Census Fears Spill Over the Border

What can only be characterized as a bit of a surprise, Canada, the land of good government, is having its own debate over the nation's next census, scheduled for 2011. The debate is over the "intrusive" questions on the long form, which 20 percent of Canadians receive and are required to fill out.

From the North Country Public Radio site:

Canada's long form has included questions about what time you leave for work, how many bathrooms are in your house, who does the childcare and housework and asks if you are willing to allow Statistics Canada access to your federal tax return to simplify the collation of financial data. (A "no" or a blank mean Stats Canada will not get that access.)

. . . Industry Minister Tony Clement has been defending the change to make the long form voluntary on the principle that Canadians are entitled to their privacy and ought not be compelled to reply under government duress. Clement proposes replacing the long form with a voluntary household survey along with greater distribution to compensate for a likely lower response rate.

. . . Criticism runs along these lines: information is good, which means more information is even better. Voluntary data is basically useless. Without data to drive informed planning and marketing, groups as diverse as private enterprise, civic planers and social programs will have to operate blind. Some are insisting Canada's standing as a nation of reason and social progress in general will be endangered by what they view as a politically-motivated stunt.

Obviously, the rights & privacy crowd feels just the opposite. Information may be used for good or ill, but compelling the collection of information that feels intrusive is an inappropriate use of government power. (Equally obviously, the definition of intrusive is highly subjective.)

Polls show Canadians split down the middle in their opinion if this is a good idea or bad.