----- Original Message -----
From: Sandra Finley
To: sabest1@sasktel.net
Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2005 1:17 PM
Subject: Update: Cdn Census outsourced to Lougheed Martin & Angry Canadian pays off Visa with pennies de

CONTENTS
(1)  COMMENTS
(2)  FOLLOW-UP ON 2006 CANADIAN CENSUS, CONTRACTED OUT TO LOUGHEED-MARTIN
(3)  RELATED STORY: CTV NEWS, NOV 23, ANGRY CANADIAN PAYS OFF VISA BILL WITH
PENNIES
===============================

(1)  COMMENTS

In April-May 2004 we participated in the huge backlash by Canadians against
Government plans to contract the 2006 census out to Lougheed-Martin,
American "company with a military orientation".

2006 is fast approaching.  The letter below from  Ivan P. Fellegi, Chief
Statistician of Canada, emphasizes that only 20% of the work will be done by
Lougheed-Martin.

Just as it is odious to me when the Government enters into contractural
arrangements with companies with a history as corrupt as that of Monsanto,
it is repugnant to me when my tax dollars are used to enrich corporations
tied to the American war machine.

Aside from the question of "with whom do we do business?" is the question of
access to Canadian information held by American companies given to the
American Government through their Patriot Act.

The second article (thanks to Al Taylor, "Angry Canadian ... ) is related.

I am wondering whether we are heading into non-compliance with the Census,
similar to non-compliance with the gun registry?  If so, it need not have
been the case:  Canadians were loud and clear that out-sourcing of the
census is not wanted.  Acceptable censuses have been carried out in the past
and can be done again without contracting out.  They may not be
state-of-the-art but there are other over-riding considerations that
Canadians insist upon.

And all of that is related to a written submission I will make to the "Smart
Regulations" public consultation process and circulate to you in the next
day or two.

Cheers!
Sandra
=======================================

(2)  FOLLOW-UP ON 2006 CANADIAN CENSUS CONTRACTED OUT TO LOUGHEED-MARTIN,
LETTER FROM CANADA'S CHIEF STATISTICIAN

http://www.canadaka.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1648

Remember the 2006 census by US company? Well.......
I received a response to my email.
(INSERT:  by Sandra - this is off the internet and not me speaking.)

It's a generic form response but I'll share it anyways and you all can tell
me what info you derived from it.

Cut and pasted directly from my email box, Letter from Ivan P. Fellegi,
Chief Statistician of Canada:

Statistics Canada would like to clarify and provide additional information
concerning the contracting out portion of the 2006 Census with private
industry. First of all, I would like to emphasize that only 20% of the work
for the 2006 Census will be contracted out while the remaining 80% is being
done by Statistics Canada. The distribution, collection, follow-up and
storage of questionnaires will be done strictly by Statistics Canada.

Important improvements and significant changes in the way census data are
collected and captured are required for the 2006 Census. These changes will
move the census from what is now a highly decentralised, manual collection
operation, to a more centralised and automated approach while addressing the
issues of privacy, security, confidentiality and the provisions of an
Internet response option for Canadians. However, these and other
improvements require the implementation of a very complex logistics and
control system.

Why did we decide to contract out a portion of the software development for
the 2006 Census? Simply because, after a painstaking review, we concluded
that we lacked the expertise needed. The 2006 Census clearly has to offer
the option of Internet filing of census returns, and this has to be
integrated with the traditional paper filing option which, of course, must
also be offered. Further complicating the logistics is the fact that we will
be mailing, for the first time, the census questionnaires to about 65% of
all households in Canada. This, together with the need to know at all times
who completed and who did not their census forms (in order to initiate
timely follow-up of those who did not do so) leads to exceptionally complex
logistics.

Traditionally census returns have been key-entered but that option will no
longer be available in 2006. As a result, it will be necessary to introduce
the scanning of the paper returns into the 2006 Census - and, again,
integrate all of that with the Internet-filed returns. The complexity of
these highly technical operations was entirely outside our range of past
experience. When one considers the fact that the census must go almost
flawlessly (because we do not have a second chance), it became abundantly
clear that contracting out was the only realistic option. In addition to the
technical complexities, we also conducted a very thorough cost benefit
analysis of the "buy or make" option, to determine the appropriate approach
for undertaking the significant systems development and operational
activities required for the 2006 Census. The factors considered included
cost, timeliness, integration, risk and the availability of
resources/expertise and while not the only factor in our decision, the
business case was clearly in favour for the private sector. Incidentally,
the same conclusion was reached not only by our US counterpart, but also by
the Office of National Statistics in the UK for their census systems
development and processing activities.

After a lengthy consultation process with industry, proposals were invited
by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) through a Request for
Proposal (RFP). Critical security and confidentiality requirements were
built into the RFP to ensure the protection of census returns. Indeed, these
safeguards will be even higher in 2006 than they were in 2001 or in earlier
censuses.

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization
Agreement regulations that governed this procurement, non-Canadian based
firms were eligible to submit a bid. All of the bidders were Canadian firms,
although several were US owned. The evaluation of proposals was very
rigorous, with no opportunity for biasing the results either in favour of,
or against, any one bidder. In addition, an independent fairness monitor
certified that the selection process followed the terms of the RFP and that
the process was fair and objective to all bidders. Through this process,
PWGSC awarded the contract to Lockheed Martin Canada Inc. to carry out
activities in support of the 2006 Census. The firm will be leading a
consortium consisting of IBM Canada and Transcontinental Printing Inc.
Canada and ADECCO Employment Services Ltd Canada.

