Census change bad news for everyone
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By Rosalyn Stevens
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Tweet ThisEMC Editorial - Well, on the bright side, I might not have to take that university statistics class anymore. Who needs stats now that our government has made data collection virtually meaningless by scraping the mandatory census long form?
I can't begin to think how the 'brilliant' idea came about to scrap a piece of paper that collects data vital to so many aspects of our Canadian quality of life. Without the data, how are cities to plan for transit systems? How are provinces to make adjustments to health care, infrastructure, and service funding?
The government claims they've heard complaints about the privacy aspect of the form. And yet even the privacy commissioner's office, which doesn't give anyone a hall pass, claims to have heard nothing of these alleged complaints. Statistics Canada's former chief statistician said in an interview with CBC Radio recently that he has grave concerns for the effects of this change, adding that he'd never heard more than a mere whisper of complaints during his time.
Let's be honest: who's going to complain about a few questions regarding the size of your household and the people who live there, marital status and income, when the societal norm today has people everywhere sharing this information - and more - with the world via social networking. If you can upload photos from your wild birthday party last weekend, surely you can answer questions to help government better serve the residents of Canada.
Census is a form of social responsibility, and in the end, has a direct effect on the lives we live. Municipal governments don't have their own method of data gathering, and rather rely directly on census data to plan and complete important projects.
The Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge, for example, connecting the south end of the city over the Rideau River, was planned using census data that showed a growing population on both sides of the waterway. Of course, the long line-ups on the Hunt Club Bridge were an indicator, but that problem may not have been resolved without the important data collected in that part of our city.
And what of the impending light rail plan? This data was needed to plan route corridors and station locations. How else would the city know where people live, work and travel to by public transit?
Some people argue that the mandatory long form equals too much government insight on our lives. It's too "big brother," the say. Get over it. The government needs this information to know how to better serve us.
For those who complain about poor transit, poor medical services, a lack of charitable assistance and even poorly advertised family services, get ready to complain more once data collection takes a hit. Who's really going to take the time to fill out a voluntary form? Not many. Another societal norm today: if we don't have to do something, chances are we won't. If my statistics class was voluntary, I know I'd avoid it like the plague.
It's time for the government to wake up, realize what they're doing to the future of important programs and services in Canada, and reverse this ill-informed decision.
The voice of a few should not so drastically change the lives of the majority, That's not what our founders had in mind when creating Canada as a Parliamentary democracy.
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