Ottawa’s decision to make the long-form census voluntary instead of compulsory for a small number of Canadians continues to draw heat.
The Planning Institute of British Columbia (PIBC) is now blasting federal industry minister Tony Clement for being short sighted.
“Census data is the single most important socio-economic data source for most municipalities, and likely the only data source for small or rural communities,” said PIBC president Lindsay Chase. “Only Statistics Canada can produce comprehensive and accurate demographic and socio-economic information which can be used economically at all levels of society.”
The federal government’s decision unleashed fury among statisticians when it announced in late June it would eliminate the long-form census and replace it with a voluntary national household survey, which is slated to be sent to one-third of households along with the eight-question short-form census.
Organizations such as the Fraser Institute have told Business in Vancouver they are supportive of the initiative because it believes that Canadians should not be forced to disclose private and “non-essential” personal information to the government.
Planners, however, believe the long-form census data is necessary to make decisions regarding transportation, infrastructure, social services and economic development.
PIBC represents members who do various sorts of planning. Some do land use planning while others’ work relates to environmental resource management, land development, heritage conservation or transportation planning.