Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Arora. This is a great conversation.
I used to use the CANSIM reports when I was in business. The Canadian paper industry was going through transition. I reported to a board of directors in Europe that asked where the emerging markets were that would substitute for the business we were doing in the paper industry. We looked at wind turbines and steel mills. We got some of those customized reports, and paid what it cost for those. In terms of our business it was very important to have good data.
Europe seemed to always be one step ahead of us on data, and I had to report to Europe. As a Canadian business director, it made it difficult for me.
Now I look at the labour force surveys. I wait for the Friday that they come out because in my riding we have 3.6% unemployment. There's a lot of stress on business to find workers. We need data for the business community in my riding.
The not-for-profits that are working on poverty elimination are looking for data. They were more concerned than I was when the long-form census was cancelled.
When we went from the long-form census being mandatory to voluntary, what was the impact on data? The people in the not-for-profit sector said, “Now we're drifting. We don't know where we're at.”
Could you let us know what happened there?