Cornwall ON – Not withstanding what appears to be the good intentions on part of the Tories to protect the `innocent’, the current government’s scrapping of the mandatory aspect of the long form census is less than thoughtful or reasoned.
Any one with common sense, or at least asked the folks at Stats Canada, would know that there are chunks of any population that will refuse to do surveys. And those chunks go by location, sex, age and income and many other citeria that will seriously skew any results.
And any one with common sense, or asked any psychology student, will tell you that these chunks of population will not answer surveys even given a carrot instead of a stick. These are not innocent people. They are stubborn! Having the Census embued with penalty is the only way to get the participation rate that the Government Canada requires to gather scientific data in conducting its day to day affairs. The People of Canada have a Right to have scientifically valid facts.
The People of Canada deserve and want data that is better than plus or minus 13%, 19 times out of 20.
But the worst thing of this whole boondoggle is that those that don’t believe they should do census surveys will now be emboldened to refuse and expect that the current government will back them up. So, instead of having a 95% participation rate it will drop substantially and with disasterous effect. Even if the government was to restore the mandatory requirement, they have screwed it!
Sincerely,
Matthew Dubois -Cornwall, Ontario
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Has the 95% completion rate discussed above changed since census takers stopped going door to door? I hope every department / section in the government is being looked at for reductions!
With so many people on line, why is there not a secure site for this? Voting for stocks and associations is done that way, you get a password in the mail and sign in. I would imagine more people would complete longer forms, but this might cut into Stats Can staffing….