The Politics of the Census: Lessons from Abroad
I late June, Minister of Industry Tony Clement announced the government’s decision to eliminate the mandatory long form of the 2011 Census and replace it with a voluntary survey to be sent to one-third of Canadian households. The decision was reportedly made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper last December and has largely been framed by Conservative cabinet ministers as an important change to safeguard the privacy of Canadians. They maintain that the state has no business in the bedrooms of society, or, more specifically, that the state has no business asking Canadians how many bedrooms they have in their places of residence. The Prime Minister ’s Office has stated, “The government made this decision because we do not believe Canadians should be forced, under threat of fines, jail, or both, to disclose extensive private and personal information” (Valpy 2010). Clement, the minister responsible for Statistics Canada, argued before a parliamentary committee on 27 July that though the information gathered in the long form is “valuable,” a “balance must be drawn” between collecting data and the privacy rights of Canadians.
Losing Our Census
ABSTRACT The Canadian government’s June 2010 decision to replace the mandatory longform version of the census with a voluntary National Household Survey (NHS) poses a real risk that governments, other public-sector and civil-society agencies, and private users alike will rely increasingly on outsourced and privatized forms of information holdings in lieu of reliable and transparent census data. This commentary places this decision in the context of the social history of census-taking and summarizes the central and serious problems of the planned NHS. We reflect on the contradiction between, on the one hand, the government’s overall support for digital dissemination of high-quality data in an age of e-democracy and, on the other hand, its decision to accept the NHS’s alternative, biased data. The Conservative government’s arguments obscure the census decision’s implications for contemporary and historical knowledge of Canadian society and for public discourse. RESUME La decision que le gouvernement canadien a prise en juin 2010 de remplacer le formulaire long obligatoire du recensement par une enquete nationale aupres des menages (ENM) volontaire constitue un reel risque que les gouvernements, les agences du secteur public ou de la societe civile et meme les usagers aient recours de facon croissante a des fonds de renseignement prives et externalises au lieu des donnees transparentes du recensement. Cette note critique replace cette decision dans le contexte de l’histoire sociale des recensements et resume le coeur des problemes serieux poses par l’ENM planifiee. Nous apportons une reflexion sur la contradiction que souleve, d’une part, le soutien general du gouvernement a la diffusion numerique de donnees de haute qualite a l’ere de la cyber-democratie et, d’autre part, sa decision d’accepter comme alternative l’ENM et ces donnees partiales. L’argument du gouvernement conservateur occulte les implications de ces decisions sur les connaissances historiques et contemporaines de la societe canadienne et sur le debat public.
Characteristics of an Effective Statistical System
Summary The objective of national statistical systems is to provide relevant, comprehensive, accurate and objective (politically untainted) statistical information. The end purposes to be supported by the information are multiple, but include prominently the monitoring of the evolution of the country's economic and social conditions, the planning and evaluation of government and private sector programs and investments, policy debates and advocacy, and the creation and maintenance of an informed public. The presentation will discuss ten broad criteria for the assessment of national statistical systems. They are: 1. The broad framework, including the legal one as well as the rank and standing of a Chief Statistician; 2. Professional core values; 3. Non-political objectivity and the means used to assure this; 4. Systems and approaches used to assess and meet federal priorities; 5. Systems and approaches used to assess and meet state (provincial) priorities; 6. Systems and approaches to assess and meet other users' priorities; 7. Mechanisms for the coordination of the statistical system; 8. Balancing priorities against available resources; 9. Serving the needs of different client groups; 10. Generating a supportive environment.