Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you all. It's a pleasure to be here today.
I'm here along with Katherine Scott, our vice-president of research, who's also been appointed director of programs at the Vanier Institute.
As you all likely know, CCSD is Canada's longest-established social policy organization. We were founded in 1920 by Charlotte Whitton. We have a long history of working collaboratively with successive Canadian governments. CCSD developed the concepts of some of our most fundamental social programs in the country, including EI, disability, and old age pension, at a time when Canadians needed it most.
One of our flagship programs is called the community social data strategy. This is a pan-Canadian partnership where members collectively purchase about $900,000 worth of census data at a discounted rate. Consortium members include police services, municipalities, United Ways, provincial government departments, and front-line service agencies, just to name a few.
Our partners use the data to respond to troubling trends in their local communities. The information allows communities to focus their efforts at the neighbourhood level, making better use of our tax dollars and targeting services that respond to those most in need. Yes, we're talking about $1 million worth of revenue for the government, and now we're at a point where we have to determine whether or not we would purchase it at all.
As we've said many times since the decision was taken, losing the long-form census is equal to the government turning off Canada's navigation system. Those in government who support this decision must consider the impact of this decision very carefully. For over five months now, Canadians certainly have, and their response has been unequivocal. Over 370 organizations have come forward in opposition to this decision. They represent every aspect of Canadian life. Hundreds of others have spoken out more quietly, as they fear there could be repercussions for their organizations if they were more public in their criticism. Over 17,000 Canadians have petitioned for a reversal of the decision; 11,000 more have joined a Facebook page.
As we all know, Canada's chief statistician resigned in protest. Opposition parties have been unanimous and vocal in their condemnation, and challenges have been launched in the Federal Court. Tens of thousands of ordinary Canadians have written and called and visited their MPs to voice their concerns. Polling on this decision has been quite consistent as well, showing 60% of Canadians want the decision reversed.
For so many, it is inconceivable that our government would choose to navigate the country's current and future direction without the most comprehensive source of information that is universally relied on as a tool to respond to the needs and priorities of every Canadian, doing so against the advice of experts across the country.
And the experts have been clear: a voluntary survey will underrepresent significant communities, such as aboriginal Canadians, Canadians living with disabilities, and visible minorities. A voluntary survey will underrepresent the numbers and skew the service needs of marginalized communities across this country. This under-counting will be most evident at the local neighbourhood level, rendering this data virtually unusable for local service planning and depriving the under-counted of the services to which they're entitled. In essence, we will look whiter, more middle class, and in need of less government support.
Despite the government's contention that it is too late to reverse this decision, we know it is not. A simple cover letter from the chief statistician, our Prime Minister, placed on every national household survey could make it mandatory: yes, a note could make this all go away. Until the surveys reach our mail boxes, there's an opportunity to restore the long form.
If the logistics of implementing a reversal requires time for StatsCan, there is no magic in a spring census. As Ivan Fellegi has said, move the census to the fall. The most important thing here is to get it right. Why pay more and get less?
This is worth fighting for, and we're pursuing every possible option to have this decision reversed. CCSD, along with 12 other organizations in the country, have launched a legal challenge in the Federal Court defending Canadians' equal right to be counted. Partners in our challenge include the Canadian Arab Federation, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and many others.
You need not look far to determine where these data are used. Each and every one of us in this room today has likely used and most certainly has benefited from this information.
Let's be honest: this is an experiment, and a costly one. Statistics Canada itself has said that it has never conducted a survey of this scale, nor does it know if the country has anything in place to actually mitigate the unanticipated negative impacts. One thing it does know is that there will be a significant non-response bias--that is, people who don't respond tend to have characteristics different from those who do. StatsCan says that the voluntary survey will just not be representative of all Canadians.
The moral, legal, and economic dimensions of this decision just don't add up. We're selling our children's future, weakening evidence that will direct how and where tax dollars are spent, and further weakening our social infrastructure at a time when we all know we need it the most--and we're doing so by discriminating against some of the most vulnerable groups in this country.
I'm now going to turn it over to Katherine Scott, if time allows, to provide some additional opening comments.