July, 2010. The Government of  Canada has announced that the 40-question long form will be voluntary in the 2011 Census. The short form will continue to be mandatory. And Lockheed Martin Corporation remains involved in the Census

We consider this a step in the right direction. Canadians who conscientiously object to the invasiveness of Census questioning, or who conscientiously object to taxpayer money going to foreign corporations, especially Lockheed Martin (Canada) should not face the possibility of a 6 month jail sentence and/or a $500 fine.  That is the sort of coercion one might expect to find in certain third world countries, but not in Canada

We still have a problem with the privacy issue. And nothing has changed so far is our other concerns of  foreign corporations in general and Lockheed Martin in particular involved in the census and receiving public money. Or our concern about job loss for thousands of temporary census workers who have tended to be lower-income Canadians trying to earn a little extra money to make ends meet.

We are astounded and disappointed that several groups and organizations are pressuring the government to reverse its decision and continue having the long census form mandatory. The groups include: The Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives CCPA (whose magazine listed Lockheed Martin as one of the 10 worst corporations in the world); The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT); the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and particularly disappointing, the Federal Liberal Party.

We reject their argument that a mandatory long census form is absolutely needed to get reliable data for such things as transfer payments or social assistance.  All other polls, such as Ipsos-Reid are voluntary. Yet nobody questions the statistical validity of such polls. Solid statistical data will still be available to groups and organizations, just as before.

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