods of consulting with us will be
through other surveys that may be in less general terms of this first
survey, and seek more specific input from those participating in them.
They have been advised that many would like to see a section in any such
surveys where participants may express their own views on the points
raised rather than just ticking off the given answers.

I will be working on a report of my assessment of the symposium and will
post it on the Post-1901 Census Project website. I will post a message
to the lists when it is available. Happy Hunting.

Gordon A. Watts
Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee
Port Coquitlam, BC

http://globalgenealogy.com/Census
en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm


----- Original Message -----
From: "R&S leetooze" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2002 10:59 AM
Subject: [ONT] Re: CGC survey


Hello List:
I don't know how many of you have answered and submitted the survey for
the
new Canadian Genealogy Centre, but in my opinion it was compiled in the
good old fashioned Canadian bureaucratic traditions!! In other words,
it
is a usely piece of information put on-line to plaquate the populace and
make it look like the public's opinion counts!
I am disgusted with our government and the mockery they are putting into
genealogy and the pursuit of family history.
I just hope that the country's certified genealogists and their ilk who
will be meeting this coming weekend stick to their guns and voice loudly
the material we want available to us!! This survey certainly won't
convey
anything to the process!!
And, I don't know if you've noticed - there was no e-mail address given
so
that we could forward our "opinions" in our own format rather than use
theirs!!
WEll, until our government pulls it's collective finger out, we will
just
have to continue to share, as we have always done on this list!!
Sher

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