Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciate my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan's effort to present the Conservatives as the true defenders of evidence-based policy.
It is possible that the legislation we are debating this evening was motivated by the recent resignation of the chief statistician. However, the last time a chief statistician resigned was under the former Conservative government in response to its decision to eliminate the mandatory long-form census.
Therefore, could the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan educate us as to how eliminating the mandatory long-form census supported the commitment of the Conservatives to evidence-based policy?