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Media Roundup July 29-Aug. 1

August 2, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, government, openmovement, policy, politics by Tracey | Permalink

Graphic By http://www.socialsignal.com/ Remind me to not go away during a censusless time!  Shesh catching is brutal.  But alas, I think I may have captured most of the media clips in the last few days.  There are quite a few, so get some tea and cookies!

well these cats could not have rhymed it bettah!

August 1, 2010 in Census, federal government, government, openmovement, policy, politics by Tracey | Permalink

It is for the 2010 US Census, however the substance of the song is the same for us!

Just a bit more late night census news

July 28, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, government, openmovement, policy, politics by Tracey | 2 comments

Graphic By http://www.socialsignal.com/

Tuesday & Wednesday Census Media Roundup

July 28, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, government, policy, politics by Tracey | Permalink

Graphic By http://www.socialsignal.com/Yesterday’s CPAC watching, and that thing called a job, means that I got a bit behind on my Census media round-ups.  Mia culpa!

Also, you will have noted that I post the articles as I find them, meaning they are not in any kind of chronological order or in any order of importance.  I may have missed one or two, and maybe a link is off.  If that is the case, just let me know and I will add and fix. Also, I am finding it hard to keep up. I must say reading the #census twitter feeds every morning is making me cross eyed!  Bref!  Please send stuff to help me keep the list up to date!

enjoy this loooooooog list.

3 important resources:

  1. Great francophone media Reviews & Roundups: pabsta aka Pier-Andre Bouchard St-Amant. He also maintains a fabulous list of ceux qui Appuis au questionnaire long obligatoire
  2. Another great insiders source: Canadian Association of Public Data Users (CAPDU)
  3. Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD): Long Form Census Tool Kit

Les manchettes / les clips:

About the National Statistics Council of Canada

July 28, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, government, openmovement, resources by Tracey | 4 comments

I am really excited to get information about Canada’s National Statistical Council.  Up and until recently all I knew about it was these 2 lines found in the deep lurkium about us section of the Statistics Canada Website.

Some time ago I called the StatCan general information line on numerous occasions, and asked officials about it.  All to no avail.  So I eventually submitted an ATIP request that StatCan has been working on for 2+ months. I still do not have the documents.  For some reason, the work of this Council is secret, as is its membership, as is what they are about.  I did however find some great papers that were submitted to it in the StatCan library.  The Library is a wonderful source of information as are their knowledgeable librarians.  Alas, they have come out of the closet as a result of this censuslessness.

If StatCan were more obvious with what it does and communicated its work more obviously, much of this whole censuslessness would have been much easier to counter.  For instance, other government agencies publish the legislation that govern them and/or mandates what they do.  StatCan does not have that information on their site.

In addition, all the justification about the questions they ask on the Census, how those questions came about, their public consultations are also available.  However one has to know the Agency really well to know where to find these, such as the names of the reports, and which sections of that report and so on.

Eccetera

Here is information about the National Statistical Council of Canada:

Council Role — Overview

The National Statistics Council advises the Chief Statistician of Canada on the full range of Statistics Canada’s activities, particularly on overall priorities. The government appoints Council members and its approximately 40 volunteer members represent sophisticated and diverse data users, researchers and those whose experience enables them to advise on priorities for the country’s statistical system.

A longer description, taken from the United Nation’s description of the Canadian statistical system, is included as another attachment (National Statistics Background.doc and here).

For those who may want to discuss statistical advisory bodies like the Statistics Council and, more generally, the relation between statistical agencies and governments, this is the subject of current research by Prof. Cosmo Howard in the Political Science department of the University of Victoria. howardc at uvic dot ca and has agreed to serve as a media contact on that subject.

It should be noted that Professor Howard is not associated with the Council, nor does he speak for it. He is, however, an expert on bodies like the National Statistics Council.

Also, here is a document that speaks about the Council in more detail:

Establishment of the National Statistics Council

In the early 1980s Statistics Canada embarked on a conscious program of strengthening its active consultative mechanisms with key clients and broadly based representatives of the national interest. Among the major new initiatives were the establishment of a series of bilateral senior committees with key federal departments – both clients and sources of data derived from administrative records (this supplemented already existing strong consultative mechanisms with the provinces); and some 10-15 professional advisory committees were set up. The latter involved experts (typically from outside government) in such areas as demography, labour, national accounting, price measurement, service industries, etc.

In 1985, the government established, at the apex of the Agency’s consultative mechanisms, the National Statistics Council. Its formal mandate is very brief: it is to “advise the Chief Statistician in setting priorities and rationalizing Statistics Canada programs”. In line with other aspects of Canadian policy in relation to statistical activities, a careful balance was attempted between policy relevance and professional independence.

