Harper’s census push months in the making – The Globe and Mail.

The controversy re the long form census continues. The link from datalibra details the various uses for the information in the long form. Kempton, in his blog laments the waste of all the previous censuses. The next point in the graph will be missing, he says.

The Globe and Mail reporter Michael Valpy interviews Harper’s thesis advisor, and he suggests the decision is ideologically driven by a “libertarian philosophy.”

Jane Tabor in the Ottawa Citizen says if you want libertarians, look to the seniors and they are angry over the decision and have no trouble with the privacy issue. The link to her column follows: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/retirees-wary-of-tory-census-move/article1651910/

A CARP conducted poll show the Tories slipping an amazing 10 points among their members, who are among the usually stalwart Tory voters.

I recall that my mother, who lived to almost 85, had trouble with the census in any form, not because of the questions, or the government having the information, but because it was a neighbour acting as census taker. She objected to someone in the community knowing her business. That doesn’t seem to be an issue for CARP members.

In medicine, samples have to be representative of the population being studied. If too many drop out, the study is invalid. I think we need the mandatory count so we can be sure of our information, and decisions based on it. Facts, not philosophy.