Industry committee  Yes. My concern is particularly with the government's ability, or the minister's ability subject to Governor in Council approval, to overrule the chief statistician on a methodological issue on how to take a survey with a census. There is no national interest that should allow

Industry committee  It's there now, but it can be over-ruled by the minister....

Industry committee  I'd like that to be removed, the over-ruling—

Industry committee  —on methodological issues.

Industry committee  There isn't a single right number, but I think that 10 goes quite far if one wants to incorporate in that statistics advisory committee or council the variety of disciplines that Statistics Canada is active in and that need to be considered in terms of priorities. Here I refer to

Industry committee  I was happy when it was 40.

Industry committee  It was working. It didn't try to vote on anything. It came to consensus, and sometimes with dissenting views, which is quite appropriate, but it provided extremely valuable advice—

Industry committee  —to me throughout my tenure.

Industry committee  Yes, I agree.

Industry committee  It also provides service in the case of a crisis. There are knowledgeable spokespersons in a variety of locations and disciplines who can actually defend, from an independent perspective, outside of Statistics Canada's perspective, when Statistics Canada needs defence. It's a ver

Industry committee  —those are the numbers that you—

Industry committee  Exactly.

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. I mentioned that I had personal experience with how the currently proposed process wouldn't work. That was in the late seventies when Statistics Canada—and this is forgotten now—was in deep trouble and was a public scandal-ridden organization. All th

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is a double personal pleasure to appear before your committee to discuss proposed changes to the Statistics Act. After a period of formal association with Statistics Canada extending fully over 60 years, 23 as chief statistician of Canada and another ni