This is absolutely essential. For the first time, we will have a complete picture of all those whose children are entitled to attend a French-language school. It also means that there will be some pretty significant changes in terms of the government investments needed to support the infrastructure of our schools and the spaces in those schools.
In the west and in the north, there has often been a tug of war over numbers. I think this will be a game changer, but not in adversity.
All governments will now have the data required to meet the needs of francophones, and that is a very good thing. However, this commitment must not be for one census, but for all future censuses.