Appointment process and membership

Members of the Council are appointed for a period of three years but subject to renewal. There are about 40 members. While there are no rules for representation, the following practice has generally been adhered to:

1. All members serve in their individual capacities – there are no formal representational appointments;
2. Most members are interested and prestigious analysts of some aspect of Canadian life, but few are professional statisticians;
3. Some members from Statistics Canada’s various professional advisory committees serve on the Council. This ensures the availability of a wide range of subject matter knowledge within the Council, as well as linkage with the Agency’s other advisory bodies;
4. A senior member from the Statistical Society of Canada sometimes serves;
5. At least one senior journalist on social or economic affairs is a member;
6. Membership is selected in such a fashion as to ensure appropriate knowledge of the different provinces and territories of Canada ;
7. No federal official is a member of the Council. This enhances the de facto independence of Council to “speak up” should it be necessary;
8. The Chief Statistician is an ex officio member;
9. An Assistant Chief Statistician serves as secretary.

A large proportion of the initial members, were appointed by the Minister from a list of persons recommended by the Chief Statistician. Subsequent appointments have been proposed to the Minister by the Chief Statistician following discussions with the Chairman of the Council.

As a result of these measures, the Council is a very knowledgeable, influential and broadly representative group. Indeed, its influence derives from the individual prestige of its members.

Agenda and Modus Operandi

The Council normally meets twice a year, each time for a day and a half. Regular agenda items are “Statements by Members” in which Council members may raise questions or concerns either for immediate response or subsequent discussion, and an in-depth report by the Chief Statistician on recent developments at Statistics Canada (including new substantive initiatives, forward planning, budgetary expectations). Other agenda items usually deal with major statistical or policy issues – such as: Census content, Environment statistics, Longitudinal data, Issues in social statistics, National accounts, Dissemination practices, Pricing policy, Privacy and record linkage, Contingency planning in the face of expected budget cuts, the Provincial component of the national statistical system, Significant statistical information gaps, etc.

Agenda items are selected from items raised by members and issues identified by Statistics Canada in discussions with the Chairman. From time to time a subgroup of the Council is formed to deal with particular issues (e.g. access to historical censuses) between Council meetings.

The Council generally provides feedback to the Chief Statistician through a discussion among its members. Consensus is usually (though not always) achieved.

Conclusion

There can be no doubt that members of the Council take their function seriously. The Chief Statistician regards their advice as being of very substantial benefit. In addition, through the prestige of its members and through precedent, Council has evolved into an additional and – should the need arise undoubtedly very influential – bulwark in the defence of the objectivity, integrity and long-term soundness of Canada’s national statistical system.

Monday Census Media Roundup

July 27, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, government, policy, politics by Tracey | 2 comments

Graphic By http://www.socialsignal.com/Hamilton Spectator: Local agencies support long-form census

The Chronicle Herald: Countering misinformation about the census

Le Devoir: Retrait du formulaire long du recensement – Les discussions se poursuivent: De l’autre côté de l’Atlantique, plusieurs pays ont aboli le recensement

New York Times: Lessons of the Census

Post Media: Statistics council suggests compromise to end census battle

Globe and Mail:  MPs grill Tony Clement, top statisticians over census changes

BI Professional: Why Data Quality Matters

CBC news: Stop the census presses! This just in from the National Statistics Council…

The Hook: Seniors’ group attacks voluntary census with a voluntary poll

The Toronto Star: Government-appointed advisory group says Canadians need full census info: National Statistics Council joins census debate the day before former StatsCan boss to speak out on why he quit

Globe and Mail: Three cheers for a hidden agenda!

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: All the latest on the census long-form debacle

Globe and Mail: Race is on to find compromise on census
Industry Minister Tony Clement testifies at 9 a.m. (ET) on Tuesday before the House of  Commons industry committee on the Conservatives’ decision to do away with the long-form census. With time running out, statistics council puts forth deal that aims to salvage mandatory survey and allay privacy concerns

Rabble.ca:  Lies, damned lies, and the census

Samara: Philosophy lives! (the census edition)

The Toronto Star: Walkom: The census kerfuffle isn’t about the census; it’s about Stephen Harper

The Record: Census cynicism? Worries raised over response rates for 2011 census and survey

Canadian Press: Will Canadians fill out the census and the survey?

Toronto Star: Government-appointed advisory group says Canadians need full census info National Statistics Council joins census debate the day before former StatsCan boss to speak out on why he quit

CBC:  UPDATED – CensusWatch: The Statistical Society of Canada, the Fraser Institute and Don Drummond? Now it’s a party!

