As part of my PhD dissertation research I have been investigating the Census of Canada. I have a dbase of all the questions since 1871 being edited at the moment and needless to say copious notes. Here is a small extraction that is of relevance to the debates about the census at the moment.

The list is not exhaustive and not fully edited, but does provide insight as to why those questions are asked and why those who know the census are outraged.  It also remains uncertain how the changes will be able to address the legislative requirements.

1. Aboriginal Identity: Employment Equity Act; Indian Act; Multiculturalism Program; Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy, used by aboriginal governments, communities, and organizations, characteristics of on and off reserve populations
2. Activity limitations: Data are used to develop and manage transportation, housing, communications, employment equity and other programs.
3. Certificates, diplomas and degrees, field of specialization: Employment Equity Act, Immigration Act, Canada Student Loans Program,
4. Citizenship: Citizenship Act, Canadian Multiculturalism Act, Immigration Act, voting and electoral planning.
5. Common-law status: first asked in 1991, track changes in family structure and family relationships, and prevalence of cohabitation. De facto marital status is also assessed. Common-law data from 1986 and 1981 were derived from relationship to person questions. changes in family structure and family relationships, prevalence of cohabitation, first time in 1991, formerly it was derived, opposite sect included, Same acts as marital.
6. Difficulties with daily activities: Started in 1991. Used for the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS). Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Employment Equity Act, Canada Health and Social Transfer.
7. Ethnic origin: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Multicultural Program, diversity measure in Canada, and characteristics of ethnic groups, also required for the Multiculturalism Act and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
8. Full-time or part-time work: EI, Old Age Security Act, Canada Pension Plan.
9. Household activities: included for the 1st time in 1996, to measure contributions made from unpaid work, to “give a picture of both the market and non-market component of Canadian Society” (Statistics Canada, 1997:69).
10. Housing: assess current state of hosing stock, evaluate future needs, national Housing Act and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Act, mortgage loan insurance programs, new homeowners insurance programs, land management programs, housing assistance programs, etc. this was asked of 20% sample instead of a 80% sample.
11. Income: social assistance, EI, Old Age Security Act, indicator of the economic well being of Canadians, only source of small area information on income, draw comparision between groups, sources of income, and to analyze income composition,
12. Indian Band/First nation membership and Treaty/Registered Indian: Employment equity act, Indian Act, Aboriginal Business Canada Program, and Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy.
13. Knowledge of English and French: Official Languages Act; Citizenship Act, Official Languages Support Program.
14. Knowledge of non-official languages: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Citizenship Acts, Multiculturalism Program.
15. Labour Market: can be used for EI, social assistance, education and training, Incorporation status, place of work, mode of transport to work, language at work
16. Language of work: insight into the vitality of official languagues among official and non official minority language groups, use of language on the job, linguistic integration assessment, integration of allophones immigrants into the labour force
17. Language: to administer Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Also need of language training, assess language skills, home language was added in 1971, to study linguistic assimilation in Canada and to evaluate language programs to help linguistic groups maintain their heritage and to assess which official languages are learned.
18. Languages learned at home: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Citizenship Acts, Multiculturalism Program.
19. Languages spoken at home: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Citizenship Acts, Multiculturalism Program.
20. Marital Status: for producing family data, population estimates, prior to 1991 common-law couples responded as married, analysis between legal marriage and co-habitation. Canada Child Tax Benefit, Old Age Security Program, Canada Pension Plan and Same sex couples
21. Mobility: Canada elections act, Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangement Act, Official Languages Support Program. Measure pop growth, migration in intercensal years, benchmark data to adjust intercensal estimates, migratory statistics, pop growth, mechanism used by the labour market to smooth out income and employment disparities, population estimates needed for the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements and Federal Post-Secondary Education and Health Contributions Act. I year mobilities was added here,
22. Mode of transportation to work: first time, meet the needs of users such as transportation planners and engineers, boards and market analysis. To plan urban growth and transportation networks, environmental impact and energy consumption with transportation.
23. Number or rooms / bedrooms: helps to evaluate overcrowding, dwelling size, housing condition and quality of life,
24. Period of construction: life cycle of buildings, housing renovations, emergency repair programs, RRAP programs,
25. Place of Birth of Parents: Citizenship Act, Immigration Act, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom (but this is a new question so…), second and third generation Canadians.
26. Place of birth: Citizenship Act, Canadian Multiculturalism Act, Immigration Act, adaptation to Canadian culture.
27. Place of work: used to assess commuting, and its impact on the lives of Canadians, to identify requirements for transportation, public service locations (e.g. schools), help urban transportation planners, traffic patter analysis,
28. Population Groups – Employment Equity Act, Official Languages Act, Canadian Multiculturalism Act,
29. Relationship to person 1: Canada Child Tax Benefit, Old Age Security Program, Canada Pension Plan.
30. Religions: Cultural Integration Program, Cultural Enrichment Program, Multiculturalism Program
31. Schooling: illiteracy, remedial programming, continuing education market, refreshing workers skills, (no legislation or program requirements with this one)
32. Shelter cost: National Housing Act, Canada Pension Plan, Canada Health and Social Transfer.
33. Unpaid Work: Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program, Women’s Program and National Advisory Council on Aging
34. Visible Minority – employment equity, status thereof,
35. Year of Immigration: Programs – Language instruction for New Comers to Canada; Independent, Sponsored Immigration and Refugees; Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program,
36. Yearly payment on shelter costs: estimate costs, developing and evaluating housing, welfare and public service programs

