Human Resources committee  I think the issue, just to reiterate, is that it has been shown in research work around the world, across this country, and by very many statisticians that it is in fact the groups you have highlighted who will be less likely to participate in the voluntary surveys, and who therefore will be missed.

Human Resources committee  Would the government not be interested in finding solutions to encourage participants if they believe that the long-form census provided value for them?

Human Resources committee  In the work that we've done, it's really similar to the work that's done across the country by researchers. The data you get in the census is often quite different from the data you get in a voluntary survey. This is why people are talking about non-response bias. For example, if we look at age, younger people tend to be less likely to participate in voluntary surveys.

Human Resources committee  I'd like to interject and add that we do voluntary surveys that count on census data for accuracy to weigh and adjust the data. We're very involved in how not to punish people for not participating, but if we flip it over and talk about how we encourage people to participate in this kind of research, and the value of it, I do know that the census people are very cognizant of this, and they do actually go out to homes and sit with people, and fill it out with them.