Talk of 2006 Canadian Census, Headstones

With all of the talk about the 2006 Canadian Census, and people having the option of whether or not the information will be revealed in 2098, The Genealogue mentions that headstone information will become optional as well:

The upcoming Canadian census will ask respondents whether they want their answers made public in 2098. Now comes news that privacy zealots in Canada want to make headstones optional as well.

Ontario MP Paul Morrison explains: “We’ve read that identity thieves sometimes practice ‘tombstoning’—copying the names and dates from gravestones and creating false identities with the information. Before it ever happens here, we must stamp it oot . . . I mean out.”

A measure before Parliament would require Canadian citizens to declare whether they want their graves marked. Those who “opt in” will have stones placed on their graves 92 years after their deaths. Those who “opt out” will lie forever in unmarked graves. Those who fail to respond will be deposited in a mass grave somewhere within the icy bounds of Nunavut.

Genealogists are said to be concerned.

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