July 30, 2010

Count on us

Recently our government announced some changes to the amount of personal information it will require you to give to the Government of Canada.

These changes have come as a result of the concerns that Canadians have expressed about being forced, by law, to provide this information for very questionable purposes. Our government believes those concerns are valid.

However, the opposition Liberals want to force all Canadians to take part not only in the basic Census, but also want to force many Canadians to participate to provide personal information pursuant to the so-called "long Census".

Forcing Canadians to answer these types of personal questions leads to some very bizarre answers. For example, the last time religion was included in the Census in 2001 over 21,000 Canadians listed "Jedi Knight" (of the fictional Star Wars fame) as their religious preference. 

Now, given that the Liberals are arguing that lawmakers need all of this detailed information in order to make good public policy decisions, Canadians can only wonder what policies the religious beliefs of a "Jedi Knight" can help develop. This means either the Liberals have reason to care about whose switched to the "dark side" and are hoping to hunt down the last of the Jedi Knights in Canada, or they are sorely mistaken about the value of the information being gathered by the mandatory Census. 

As a government we understand that while many of you are more than happy to take the time to fill out the long-form Census on a voluntary basis, many feel it is an invasion of privacy.  It has been reported that the office of the Privacy Commissioner has registered only three complaints about the Census in the past 15 years, but anyone who holds public office knows the office of the Privacy Commissioner is not where Canadians generally turn to when forced to provide this information. Often Canadians turn to their elected representatives who, more often than not, don't understand and can't explain why the information is being requested.

Our Government believes the number of bedrooms in your home is a question that you shouldn’t have to answer no matter how badly Michael Ignatieff wants to know.  Whether your plumbing or wiring is in need of repair is also your business and not his. Ignatieff’s spokesperson, MP Marlene Jennings, said the Liberals are so determined to get their hands on your personal information that they intend to introduce legislation this fall to force Canadians to provide it to them under the threat of jail time.

The Liberals want your most personal information and seem determined to get as much as they can get their hands on. Our government believes that even Jedi Knights have a right to privacy and protection from overly intrusive officials.