StatsCan needs Albertans to come to their census
OTTAWA • It’s time for Alberta to stand up and be counted.
Statistics Canada is having more difficulty getting Albertans to fill out the mandatory census than it is with other Canadians.
The data collection agency has been using Twitter to send messages reminding people in Calgary, Edmonton, Airdrie, Chestermere and Camrose to fill out their census.
It also has been using Facebook and Twitter to remind all Canadians they must fill out the census. The agency had asked that the census be completed online or via paper questionnaire by May 10, which is the reference date for the data.
Even Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has tweeted on it, urging Calgarians and other western Canadians to complete the survey.
“Numbers are low in western Canada. Please fill out your census today!” Nenshi tweeted this week.
Marc Hamel, director general in charge of the census program, said the response has been higher than expected nearly everywhere in the country. The agency isn’t releasing the overall response rate so far or a breakdown for the provinces.
Statistics Canada has received about 12.8 million census re- sponses. The response rate in Alberta is about three to four percentage points below the national average, he said. “We’re trying to boost response in Alberta,” Hamel said.
The agency sent similar reminders to Edmonton, Calgary bedroom communities Airdrie and Chestermere, as well as for Camrose, southeast of Edmonton.
Statistics Canada started the census count with about 15.5 million dwellings, but some will be unoccupied, which won’t be counted in the response rate.
The agency is aiming for a minimum response rate of 98 per cent for all communities. Statistics Canada is hoping to complete the census data collection by the end of July.
There have been repeated general reminders that Canadians must fill out the census. “It is mandatory to complete the #2016Census. Complete yours today!” Statistics Canada has tweeted.
The agency is reaching out to mayors and other municipal officials in communities to try to improve the response rate, Hamel said. Also, about 20,000 enumerators are going door-to-door across Canada following up with households that haven’t completed their census.
“We are having a very successful census, but the main point here is to get the highest response possible for every community in Canada,” he said.
So far, no one has officially refused to fill out the census, he said.
The Statistics Act includes a $500 fine or up to three months in prison for refusing to fill out the survey or for providing false information. The exact penalties for refusing to complete the census are decided by the courts.
If cases emerge of refusals to complete the census, they may be referred to the public prosecution office and then the courts decide how they want to deal with it, Hamel said.
Statistics Canada conducts a census every five years.
The mandatory survey collects demographic information on every person living in Canada, which is then tapped by governments, businesses, various associations, community organizations and other groups.
The information is used for planning facilities and services such as hospitals, schools, public transportation and police and fire services.
Also, transfer payments from the federal government to the provinces, and from provincial governments to municipalities are based on population estimates obtained from the census.
One in four Canadian households received the 2016 long- form census, which was reinstated in November by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
The former Conservative government eliminated the long-form census in 2010, saying Canadians had complained that it was coercive and intrusive.
The Tories then replaced it with a voluntary National Household Survey that critics said had significant holes in its data.
The overall response rate for the mandatory long- form census was 94 per cent in 2006, but that number dropped dramatically to 69 per cent for the voluntary National Household Survey in 2011.
THE STATISTICS ACT INCLUDES A $500 FINE OR UP TO THREE MONTHS IN PRISON FOR REFUSING TO FILL OUT THE SURVEY OR FOR PROVIDING FALSE INFORMATION.