Something more effective

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 1:04 PM - 0 Comments

Ken Boessenkool, a former advisor to Stephen Harper, and economist Jack Mintz take up the census debate in search of something somehow better.

Recently, the U.S. dropped its every-five-year long-form census in favour of annual surveys to provide up-to-date information for policy analysis. European governments are using various databases to improve analysis without requiring long census forms that are collected only once every five or 10 years.

For all these reasons, the debate over the mandatory long-form census is overdue and seeking a replacement is timely. If anything, the government should create a task force to look at new ways of collecting information that would serve Canadians better and provide more data for evidence-based public policy.

As has been noted, moving to the sort of system used in some European countries would raise other concerns about the privacy of citizens. As for the United States, it has indeed replaced its decennial (once every ten years) long-form census with an ongoing “American Community Survey.” Here is a copy of the 2010 ACS. You’ll perhaps notice that it includes 48 area of inquiry, including some of the same questions Messrs Bossenkool and Mintz lament as needlessly invasive in the Canadian context. The ACS is also mandatory. Those who willfully neglect to participate are potentially subject to a fine of as much as $5,000 (ten times the maximum for not filling out the census in Canada).

Canada climate-change hoax of the week

By Colby Cosh - Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 9:43 AM - 74 Comments

Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t the one by the Yes Men.

The Commons: Peter MacKay picks a fight with God

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 6:46 PM - 0 Comments

With few left on this earthly realm to denounce, the government wits seek a higher target

The Scene. John McCallum rose first with an astonishing theory.

“Every economist knows that GST cuts do much less than income tax cuts for productivity,” he said, “but the Prime Minister was more interested in political gimmicks than sound economics.”

A nation gasped. Our Prime Minister? Stephen Harper? Political gimmicks? Surely the honourable member jests. Surely he will retract his statement forthwith.

Or not. No matter though because here came our right honourable PM, all too thankful for the opportunity to defend himself.

“Every single time we cut those taxes, every single time, the Liberal Party has opposed those things,” he said, apparently forgetting that it’s his party’s policy to mock the opposition for not opposing anything. “Now the Liberal Party wants to raise taxes across the board as part of its insane environmental and economic policies.”

A nation gasped once more. Insane? Really? How does the Prime Minister already know this? He must be psychic. Or perhaps he’s just getting tips from his hairdresser. Continue…