Globe and Mail: Why did top statistician take so long to resign over census?

David Eaves: It was never about privacy…

National Post: Stephen Taylor: The beginning of the end of the Canadian welfare state

Globe and Mail: Harper’s census push months in the making
Prime Minister Stephen Harper waves to the crowd at a Calgary Stampede breakfast in on July 10, 2010. Scrapping the mandatory long form stems from libertarian convictions, insiders say.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami: Media Advisory Inuit to Address House of Commons Committee on Census Long Form

Globe and Mail: Retirees wary of Tory census move

National Statistical Council of Canada: Press Release

Post Media News:  Statistics council suggests compromise to end census battle

Government coercion in perspective: where does the long form of the census fit?

July 27, 2010 in Census, federal government, government, openmovement by Tracey | Permalink

Dr. Stanbury has been communicating with me over the past few weeks and has asked that I publish this Hill Times articled on Datalibre.ca.

Government coercion in perspective: where does the long form of the
census fit?: Filling out the long form census takes under 30 minutes, it does not ask about your sex life and no individual data have every been released. StatsCan officials know that their very existence depends on keeping individual data top secret.

By W.T. STANBURY <http://www.thehilltimes.ca/column/author/31> he is professor emeritus, University of British Columbia. Published July 26, 2010

The Hill Times

The core of the Harper government’s case for making the long form of the census voluntary (rather than mandatory for 20 per cent of households as it has been for 35 years) is that it is intrusive and coercive.

Here I examine the various types of coercion that are now or have been imposed by the federal government in an effort to put the mandatory long form into perspective.

The opponents of the government’s move to spend an additional $35-million to try to elicit one-third of households to volunteer to complete the long form (and I am one of them) need to deal directly and respectfully with the arguments for the change. Analysis can help here as in all policy issues.

The Government’s Arguments

The initial stated argument for the change in the census was as follows: “Our feeling was that the change was to make a reasonable limit on what most Canadians felt was an intrusion into their personal privacy in terms of answering the longer form,” Erik Waddell, spokesman for Industry Minister Tony Clement, said (Jennifer Ditchburn, Canadian Press, June 29, 2010).

Mr. Clement said the government’s decision (actually that of the PM personally, according to Jeffrey Simpson, The Globe and Mail, July 17, 2010) was “based on the fact that many Canadians had complained of the coercive and intrusive nature of the census, but Clement had not seen polling on the issue.”….According to Clement, “Every MP has had complaints like that so this year we decided to at least try another method that could be a sound method that would beat the issue of concern of degradation of data, and deal with the issue of coercion and too much intrusiveness,” (Ditchburn, Canadian Press, July 1,2010)

Mr. Clement said a week later that “Every four years, when the census is taken, Canadians flock to their local Member of Parliament to complain about being forced to answer ‘very intrusive questions,’” which cover everything from income to education level. “That’s the balance we’re trying to strike, between people who are concerned about that as opposed to the need for data,” (The Globe and Mail, July 7, 2010).

On July 13, 2010, Industry Canada issued a press release. “The government does not think it is appropriate to force Canadians to divulge detailed personal information under threat of prosecution.”

When told that the privacy commissioner had received less than a handful of complaints, Mr. Clement said that “If you’re concerned about government intrusion, you’re not likely to complain to another organ of government…. They would see it as compounding the issue if they complained,”(Steven Chase, The Globe and Mail, July 15, 2010).

Sen. Marjory LeBreton, who leads the Conservatives in the Senate, suggested nothing will be lost by moving to a voluntary long census. “There’s still going to be a long form,” she said in Ottawa. “The only difference is, this is voluntary. Canadians, I believe and we believe, will be very happy to fill in the long forms,” she said, (The Canadian Press, July 13,2010)

Maxime Bernier, a former minister of Industry, was quoted in a news story on July 18 saying that during the last census period in 2006, he received an average of 1,000 e-mail complaints a day while the survey was going on. (Heather Schofield, Canadian Press, July 18, 2010).

Treasury Board President Stockwell Day said “All we’re saying is, people shouldn’t be threatened with jail because they don’t want to tell some unknown bureaucrat how many bedrooms they’ve got in their house,” on Calgary radio station QR-77… “And you know, even prisoners of war only have to give their name, rank and serial number,” (quoted by Steven Chase, The Globe and Mail blog, July 23,2010).

Editorial Support

By July 24, only one newspaper editorial supported the government. (In contrast, The Globe and Mail has published five editorials opposing the change: July 12, 19, 21, 22, 24).

