English | Français | Floor In Committee from the House of Commons

Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (July 27, 2010)
Members met in Ottawa to hear testimony on the government’s plan to make the long census form voluntary instead of mandatory.

Industry Minister Tony Clement was questioned over the government's decision to eliminate the mandatory long-form census. The Conservatives have been heavily criticized for their plan to switch to a voluntary survey. Munir Sheikh resigned on July 21^st, as chief statistician of Statistics Canada over the dispute.

In the second panel, Sheikh and his predecessor, Ivan Fellegi, provided their views.

In the third panel, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi professor Martin Simard, Statistical Society of Canada president Don McLeish, York University professor David Tanny, and Québécois Libre English editor Bradley Doucet discussed the government's decision to eliminate the mandatory long-form census.

The committee continued its hearings on the census issue with testimony from Ernie Boyko (adjunct data librarian at the Carleton University Library Data Centre); Don Drummond (chair of the Advisory Panel on Labour Market Information); Paul Hébert (editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal); Darrell Bricker, president of IPSOS Canada; and Niels Veldhuis (senior research economist at the Fraser Institute, via videoconference from Vancouver).

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, National Citizens' Coalition president Peter Coleman, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami board member Elisapee Sheutiapik, employment lawyer Paul McKeever, and Marie-France Kenny, president of the Canadian Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities, testified on the final panel.