As a growing chorus of Canadians call on the Harper Conservatives to reverse their decision to eliminate the mandatory long census form, Liberal Government Ethics and Democratic Reform Critic Marlene Jennings said Liberals would make the long-form mandatory.
“If the Conservatives don’t reverse their decision, Liberals are prepared to explore the introduction of an amendment to the Statistics Act to ensure a comprehensive, mandatory long-form stays,” said Ms. Jennings. “This decision, made in secret, without any consultation, is dangerous because the information that will be lost is used to help Canadians in their daily lives – particularly our most vulnerable citizens.”
The federal long census is the only comprehensive mandatory method of obtaining information about Canadian citizens – things like their ethnicity, education and income. In a secret cabinet meeting, the Harper Conservatives decided to replace the long form with a voluntary household survey. Scrapping the long census will diminish the quality and breadth of data available to businesses, other levels of government and organizations for developing essential programs and services for Canadians.
“Municipalities, provincial and territorial governments, community groups, businesses and other organizations that depend on this data to develop relevant policies are going to be left in the dark,” said Ms. Jennings. “The Canadians who they are trying to help will feel the effects most – recent immigrants, low-income families, Aboriginal peoples – namely, the most vulnerable groups in our society.”
Condemnation from a wide range of Canadians who rely on the comprehensive census has been swift. Groups who oppose the Conservative decision so far include the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Canadian and Toronto associations of business economists, the Chief Economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Canadian Institute of Planners.
“We encourage researchers, business, and all Canadians to continue speaking out – write to Stephen Harper, Industry Minister Tony Clement, and Conservative MPs,” concluded Ms. Jennings. “Minister Clement hasn’t even offered Canadians an explanation as to why this was done – and he owes us that at the very least.”