This is a list of only the major requirements, there are over 80 pieces of legislation and acts that require census data for the operationalization and implementation of the act’s related programs, services, etc.

• Ottawa Citizen: Statisticians go wild
• MaClean’s: Tony Clement needs you (II)
• My Two Census: Another Canadian Follow-up
• The News Ledger: NOMA – “A lack of current, accurate Census data will be especially challenging…”
  The Chronicle Herald: Opposition growing to Tories’ census changes http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1192184.html
• Restore Canada’s 2011 long form census is on Facebook
• CBC news: Census changes bad for public: economist
• New Democrats: Did I say media storm over the census?
• The Immigrants’ Canada: National Household Survey: Canadian Medical Association
• City Councilor Gord Perks
• Canada.com: Fraser Institute dismisses need for mandatory long-form census
• Toronto Star: Conservative and Liberal MPs ready to square off on census debate
• The Progressive Economist Forum: The Anti-Information Information Society, Brought To You By the Anti-Government Government
  
• Globe online poll: Census (the best part is I can vote many many times on this poll!)
• The Progressive Economist Forum: The Globe’s Experiment in Census-Taking http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2010/07/18/the-globe%E2%80%99s-experiment-in-census-taking/
• Post Media: Count on it: long-form census basic to decision-making in Canada
• Winnipeg Free Press: Statistics Canada never recommended census changes, multiple sources tell CP
• Global National News: Tories agree to explain decision to scrap long-form census
• Toronto Sun: Language czar launches probe into scrapping of long-form census
• Globe and Mail Editorial: Flawed arguments for census changes
• Globe and Mail: Placating Tory base on the census causes Harper government grief – Question remains whether the Conservatives will ride out the controversy or retreat in the face of united opposition
• A worthwhile Canadian Initiative: A question for Maxime Bernier
• A worthwhile Canadian Initiative: Libertarians and the census
• Ottawa Citizen: Chopsticks and onion rings – A lively new history contends that Chinese restaurants played an important role in the development of Canada’s small towns, Bruce Ward writes.
• Canadian Press: Tories want immediate hearings on census
• Runesmiths’s canadian Content: Fun Facts About the Census
• Toronto Star: Conservative and Liberal MPs ready to square off on census debate
• Canada.com: Tories agree to explain decision to scrap long-form census
• Macleans: Civil liberties are in the eye of the beholder
• A worthwhile Canadian Initiative: My Soultion To This Census Mess
• Globe and Mail: Long-form census? Nah, we’ll ask Paul the octopus
• List of Toronto Start Articles: Census Flap
• Globe and Mail: PM’s census policy senseless but great for the party
• National Post: Long-form census critical, group says
• Save the Census Coalition:
• la Presses Affaires: L’entêtement de Tony Clement
• Financial Post: Long-form census is too intrusive
• CBC News: Future of Sask. census prosecution in question
• le Soleil: Une décision qui favorise l’ignorance et l’obscurantisme
• Postmedia news: Count on it: long-form census basic to decision-making in Canada
• The Montreal Gazette: Fraser Institute’s
• Macleans: No comment
• The Immigrant’s Canada: Minister Tony Clement: Marc Garneau
