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| Former head of Statistics Canada Munir Sheikh arrives to testify before the House of Commons industry committee looking into changes to the long-form census on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on July 27, 2010. Sheikh resigned last week over the federal government's decision to scrap the mandatory long-form census. The Canadian government wants to replace the mandatory 61-question long form for 2011 census with a voluntary survey because they say it is a heavy-handed intrusion on Canadians' privacy. (Xinhua/Christopher Pike) |
by Mark Bourrie
OTTAWA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Conservative government' s plan to cut a complex, mandatory census questionnaire for 2011 and replace it with a voluntary form seemed like a minor decision, but the fall-out has generated a power struggle between bureaucrats and politicians.
The Conservative government, elected in 2006, is trying to put its ideological stamp on the actions of the federal bureaucracy. Conservatives see the country's public administration as ideologically opposed to many of the government's libertarian and free-market policies.
The census fight, which seemed minor when it erupted two weeks ago, became serious last week when Munir Sheikh, the country's chief statistician, resigned over the government's plan to drop the mandatory "long form" census in 2011. In the past, Canadians faced the threat of a fine or jail if they did not fill out the 40- page form, although no one had actually been imprisoned for refusing to divulge information.
The mandatory survey will be replaced with one that Canadians can fill out if they choose to. This plan has been criticized by some provinces, municipalities, commercial, industrial and financial groups that use the statistics in their decision-making.
Industry Minister Tony Clement, who is responsible for overseeing Statistics Canada, told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that he regrets the resignation of the chief statistician but holds firm to his belief that the old system is too intrusive.