Here is the core of its argument of the Toronto Sun on July 20,2010: “Call us crazy, but we believe the less the government knows about our personal lives the better. Big Brother is so … well, so 1984.It’s also more reminiscent of the constraints of communism than the freedoms of democracy….We hope this bully-boy tactic—either fill it out or face prosecution—is forever down for the count…. If it [the state ] has no business in the bedroom, then it has absolutely no business knowing how many bedrooms are in our homes.”

For a wonderful deconstruction of the Sun’s editorial, see Robert Silver, Globe and Mail blog, July 20,2010

Legitimate Exercise of Coercion

In a democratic society, sovereignty rests with the people. They delegate to their elected representatives authority to make laws which are ultimately backed by coercion. Thus the people arrange to be coerced by the government they establish. The power to impose coercion is—properly—tightly circumscribed. First, both Houses of Parliament must approve the laws under which coercion can be exercised. Second, the civil right of individuals are protected in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, part of the 1982 Constitution. Third, in almost every case, coercion on the form of monetary penalties or imprisonment cannot be imposed until after a trial has been held before a court or court-like tribunal. In all cases, there are rights of appeal, usually in two stages. Fourth, in some cases, individuals can appeal to one or more specialized bodies which have a measure of independence to investigate allegations of improper action by a government department or agency.

Coercion in Perspective

Coercion by the state is always a matter of degree. Clearly the most coercive act by the state is the imposition of the death penalty after due process of law. (Canada eliminated the death penalty for murder on July 14,1976. The last execution was in 1962). Next might come the imposition of the draft for military service in time of war. (Note that the death rate varies greatly by branch of service and particular types of assignment.) Somewhat less coercive is imprisonment for a long tern (up to life) after due process of law. (But we know that the actual sentence may be far less than the one handed down at trial.) Then would come a large fine—by large I mean large relative to the person’s ability to pay—and which also ensures that there are no ill-gotten gains from the crime. And then we come to fines for parking tickets (at the local level) and civil monetary penalties (for example, the Ethics Commissioner can impose a penalty of up to $500 for failure to file the required information.)

Taxes are by definition compulsory levies, and in Canada the overall tax burden is high because we have a welfare state. People understand that if they fail to pay the taxes levied by government, they could be fined ,hit with penalties exceeding the unpaid taxes, and—just possibly—be put in jail.

Long Form as Coercion

So how coercive was the mandatory long form of the Census? Every five years a random sample of 20 per cent of households were selected to complete the 53-question long form. This task–done only by an adult for the entire household–usually took less than 30 minutes. The questions may probe what some define as intimate matters, but the responses are not just confidential—they are treated as top secret by Statistics Canada. The agency takes great pride in keeping individual files secret, and in preventing inferences about small groups of individuals from published information.

How many people would be required to respond to the long form? About 1.1 million persons out of a total population of some 34.2 million as of July 1,2010. Here is the calculation. The average size of households is 2.5 persons, based on the 2006 census—so that means 13.7 million households. A 20 per cent random sample equals 2.74 million households. But only one adult in each household answers the questions—so divide by 2.5 to get a total of 1.1 million..

Despite the possible use of coercion, StatsCan relies—as do the income tax authorities—on voluntary compliance. They are prepared to make several call backs and/or telephone calls to urge compliance. Officials know that the maximum fine that can be imposed if a case is taken to court is $500. In theory ,a judge could jail a person for non-compliance, but there is no record of this ever being done. Section 31 of the Statistics Act provides for these penalties: “fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.”

Prosecution can take years to reach a resolution. For example, Saskatoon-based activist Sandra Finley continues to fight the federal government in court over her refusal to return the 2006 census, (Ditchburn, Canadian Press, July 1, 2010).

In summary terms, the average Canadian adult will be chosen to fill out the long form once in a lifetime. The task will take under 30 minutes. Some of the questions may be puzzling, but they do not ask about anyone’s sex life. (That is left to Oprah and some other talk show hosts.) Finally, no individual’s data have ever been released. StatsCan officials know that their very existence depends on keeping individual data top secret.

Conclusion

When compared to the full range of coercion exercised by the federal government, that related to the long form of the census is the most mild. And there are very good reasons why it is mandatory. A random sample (in this case 20 per cent of households, not individuals) is the only scientific way (short of a 100 per cent count) of assuring that the data will not be biased in ways that are impossible to determine precisely.

