“The City relies on valid, credible and good quality census data", well i have news for you ....the last census didn't give you that. That I know for fact!
So I doubt the next one will be accurate either.
So suck it up and deal with what you get. The short form will give you all you really need... a head count and ages..... you really need nothing more.

You are right BCRacer, only a head count is all they need, the rest is so they know how much we make and then they can up our taxes as they see fit, the rest is none of their business.

This is kind of two faced, isn't it?

On the one hand they say that they disagree with the population the Census reported. And now, on the other hand, they say they need the data.

Which is it? If they believe the data is flawed, why work with flawed data?

This is kind of two faced, isn't it?

On the one hand they say that they disagree with the population the Census reported. And now, on the other hand, they say they need the data.

Which is it? If they believe the data is flawed, why work with flawed data?

In the end Prince George council's fix is RAISE THE TAXES. It does not matter what materials they have at their desposal.

I'm surprised that everyone is not more outraged at this problem. The true reason that the cons want to change the long census is that right now Canada has good data to support or refute decisions that have been made in the past- they're called statistics.

If a certain government chooses to make policy choices based on religious/ideological principles that have in the past been found to cause harm (just look south of the border) the last thing they want is those pesky facts (like evolution) getting in the way of their beliefs.

If we believe that the government should make rational, logical, fact based decisions then we should all be in favour of the long form census.

If however we believe that we should wait for the rapture to sanction choices well then by all means remove the best tool the government has. This is the true crux of the problem.

ill do a long form but lets have victoria and ottawa politicans do a peoples version of a census on their doings and well you get the picture

Why do they not stick to business at City Hall. The census a concern,of the tax payer and those that will be giving the info.

Is this another dream of Mr Bates and his bunch.
Cheers

I am very surprised at how much traction this mandatory long form census story is getting. I think is is partly to do with how polarized are politics have become.

The amount of information available to the government to make decisions is enormous. My guess is that the data in the long form census is minor compared to the whole of the information available to the levels of government and I doubt that making it voluntary is going to reduce the value of the data significantly.

It is a sad day when a government decision as minor as this is creating so much political fighting and that some left leaning folk actually believe that it is part of a grand conspiracy of the religious right.

I don’t know about left or right but on the last census I did not fill in any information on that had any concern about my income. The annoying part about the census is that not only can the info be used by the government but its spread far and with for the consummation of the wheelers and dealers in our society such as the ad agencies that use the info to feed it back to us and annoy us with their adds on TV and any of our media outlets.
Cheers

I don't know about you but they can stuff the long form census where the sun don't shine.

Yup...an accurate head count is enough.
Mind you,I have seen some houses where that would be almost impossible!

BCRacer how do u know for a fact that the last census was inaccurate? Please elaborate.

I for one am sick and tired of being harassed by Stats Canada. I was born and raised in this country. They know everything they need to know about me between my tax returns and the regulators who wield their authority over everything I do. I will purposely offer less and less than I am legally required to do. No more and no less.

The reality is that the left hand of government does not know what the right hand is doing anyway. The data is 4 years old and out of date. And I resent their attempts to pry into my life any more than they already do.

I support the short census and love how this issue has become such a big distraction to the real serious issues our country face. I suggest our city leaders focus on local issues and get a better pulse on the issues we face every day. Air quality, streets, fires, jobs and gang issues.

"City hall is gonna push.... Well I sure hope that push to keep the long census only involves a letter, an .08 cent envelope and a stamp. Any more than that will be to me, contemptuous. My taxes are already too high. Got my sewer,water garbage tax notice today. $3 hunnert bucks. 2 times a year plus my property taxes. I hate city hall.

they're screwing it up for us people on the streets.

I thought this was a joke at first.... last I heard PG had the lowest participation rate in all of Canada on census returns, and so they essentially fudged the rates for the whole region last time around. The census is totally inaccurate in this area, and does us no service what so ever in its present form other than as a tool to deny this city and region its fair share of our tax dollars.

The less info the census has on us the less they can use that against this city and the more they will have to rely on universal policies based on the merits of the policy and not the politics of the data base.

I resent that people think the government should throw people in jail for protecting their own privacy. If they want the data that bad it can be found through voluntary polling is how I view the situation.

If the city feels the need to make a stand against our rights to privacy of personal information, then the least they can do is make their case using specific examples... but I suspect this is city hall bureaucrats using the name of the city to further personal political partisanship... and that my friends should not be tolerated on our property hostage tax dime.

AIMHO

Also the only thing changed is the mandatory factor that requires jail time for refusal. People on the left yell and scream about their Charter of Rights on everything else, but when it comes to a persons personal privacy of data on them, these 'neo-lefties' would like to throw you in jail.... It just goes to show the hypocrisy of those people on that side of the argument from my perspective.