Canada's Official Languages Commissioner is questioning the Canadian government's decision to make a major part of the census voluntary.
Graham Fraser has launched an investigation to determine whether the move compromises the requirements of the Official Language Act.
In the past, the entire census has been compulsory, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced last month that the long-form survey would now be sent to only one in three households. They would not be obligated to return it.
The decision has worried some public officials, as the long-form census survey collects essential data on areas such as language, which is then used to inform public policy.
In an official statement, Fraser said, "When it comes to making decisions on offering services in both official languages and to evaluating the size of official language communities, information about people's mother tongue, language spoken in the home and knowledge of both official languages are all used."
By dropping the more detailed long-form survey, "some people, especially newcomers, [would be] effectively counted out," he added.
Industry Minister Tony Clement defended the government's actions, however, saying that Canadians had complained that the long-form survey was coercive and intrusive.
The Official Languages Commissioner is not the only person to have found fault with the government's decision. The Canadian Marketing Association highlighted the loss of information that supports "the growth of the Canadian economy, jobs, and its tax base."
The Canadian census takes place every five years. The next will be carried out in 2011.
19 July 2010
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