W.T. Stanbury is professor emeritus, University of British Columbia.

news@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times

Canadian Census Compromise and New Chief

July 26, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, government, openmovement, policy, politics by Tracey | 3 comments

Here is a proposal that is on the table by the National Statistics Council of Canada:

The issue of the long form census has to be settled first. The outlines for a compromise solution were contained in a statement, issued yesterday, by the National Statistics Council. I fully endorse their ideas: :

  1. Restore the compulsory long form or make the equivalent National Household Survey compulsory;
  2. Repeal from the Statistics Act any mention of jail as a penalty for not completing the long form or an equivalent compulsory National Household Survey.
  3. For all future censuses introduce a series of explicit tests that would determine whether a proposed census question passes an appropriate balance between critical need for information and privacy.
  4. Instruct Statistics Canada to run tests, in time for recommendations about the 2016 census, concerning the possible impacts of a voluntary long form census.

a separate source is recommending the following regarding the appointment of a New Chief Statistician:

A new Chief Statistician has to be found with impeccable credentials and high credibility. Furthermore, the process should be, and should be seen as being totally transparent.[ It is] suggest[ed] the appointment of a search committee of eminent persons (such as the chair of the National Statistics Council, President of the Statistical Society of Canada, Chief Justice of Canada, President of the Royal Society of Canada, retired clerks of the Privy Council or others of similar credibility and profile). The committee would submit to the government a short list from which the Chief Statistician would be selected. It is utterly essential that in the midst of this crisis the next Chief Statistician be a person who is, and who was selected by a process, that is visibly above partisan fray.

Weekend Census Media Roundup

July 26, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, government, openmovement, policy, politics by Tracey | Permalink

NJN Network: Scrapped mandatory census cuts even deeper for disability advocacy group – Disability advocacy groups have major challenge ahead following cuts to the census and StatsCan’s disability survey

The Hill Times: Census uproar impacts ‘broader narrative’ of PM’s relationship with public service. Some say the issue will remind voters of a string of incidents in which the government has interfered with the federal public service.

Cyberpresse: Quand Stephen Harper aimait le recensement

Hill Times: Shine a light census blow-back

Globe and Mail: Scrapped mandatory census cuts even deeper for disability advocacy group Disability advocacy groups have major challenge ahead following cuts to the census and StatsCan’s disability survey

Globe and Mail: Why the census matters just about everywhere

Globe and Mail: Flaherty defends Tory census plan Finance Minister says Canadians will fill in voluntary census for ‘the good of the country’

Yahoo News: Political firestorm rages over Canadian census

Worthwhile Canadian Initiative: Why a Mandatory Census is Necessary

Toronto Star: Why the long census matters

105 Creations: Why we need to keep the long-form Census.

Le Devoir: Recensement – Ottawa doit faire marche arrière
Seul le quart des Canadiens jugent que le gouvernement Harper doit maintenir sa décision de retirer le formulaire long obligatoire

Globe and Mail: Harper’s census push months in the making Scrapping the mandatory long form stems from libertarian convictions, insiders say

Right of Centre: My Census Email to Peter Braid (CPC – KW)

CBC: Clement to face MPs on census

Vancouver Sun: Six things you should know about the Tories’ census change

Macleans: What time do you leave for work? Ottawa’s never actually asked

Why the Census Matters UIA and Jewish Federation. This is a great summary of the Issues. I am not in favour of the make due approach that is discussed, however, the speaker does qualify the statement with the fact that analysis can be done but not longitudinally. Meaning the new baseline for social analysis in Canada would become 2011 – we start over at ground zero.

Census: Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology

July 23, 2010 in Census, federal government, government, openmovement by Tracey | 2 comments

HOUSE OF COMMONS
3rd Session, 40th Parliament

A study of the long-form portion of the Census

Televised 9-10AM.

NOTICE OF MEETING

Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology

AMENDED

Meeting No. 29
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Room 253-D, Centre Block
(613-996-4916)

Appearing

Tony Clement, P.C., M.P., Minister of Industry

Witnesses

Panel I

Department of Industry

Richard Dicerni, Deputy Minister

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Panel II

As individuals

Ivan P. Fellegi
Former employee of Statistics Canada
Ancien employé de Statistique Canada

Munir Sheikh
Former employee of Statistics Canada
Ancien employé de Statistique Canada

12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Panel III

Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Martin Simard, Research Professor
Department of Human Resources
Départment des sciences humaines

York University

David Tanny, Associate Professor
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Départment de mathématiques et statistiques

2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Panel IV

  • Carleton University Library Data Centre
  • Ernie Boyko, Adjunct Data Librarian
  • 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Panel V

  • National Citizens’ Coalition
  • Peter Coleman, President and Chief Executive Officer
  • Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
  • Elisapee Sheutiapik, Board Member
  • Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
  • To be determined

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