A clearer picture
Canada’s national portrait is being drawn and the resulting picture should be considerably clearer than it was five years ago.
That’s when the previous Conservative government spurned expert advice and replaced the country’s mandatory long-form census with the less-reliable, voluntary National Household Survey. As predicted, the data it collected proved wanting.
Now the long-form census is back, with Statistics Canada mailing survey information to more than15 million households, starting on Monday. StatCan says the response so far shows “enthusiasm” from Canadians.
All Canadian residents are legally required to be documented on a census questionnaire. One in four households, selected on a random basis, must complete the long-form survey. The rest need only finish a simple, short version. It’s vital that everyone comply.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the nationwide census, carried out every five years. Data from this statistical snapshot is used to decide how billions of dollars of federal transfer money is shared by territories and provinces.
Census information plays a huge role in where health-care funding is directed and how it’s spent. At the local level, it helps urban planners decide where to build schools, run transit routes and extend assistance to vulnerable populations. Businesses use census data for market research, to project employments trends and to guide investment. In short, it’s essential to get it right. One of the most glaring missteps of the Harper government was undercutting the census by making the long-form portion of the survey voluntary. Ignoring frank warnings from a broad crosssection of society, it was bent on pandering to a segment of the Conservative base that considered the long-form survey overly invasive and sought the option of opting out.
Results from the 2011 census proved the folly of this policy — long-form compliance dropped precipitously. The mandatory 2006 survey registered a 93.5-per-cent response rate. That fell to less than 70 per cent when participation was made voluntary. Statistics Canada was forced to withhold results for more than 1,000 smaller communities because data on them was unreliable due to lack of information.
Furthermore, disadvantaged people and minority groups are more likely to skip a voluntary long-form census than the well-off and better-educated. That skews survey results — and channels public money — away from those most in need of help.
The Liberal government was right to reintroduce the mandatory, long-form survey in time for the 2016 census. Key decisions will be made in coming years based on the results. For their own sake, and for that of future generations, all Canadians should to stand up and be counted.
Data from census is used to decide how billions of dollars are shared