Human Resources committee  Good morning. My name is Rob Rainer. I am the executive director of Canada Without Poverty. Madam Chair, I have seven copies of speaking notes, if someone would like to pass those out to committee members. I have just a few words about the organization. It's a registered chari

Human Resources committee  Thanks, Mike. I was just reviewing this internal Statistics Canada report, which is really interesting. Have committee members seen this document? Maybe I can get a copy to the clerk or someone. It should be distributed to all committee members, because this is right from with

Human Resources committee  What's really behind this is up to the government, I think, to answer. It seems like their response rests on the privacy issue and their concerns about privacy. But to me, it's a bogus argument. Statistics Canada has rigorous protection of the private nature of this information,

Human Resources committee  Sure. Thanks, Tony. Again, the process that has been in place for determining the content of the census had the appropriate checks and balances to ensure appropriate information was being collected. The first step is to consult with data end-users to assess their socio-economic

Human Resources committee  No. As I said, we don't support the threat of jail time for a census. It seems very much disproportionate to the weight of the so-called offence. But as I said, I think the notion of a citizen's obligation to support the data upon which a lot of decision-making rests, within the

Human Resources committee  Well, you're giving some examples of types of questions where obviously there could be room for debate on whether or not we think those are suitable--

Human Resources committee  No, I don't agree with you. It seems, from what the experts were saying, that the mandatory nature of the census is what drives higher rates of compliance and better confidence in the resulting data. If you go with a voluntary basis, and I think the internal StatsCan survey bears

Human Resources committee  The same logic must also apply to the short-form census. If a private citizen or a private interest comes to my door and asks if I'm married and how many people live in the house, that is none of their business. But if the federal government comes to my door and asks that questi

Human Resources committee  If that's the level of the fine, I think that is disproportionate.

Human Resources committee  I don't really want to hazard an opinion on that. I'd have to give that some more thought. In Australia, I understand if you fail to vote, there's a fine of something like $20, which seems to be a little bit on the low side, but there's obviously a medium there that has to be de

Human Resources committee  The only specific example I can give you is that PALS survey that someone mentioned on disability. In fact, we're part of a research project led by university researchers who rely on the PALS survey for their information. I know there have been other surveys that have been drop

Human Resources committee  I do think they're very important questions. I think every question on both the short-form census and the long-form census can be objectively assessed for the value the data will bring to society. It should go through that scrutiny. If a question doesn't meet the test of value, t

Human Resources committee  But the long-form census results in the bulk of data being collected. So if all of those questions are moved to a voluntary basis, you're essentially putting at risk the credibility or the reliability of data for the bulk of the information--

Human Resources committee  That's correct.

Human Resources committee  Yes.