You'll recall that Conservative MP Maxime Bernier said that, when he was Industry Minister, he got “1,000 letters a day” at his MP's office during the last census complaining about the census. It sure would be great to see even a handful of those but, as they conveniently went to his MPs office and not his Minister's office (and thus cannot be access using Access to Information laws) where they were subsequently destroyed apparently, we'll just have to take his word for it.
Perhaps worried that his correspondence would similarly disappear, this constituent of Daryl Kramp, the Conservative MP who represents the riding that includes Belleville, Ont., thought it wise to send a copy to a reporter. To protect the constituent's privacy, I have removed the name and replaced it with an initial:
Minister Clement and Mr. Kramp
The scrapping of the Mandatory census has once again shown me the narrow thinking of the Conservative government. This was the one source of information for the Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments to develop policy directed at their constituents.
A voluntary survey will be ignored by most people even after the government throws away some 25 million dollars to promote it. This government seems to lack the forethought as to what will transpire without this necessary information about the population of Canada.
Please rethink this incorrect decision. WE need information about all the population which a mandatory census provides not the information that a select few who participate will. It has been proven time and again that volunteer survey are usually not done by those group that really should and no amount of government promotion will change that.
Thank you for listening to me and I hope you change your minds because the census is an important part of Canada.
Sincerely
K.
Belleville, ON
I hope this letter isn't the first that I'll receive from a plain old constituent. If you were writing your MP — on either side of the issue — I'd be happy to reproduce some of the good ones here.
Simply correct. Any private sector business cannot strategically plan effectively without the insight into their business – why is government any different. I don't want my government wasting even more of my tax dollars on bad investments resulting from ineffective planning. As tax payers, we should all aim for improved “ROI” in our country
I have been cranky, I will admit, when I have had to fill out the long form. But I did it because I grudgingly agreed with its usefullness. I will not fill out any long form if it is voluntary because the disclosure will not have the same level of reliability and usefulness. It becomes a waste of time and an unnecessary surrender of personal information.
“I will not fill out any long form if it is voluntary because the disclosure will not have the same level of reliability and usefulness.”
So Anonymous, the mere fact that completing the long-form census is no longer mandatory invalidates the information you provide?
Sorry, but that makes no sense whatsoever.
There have been reports some people answered Jedi under “religion” — I suppose to signify their objection. That happened with the mandatory long-form, which was sent to 1 out of 5 Canadian households. That means that some of those long forms were invalidated because the recipients were p***ed off by some of the questions.
Most Canadians being the kinder, gentler people that we reputedly are, don't you think that those who receive the long-form — 1 out of 3 households, so a larger sample — those who VOLUNTARILY fill it in will provide accurate information, since they do so willingly, without being p***ed off?
A voluntary census is probably the smartest idea I've heard come out of this government. The mere thought that people would rather be forced to do something that they would prefer to avoid over acting voluntarily towards a concept they feel is valuable is a laughable one.
All those haters out there who would prefer to ignore a voluntary census… your opinion is probably not going to be valuable anyway. While you're at it stay home come election day as well.
Well, as usual Gabby Q.C. will defend Harper to the hilt – what a sucker.
So, the Sun gets rid of quality reporters because KKKory wants them not tell the total truth.
Akin – where does that leave you? A puppet, or as immature and partisan as Teneycke?
It's not making you look very good
As usual, the commenter who prides him/herself in using the moniker “MyThought” shows just how devoid of any thoughts his/her little head is.
Because MT — which could aptly be interpreted as “empty” — disagrees with other commenters, (s)he resorts to insulting not only other commenters but also our host.
Examples?
In the thread “Killer mom walks; $16B fighter jets; lifeguard heroes: Friday's A1 headlines and political daybook” MT replies to another commenter:
by MyThought on Sun 18 Jul 2010 04:52 PM EDT
“Boy this is a partisan stretch and doesn't even make sense.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Nothing about the CBC to complain about there dude. You just want to rant right wing BS.
CBC, by the way, is not the subject. Do you have ADD or following the Con party instructions to flood all articles with partisan rants.
Do you not trust David Akin on this? I'm sure he knows much more about than you do.
Oh, oh, Mr. Harper says jump and partisans say how high.
How pathetic “
And yet MT was miffed and vexed that our host had decided to accept employment elsewhere, which of course didn’t meet with MT’s oh, so rigorous standards.
In the thread “Khadr, a Stampede first and a Bay Street lunch: Tuesday's A1 headlines and political daybook
by MyThought on Tue 13 Jul 2010 12:17 PM EDT
“Sinking, lower and lower and lower and lower. Saw today's editorial.
Pathetic.
No pride there Akin?”
See? As long as MT reads something that agrees with his/her POV, everything’s fine & dandy. Otherwise, it’s “pathetic.”
Look in the mirror, MT.