Immigrants felt threatened by measure, says minister Clement
Published August 27 , 2010
By Martin C. Barry • NEWSFIRST
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement
Citing the emotional impact that mandatory surveys often have on newly-arrived immigrants to Canada, Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement is unapologetic about his government’s plans to remove threats of jail time for persons refusing to fill out the census or any other mandatory survey administered by the federal government.
Seeking a balance
“I would agree that we’ve got to make sure that people have confidence that data is not abused,” Clement said in a phone interview with NPEN on Aug. 12. “I will also tell you, however, I have heard a story from a census taker from the last census in 2006 who said that because of the mandatory nature of the long-form census, new immigrants to this country were in tears, they were crying, they felt they would be deported if they didn’t fill out the form.
“Of course that’s not true, but that’s how they felt,” he added. “It was a time of great stress and anxiety for them for filling out this government form. And so we’ve got to do a better job. I think we’ve handled part of the problem by making it clear that there won’t be penalties for not filling out the long form.”
The Conservative government’s announcement in June that it intends to scrap the long-form mandatory census has stirred up probably the noisiest political controversy that Ottawa has seen this summer. While Clement, who oversees Statistics Canada which handles the census, defends the government’s decision, fierce criticism of the move has come from social groups, businesses, think-tanks and provincial authorities, who all maintain that dropping the long form will seriously compromise census taking.
Clement added, “We’re trying to have a fair and reasonable balance between society’s, business’s and the provinces’ desire for more and more data, balance that interest with the interest of some Canadians — not all but some — who have a conscientious objection to responding with intimate and personal details about their lives to agents of the government. So that’s the balance we’re trying to strike. We’re still moving forward with a 40-page long-form survey and we will be encouraging Canadians to fill out that survey.”
Sample size to double
Clement said the government plans to double the number of households that will be receiving that survey to one in three to compensate for the change it wants to implement. “That’s a huge sample size, and we’ll be working with Stats Can on the issue of selection bias,” he said. Selection bias is a statistical concept which deals with errors committed when choosing individuals or groups to take part in a census or survey.
“We feel, based on the advice that we have received, that we will be able to get useful and reliable data from that survey, without threatening massive fines of up to $500 or jail time for those Canadians who feel they have a conscientious objection to giving that information.” According to Clement, the number of complaints about being forced to divulge personal information has been rising with each census in recent years.
Taking it in stride
Asked whether he was surprised by the furor the Stats census long-form issue has stirred up, Clement replied, “There’s always something or other that comes up during the summer. Sometimes governments have issues that they don’t anticipate. Two years ago it was the listeriosis issue, so these things do crop up. But it’s not my job to be surprised or unsurprised.
“It’s my job to do the right thing and to make the right decision for Canadians and for Canada and that’s what I’m doing. It’s funny in politics. Sometimes there are things you think would be more controversial but there’s no reaction. Other things that you think are fairly straightforward become a matter of public debate. But that’s just part of the territory.”