And the survey says...

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: August 17, 2010 7:00 PM

Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes didn’t stray from the party line when he was questioned about scrapping the mandatory long-form census. Reading from the Harper hymnal, Mayes indicated that Canadians were being muscled by the Stats Canada stormtroopers. “The issue for us is there are threatening messages on the forms. If you don’t fill them out, you could be jailed or fined,” he said. “We don’t want to make it compulsory.”

I’ll have to remember that when income tax comes due next year — just forget the threats of jail and penalties if I don’t send in the form by the deadline. And that required personal information like whether I am married or have children can be cast aside. Revenue Canada is full of pussycats — they’ll understand. But while the Conservatives refuse to budge, the opposition to replacing the mandatory long-form census with a voluntary version continues to grow.

And the latest is that notorious hot bed of radicalism — the City of Vernon. “Without the long form, we don’t have access to labour force data. We also can’t get information on income levels,” said Kevin Poole, the city’s economic development officer. A lot of this information is scrutinized by companies shopping around for a town to invest in. “They want the data to be the same and the majority of the data comes from the long-form census,” said Poole. So the government that claims to be pro-business and to have led us out of the desolation known as recession is stripping away valuable information that businesses and economic development offices across the country rely on. Municipalities, provinces and non-profit groups also depend on data from the census to ensure social programs are in place to meet the diverse needs of the public. Since no tangible reason has been given for the census changes, the actions of Ottawa can only be described as ideological. There is skepticism about the use of statistics, whether it’s over climate change, crime rates or the census, because they go directly against Conservative beliefs. But there’s absolutely no questioning numbers that show Harper and the gang in the lead over Canada’s other political parties.

Some of the questions on the census form may also offend the more libertarian roots of the Conservative Party - those individuals who believe government has no place in the private lives of Canadians. But pandering to a fringe element just to preserve votes is not how a country should be run. Instead of repeating sound bites from the prime minister and Industry Minister Tony Clement, Mayes should consider why those supporting the government on this issue wouldn’t fill a phone booth and those opposed represent a vast cross-section of society. What other issue could galvanize the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Fellowship of Christian Evangelicals, the Vancouver Board of Trade, the right-wing C.D. Howe Institute and the Canadian Labour Congress? As a former mayor of Salmon Arm, Mayes should understand the relevancy of statistics when it comes to cities determining what programs are required and where money should be spent. You don’t just move ahead if there’s nothing to back it up.

Vernon council may only consist of seven people but they are the elected representatives for the largest community in Mayes’ riding. Their concerns deserve to be actually considered instead of just handing out more stale rhetoric.