Researchers at the Université de Montréal and McGill University use RAMQ data to establish links with census data for planning in terms of populations. So it is very important. The impact is very real. And I find it very troubling that the real impact of cancelling the census has not been evaluated.
The costs would be staggering. They include not just the $30 million for a larger census, but more importantly the effects on all government research and planning, which have not been evaluated.
If I were making the decision, if I were in your shoes, I would make sure to do the census this time around and to create committees to look into limiting the consequences for Canadians. No matter what, you have to have a government-mandated census, otherwise the impact and the costs would be staggering. If all of you, in your communities, tried to find this information, you would not be able to, and the costs to everyone and every organization concerned would be huge. In my view, we are not able to do that right now.