• Le Devoir: Recensement – Les députés conservateurs veulent s’expliquer en comité Ceux qui nient le caractère intrusif du questionnaire long «ne savent pas de quoi ils parlent», croit Maxime Bernier
• The Chronicle Herald: Opposition growing to Tories’ census changes
• The Western Standard: WS on the census: Paul McKeever “Optional long form census a blow to racism”
• Liliath News: Stephen Harper hates StatsCan
• Pasco Phronesis Muddling Through Science and Technology Policy: Canada’s Counting Problem
• Sports News Now: Commuting snapshots across the Spacing map
• Institut de la statistique Quebec: 2011 CENSUS: IMPACT ON QUÉBEC
• Urban Futures Open Letter: Come to you Census!
• Canadian Jewish Congress: Taking the Measure of a Country
• Le Devoir: Huit questions pour décrire une société ?
  Pour les conservateurs, c’est parce qu’ils se méfient de l’État que les citoyens ne se plaignent pas du recensement
• Macleans: Sometimes a gaffe is more than a gaffe POTTER: The comedy of Clement failing basic economics aside, it’s scary that he doesn’t understand his file
• Mayor Dave Bronconnier of Calgary sent letters to the Federal Government (Clement and Calgary MPs) and the Premier of Alberta urging reinstatement of the census long-form.
• Times Colonist: Long census form has lasting value

Previous Posts.

• Toronto Star: Axing census questions adds up to trouble for Tories
  “Truly a stupid decision,’’ Liberal critic says
• The Province: Liberals want to recall committee to study census
• Liberals Art and Culture: Census 2011: Mauril Belanger Supports the Commissioner of Official Languages
• Canadian Institute of Planners: Letter
• Canadian Urban Institute: Proposed Changes on How Canada Collects Census Data Not in the Public Interest
• Lumina: 2011 Census (Reprise)
• The Contrarian: Harper’s Reformers vandalize the census
• The Kingston Whig Standard: Privacy watchdog satisfied with 2011 census
• Canadian Medical Association Journal: Ideology trumps evidence with new voluntary survey
• The Progressive Economics Forum: Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
• The Calgary Herald: Census censure
• Canada.Com: Tony Clement willing to testify before MPs about census
• Canadian Marketing Association: CMA calls on government to retain mandatory detailed census form
• Radio Canada: Québec désapprouve à son tour
• Le Soleil: Recensement: non à l’abandon du questionnaire long
• Worthwhile Canadian Initiative: Blame Stats Canada!
• G&M Poll:
• Individual Action: do something really boring today
• National Post: National Post editorial board: Leave the long-form census alone
• Creative Class: by Richard Florida Politics vs. Data
• Canadian News Wire: La CREPUQ s’oppose fermement à la décision du gouvernement fédéral d’abolir l’obligation de remplir la version longue du questionnaire du recensement de 2011
• Gouvernment du Quebec: RECENSEMENT 2011: IMPACTS POUR LE QUÉBEC
• Ottawa Citizen Editorial Board: Admit the mistake
• The Progressive Economics Forum: Jewish, Evangelical groups oppose census change
• CTV news: Jewish, Evangelical groups oppose census change

Lists:

• CAPDU: List of media stories from CIQSS at l’Universite de Montreal
• Canada Social Data Strategy
• David Eaves: Save the Census Coalition
• Canadian Council on Social Development
• Previous Post (Cumulative List of Media)

Conservative Bloggers:

• Pragmatictory: Big Census
• Doubleblind: Long Form Census-changes
• Barrelstrength: The Long Form Census What Were They Thinking