Numbers Game

Now that the QuAIA parade has passed by (at least for this year), the Ceej has a new cause du jour--the Canadian census. Seems the Harper governnment has nixed the long census form, which asks a heap of intrusive questions, and, as per a Statisticas Canada recommendation, will be going with a shorter questionnaire. No fair, sez the Ceej and other faith groups, who insist they depend on info in the longer form to make decisions and projections and all that good organizational stuff.

Also on board with the longer survey: OHRC Commissar-in-Chief Barbara Hall. In a letter to the Globe and Mail, Babs says her commission

identifies this information as a vital starting point for organizations working to eliminate barriers for their workers and their customers. It is hard to solve problems or run a successful business or make a good policy without all of the information – yet that is exactly what is being proposed with these changes.

Reason enough, I'd say, to go with the short form--to made it harder for Babs and her ideological buddinskies to poke around in and hamper the operation of small businesses with their silly, silly "solutions".

Meanwhile, the Fraser Institute may hold the key to what's really afoot here--organizations that have become accustomed to availing themselves of free government data. The Institute suggests that if certain info is vital to an organization's operation, that organization should--what a concept!--pay to compile it itself and not expect to hitch a free ride at taxpayers' expense.

Update: Ezra Levant is no fan of the long form, bidding it a hearty "adieu" in the Toronto Sun. Guffawing at the form's bizarro questions and categorizations, he sees it for what it is--an instrument that served the interests of victim/identity groups and Big Gov:

In another question, the census asked your “cultural group.” It listed only one religion (Jewish), and several countries. Is Jewish a country?

Given that “etc.” was also listed, it’s not surprising that in a recent census, 21,000 Canadians described themselves as Star Wars Jedi Knights.

What are these bizarre questions and answers about? The census form was perfectly frank: It stated it was for government programs that use racial quotas — also called affirmative action. As Canadians, we like to think we’re equal before the law. But Statistics Canada collects this information to treat us unequally.

Let the nosy bureaucrats pound sand: Scrapping the mandatory long-form census is a small victory against big government.