• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE CENSUS Introduction During the summer of 2010 Prime the Conservatives were responding Focus Minister Stephen Harper found himself to widespread—and in their view— Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s in the middle of a full-blown political legitimate privacy concerns from decision to scrap crisis stemming from a somewhat Canadians who resented being coerced the mandatory unlikely and surprising source. At the into providing personal information to long-form census in end of June the Conservative government federal bureaucrats under threat of fines June 2010 touched announced that it had decided to abolish or even jail time. off a nationwide the mandatory long-form census—a As the controversy grew over the storm of protest. detailed questionnaire that one in five month of July, Munir Sheikh, the This story examines the arguments Canadian households is required to widely respected head of Statistics for and against complete every 10 years. This decision Canada—the public body responsible for the government’s was to come into effect in time for the administering the census—announced controversial move, next census, slated for 2011. his resignation. He stated that he could its likely impact on The government’s move was quickly not support the government’s decision. Canadians’ lives, and met with protests from a wide variety of Sheikh’s resignation was a lightning-rod its potential political bodies, including business associations, for the growing movement to save the consequences. religious and ethnic organizations, and long-form census and led to increased social action groups across the country. political pressure on the government Quote They argued that the long-form census to reconsider its move before the next “The government was an essential tool for providing them census was to be held in 2011. does not think it with important information that they relied The leaders of the three federal is necessary for on in framing their policies and strategies. opposition parties even hinted that Canadians to provide Statistics Canada In addition, they stated that detailed they might make the issue a matter of with the number of information about social and economic confidence when Parliament reconvened bedrooms in their trends was the lifeblood of an information in September 2011. A defeat on a matter home, or what time society like 21st-century Canada. of confidence would trigger a federal of the day they leave As the protests grew, the task of election, the fourth in six years. for work, or how long justifying the government’s policy fell By late summer 2010, it was clear it takes them to get on the shoulders of Industry Minister that the Conservatives did not intend to there. The government does not believe it is Tony Clement. Clement stated that a revisit their decision on the census— appropriate to force new voluntary questionnaire—which despite the intensity of the opposition it Canadians to divulge would be sent to one-third of Canadian had generated. But the looming threat detailed personal households for completion—would of a non-confidence vote coupled with information under be just as effective as the previous lackluster results in the polls were threat of prosecution.” mandatory survey, which only had creating increased pressure on the Harper — Industry Minister Tony Clement (The to be completed by 20 per cent of government as the fall “political season” Globe and Mail, July households. He also made the case that in Ottawa was about to begin. 15, 2010) To Consider 1. How much have you heard in the media about the federal government’s decision to scrap the mandatory long-form census? 2. Why did you think the move generated such widespread protests from a wide cross-section of organizations and individuals? 3. In your opinion will the government’s decision on the census influence the way Canadians vote in the next federal election? CBC News in Review • September 2010 • Page 6 THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE CENSUS Video Review Did you know . Pre-viewing Questions The census is With a partner or in a small group discuss the following questions and write conducted by the your responses in the spaces provided. federal government agency Statistics 1. What is a census? Why is the information gathered from a census Canada (StatsCan). important to Canadians? You can find the StatsCan Web site at www12.statcan.ca/ census-recensement/ index-eng.cfm. 2. How important is a citizen’s right to privacy? What information could be Further Research considered too personal for the government to ask individual Canadians? Learn more about the census controversy by watching a short video clip from Global national news on July 14, 2010, at www. vancouversun.com/ 3. a) Should completing a census form be a duty expected of all Canadians or news/canada/Video+Ce nsus+change+controve simply a matter of personal choice? Explain your response. rsy/3279021/story.html. b) If you believe it is a duty, then what do you think is a suitable consequence for those who refuse or fail to complete the census form? Viewing Questions As you watch the video respond to the questions in the spaces provided. 1. How often are censuses conducted in Canada? When was the last one held? 2. When did the first census take place?___________________________________ 3. What is the difference between the long- and short-form censuses? CBC News in Review • September 2010 • Page 7 4. With what is the government replacing the previous long-form census? How will it differ from its predecessor? 5. Why is Dr. Paul Hebert critical of the government’s decision to scrap the long-form census? 6. How many questions are asked in the long-form census? To what issues do they relate? 7. What is the main reason the government has given for its decision? How persuasive is it? 8. What does Liberal MP Marc Garneau mean when he accuses the Conservative government of acting in an “ideological” way in its move to abolish the long-form census? 9. Summarize the viewpoints of the following people interviewed in the video on the census issue: a) Khaled Abdulghani and Lina Yacoub b) Myrna Belo c) Brian Wade 10. Who is Munis Sheikh and why did he resign? CBC News in Review • September 2010 • Page 8 11. What changes in the way the census is conducted occurred in 1971 and 2006? 12. How have social media such as Twitter and Facebook become important in the controversy over the census? 13. How do the opposition parties plan to keep the census issue alive after Parliament resumes in September 2010? Post-viewing Questions 1. Now that you have watched the video, revisit your responses to the Pre- viewing Questions. Have your opinions changed in any way? Explain. 2. Do you think the government has made a credible case in support of its decision to eliminate the mandatory long-form census? Why or why not? 3. Do you agree with critics who argue that the information derived from the long-form census is very important for Canadians? Why or why not? 4. Do you think that the census issue will remain important enough to threaten the survival of the Conservative minority government and even prompt a new federal election? Why or why not? CBC News in Review • September 2010 • Page 9 THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE CENSUS What is the census? Did you know . Focus for Reading Census data provide Create an organizer like the one below in your notebook. As you read the following information on information on the history of the census, write down key points in your organizer. incomes, languages You should be able to enter two or three points in each section of your chart. You spoken, population will be using this information in the activities that follow the text material. density, and education, all of which The Census of Canada are necessary for 1. The Census in New France planning new libraries. • The census dates back to the early period of New France, long before Canada became a nation. Did you know . • Since 1871, the federal government has administered a national census every 10 Urban planners and years. transit officials rely on 2. Changes in the Census over Time census data to address 3. Changing Technology the needs of people living in cities. 4. Purpose of the Census 1. Census in New France what it is today. Montreal was the only When Canadians complete the next city of any significant size, with Toronto census, in 2011, they will be continuing a very distant second. As the country a tradition that dates back over three grew over the decades so did the census. centuries, from the time before More questions were added to the form Canada even existed as a nation. In and a larger number of public employees 1666, Jean Talon—the French King were hired to pay door-to-door visits to Louis XIV’s chief assistant in New households across the country and later France—commissioned the first census compile their data by hand. of the colony’s 3 215 inhabitants. He Over the decades, census results served recorded their age, sex, marital status, as a profile of important social, cultural, and occupation for the purpose of setting religious, and economic changes that priorities for the colony’s growth and were transforming Canadian society. For economic development. Talon was so instance, in 1921 the census recorded the determined to complete his task that he fact that the country’s rural population visited many settlers personally in order was declining rapidly, while its cities to obtain the information he needed were growing, creating new urban for his royal master back in France.

Load more

  13

Copy Link