Info shared by a fan of datalibre.ca who would like to remain anonymous.

Carolyn Bennett’s private member’s bill C-568 to make the mandatory long form census. er, mandatory again…. passed.
www.liberal.ca/newsroom/news-release/liberal-census-bill-passes-harper-conservatives-voting/

OTTAWA – Although the Liberal bill to save the mandatory long-form census passed second reading today, the Harper Conservatives unanimously voted against it as they continue to ignore the will of the majority of Canadians who have been fighting against the government’s ideological attack on the census, Liberal MP Dr. Carolyn Bennett said today.

“Every single Conservative member should be ashamed by their actions today,” said Dr. Bennett, whose Private Member’s Bill to enshrine the mandatory long-form census in law passed at its second reading today during a vote in the House of Commons.

“Today’s victory clearly demonstrates that the majority of parliamentarians support enshrining the long-form census in law and preserving the integrity of the data needed for effective policy-making and evidence-based decisions. Only this ideological government wants to scrap it and spend $30 million more of taxpayers’ money to get less reliable information from a voluntary short form survey.”

By voting against Dr. Bennett’s Private Member’s Bill, the Conservatives continue to ignore calls from provincial, territorial and municipal governments, economists, community groups, medical associations, and religious organizations that use the information collected in the census to make fact-based decisions that help Canadians in their daily lives.

Last week, it was confirmed that this bill will not require a royal recommendation to proceed because its passage will actually save the government $30 million. This means the bill does not require the Conservative government to support it in order for it to become law if passed by the House of Commons and the Senate.

“The question now is: will Stephen Harper respect the will of the elected Chamber? Based on his track record, we’re skeptical. But we will not give up – what’s at stake is the integrity of Canada’s official statistics and the lifeblood of economic decision-making in the living rooms and boardrooms of the nation.

“This bill is important, because if the census is not reinstated, Stephen Harper will be able to implement his ideological agenda and cut important programs for Canadians. He doesn’t care about accurate information on things like unemployment levels, multiculturalism or unpaid work because he’d prefer to cut things like Employment Insurance, immigrant settlement services and programs that help family caregivers.”

Through the Liberal Open Government Initiative, a future Liberal government would direct all federal departments and agencies to adopt a default principle of open government when it comes to sharing information, and make all Statistics Canada data available free of charge.

Contact:

Office of the Hon. Dr. Carolyn Bennett, MP, 613- 995-9666

Via: Save the Census Campaign

Save the Census Update:
Below you will find an update on a variety of issues, including: recent media coverage surrounding the campaign and the census; an update from Ottawa; a summary of our by-election campaigns in Vaughan and Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette, Manitoba; and progress on our Charter challenge.

Vaughan and Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette by-elections:
On November 29th a by-election was held in Manitoba and Ontario. Individual members of the campaign have registered as a “third party” advertiser with Elections Canada. In Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette, radio ads ran during the final week of the by-election, while in Vaughan, 15,000 leaflets were distributed to homes. In both ridings the message we sent to voters was to “vote for your right to be counted”.

Moving forward we are establishing a robust social media presence and building a riding-by-riding capacity to make sure that MP’s from every party, right across Canada, know that the Census is an important issue in their backyard.

From Parliament Hill

• The Opposition have united in an effort to reinstate the Long Form Census and to ensure the independence and integrity of the Office of the Chief Statistician through two Private Members Bills. The first to be voted on in the House on Wednesday December 9th, a Liberal Private Members Bill to reinstate the Mandatory Long Form Census.
• The second, an NDP Bill will be debated in the New Year.
• Liberal Private Members Bill to be debated Wednesday December 9th. Link (1) (2)
• If you can take a minute to email your Member of Parliament in support of this Bill it would be appreciated.
• Both the HUMA and Status of Women Committees have held hearings on the impact of the loss of the Mandatory Long Form Census, minutes and evidence presented can be found at the following links.

Media Coverage:

— December 5, 2010–Professors may need more funding after census changes
The elimination the mandatory long-form census has been in the media quite a bit over the past month. Listed below are some of the more recent news items that appeared over the past week that discuss the Conservative decision. The first article indicates what our campaign has been arguing since July—that data collection and analysis is going to be much more difficult for researchers to access. This article focuses on University educators:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20101205/professors-funding-census-changes-101205/

— December 2, 2010–Federal Departments detailed potential census impact a year ago:
This article outlines that the necessary (census) data that is usually compiled for deciding EI eligibility, understanding program performance and efficiencies, and improving immigration and settlement are all at risk because of the Conservatives intentions to implement the National Household Survey:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/federal-departments-detailed-potential-census-impact-a-year-ago-111221589.html

—Other articles about the census and our campaign:
The Ottawa Citizen: EU scolds Harper government for StatsCan controversy
The Tyee: Pro-census group applies pressure in federal byelections with radio ads, flyers
The Ottawa Citizen: All Canadians should be concerned
Canadian Press: Huge demand for mandatory long-form census data to aid minorities, women
Winnipeg Free Press: Group takes long-census fight to byelections
The Capital Works: Census change ignores women’s unpaid work, advocates say

Save the Census is on Facebook and Twitter:
We’ve started a new Facebook page as the “Keep the Long-Form Census” page reached its capacity leading to restrictions being put on our ability to communicate with members. By joining the Save the Census Facebook page, you can stay up-to-date on where we’re at, what the media is saying and any other important correspondence we may have to bring you. Please encourage your friends to join, as well: http://tinyurl.com/37stgh7

You can also follow us and receive important updates by following the Save the Census campaign on twitter:@savethecensus

Charter Challenge:
CCSD, the Canadian Council on Social Development, has joined with twelve other organizations to launch a legal challenge to protect Canadians’ “Right to be Counted.” Our Charter challenge has been accepted by the Courts, however we have not been given a date yet for our hearing. We will keep you informed of any progress on this piece.

Donate!
Continuing our battle takes—surprise—money! If you would like to donate to the Save the Census campaign please visit our website by following this link: http://tiny.cc/mn57f

Find out more at www.savethecensus.ca, www.datalibre.ca, and www.ccsd.ca. For more information or to get actively involved with the campaign email us at info@savethecensus.ca.

Thank you for taking the time to read this important update.

John Campey (Social Planning Toronto) and Peggy Taillon (Canadian Council on Social Development)