MP faces wait for answer on jobless rate

It will be at least a week before Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro receives a reply to a letter he sent to the federal Minster of Industry asking for a review of how Statistics Canada calculates the monthly jobless rate in Peterborough and district.

“We just received it (the letter) yesterday,” Alexandra Fortier, press secretary for Minister Christian Paradis, said Wednesday. Del Mastro said he sent the letter last week through internal mail.

“We will have the appropriate people respond from our department,” Fortier said. “They will take their time and answer point by point to Mr. Del Mastro. We take this very seriously. So he will get a response as soon as possible.”

In calling for the review by the minister’s office and Statistics Canada, Del Mastro said he has “no confidence” in the monthly jobless figures for the census metropolitan area (CMA) that includes the city, Cavan Monaghan, Selwyn, Douro-Dummer and Otonabee-South Monaghan townships.

Del Mastro cited “wide fluctuations” in the unemployment rate over the last year, from 6.1% in October to 11.9% in May, the highest rate among Canada’s 33 CMAs, markets with populations of 100,000 or more. The Peterborough CMA, with its population of 115,000, is the smallest in the country.

“The data produced over the last 12 months reflect a flawed survey and projection model which is presenting a picture of my local economy that is neither accurate nor useful,” Del Mastro wrote.

Statistics Canada determines the jobless rate by randomly contacting 200 people in the Peterborough CMA by phone, then making seasonal and other adjustments.

A copy of Del Mastro’s letter will be sent to Statistics Canada, Fortier said.

“They will look at the points and the more technical aspects and draft a response, and we will look at it,” she said. “Typically it’s maybe a week. A week to two weeks would be the usual time to get back to him.”

The letter, she said, “will be dealt with in the fashion that we deal with all the other letters we answer. The normal procedures will be followed.”