Lockheed Martin specifically has a successful track record in developing and
implementing solutions in a census context and has access to international
expertise based on lessons learned in the United States and United Kingdom
censuses. Statistics Canada is capitalizing on this existing experience and
investment.

Statistics Canada will maintain full control of all aspects of the census.
Indeed, the data collected from Canadians will, at all times, be under the
care and full control of Statistics Canada and everyone working on the
census will, as always, be subject to the provisions and penalties of the
Statistics Act. Only census agents who are sworn to secrecy under the
Statistics Act - and subject to considerable penalties should their oath be
violated (including imprisonment of up to six months) - will have access to
individual census information. Career employees will at all times be in
charge of every aspect of census operations

All contractors will be security screened, and sworn in under the Statistics
Act. As such, they will become Statistics Canada employees, subject to all
the sanctions of the Act.

Stringent safeguards will be in place to ensure that only information
required for the processing operation is accessible by the contractor. The
census processing site will be strictly isolated from external networks, so
unauthorised transmission of census data would be physically impossible. In
addition, all sites will be subject to 24-hour supervision by our career
employees. Needless to say, data will never be processed or stored outside
the country. Processed data will be stored at Statistics Canada premises.


Statistics Canada has a well-earned reputation for quality statistics, which
in turn depends on the trust of Canadians. It would never endanger that
reputation by exposing to the slightest risk the confidential data that its
respondents provide - let alone exposing it to access by any foreign
country. The confidentiality of 2006 Census returns will be as stringently
guarded as in the past; in fact, technology allows us to implement even
better safeguards. We are ready to expose our plans to any expert scrutiny.

Ivan P. Fellegi
Chief Statistician of Canada

==================================================

(3)  CTV NEWS, NOV 23, ANGRY CANADIAN PAYS OFF VISA BILL WITH PENNIES

Al writes:
"An interesting story ... worth checking out where your credit card is
processed."
----------------------

http://www.ctv.ca/home

Angry retiree pays off Visa bill with pennies

Don Rogers shows off his Visa bill to Canada AM on Wednesday from
CTV's
bureau in Ottawa.

CTV.ca News Staff

Updated: Wed. Nov. 23 2005 8:59 AM ET

When Don Rogers found out that his bank had outsourced its credit card
processing to a U.S. company -- potentially, he believes, putting his
personal information at risk -- he decided to do something about it.

The 62-year-old retired city councilor from Kingston, Ont., paid his
$230 Visa bill with Citizens Bank of Canada in 985 installments --
often
pennies at a time -- in protest.

Rogers was worried that by allowing a U.S. company to review all his
purchases, U.S. authorities could gain access to his personal
information under the Patriot Act, a controversial piece of
legislation
that the U.S. hopes will help them crack down on terrorism but that
has
privacy advocates worried.

"This has huge implications for privacy of Canadians," Rogers told
CTV's Canada AM Wednesday, "because once your personal data enters the
United States, it becomes subject to American law.

"The Patriot Act could kick in and your information could be forcibly
turned over to the American government."

Rogers complained to his bank, but didn't like the response.

"They were very pleasant at first and sympathetic. But as I refused to
let go of the issue, their position hardened somewhat."

When the bank refused to stop outsourcing their Visa billing
processing
to a company in Georgia, Rogers decided to fight back.

"I usually pay my credit card statement with one payment each month,
transferring it by Internet from my bank account to my Visa account,"
he explained.

"And I thought well, hey, what would happen if I transferred one cent?
So I tried it and it went through. So what I did was basically pay off
a large part of my Visa in one cent and five-cent, nickel dime
payments."

The result was a payment statement that grew to 35 pages long and a
half-inch thick.

"It came with a heck of a thump through the letter slot," Rogers
laughs.

The maneuver created a huge headache for accounting personnel at
Citizens Bank and generated a phone call from the bank's information
technology department.

"I told the guy, 'Well, I'm trying to get your bank president's
attention. He said 'You have got his attention'."

Rogers has also gotten the attention of a number of news outlets who
have pressing him for interviews - much to his satisfaction.

"It is gratifying that the little guy can fight the big corporations
and make an impact."

Rogers says he still isn't sure whether his stunt is going to make his
bank change its policy. He's given them until Jan. 1, 2006, to return
their payment processing back to Canada.

"The way it was left about a week ago, the last discussion I had with
the bank's vice-president in charge of Visa was that they would be
back to me shortly and we declared a temporary truce. So I'm waiting to
hear from them."

Rogers jokes that the moral of the story is: don't mess with a retiree
-- "retired folks are dangerous. We have time on our hands" - but he
believes that other Canadians should be asking the kinds of questions
he asked.

"Most Canadian credit card holders have no idea whether their personal
data regularly goes down to the United States. They should ask their
bank. It's a legitimate question to ask."

And it you don't like the answer, try the "Rogers one cent solution",
he recommends.

"I think Canadians have to speak up. There's Canadian sovereignty
involved."

* Copyright 2002-2006 Bell Globemedia Inc.
============================
Email from:
Sandra Finley
Saskatoon, SK
306-373-8078
sabest1@sasktel.net



--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.7/182 - Release Date: 11/24/2005