WHEREAS the Government of Canada intends to eliminate the Statistics Canada long-form census questionnaire and replace it with a voluntary survey;

AND WHEREAS the long-form census is a critical source of information about the diversity, employment, income, education, and other characteristics of Canadians;

AND WHEREAS in the NWT, data from the Census of Population and the NWT Community Survey are used extensively by all levels of government and many businesses and agencies to monitor socio-economic conditions; to design, monitor and evaluate programs; and to plan policy initiatives and identify emerging trends;

AND WHEREAS this information is essential to businesses, research, planning, and the design and evaluation of public policies and programs;

AND WHEREAS users of this data, ranging from the business community to university researchers to social justice advocates, are opposed to this change;

AND WHEREAS in the NWT, one of the effects may be the loss of data as a basis on which to compare northern to southern communities;

AND WHEREAS the long-form census questionnaire was sent to 20 percent of households in Yellowknife and administered to every household by canvassers in all communities outside of

Yellowknife and provides a high quality and depth of data;

AND WHEREAS introduction of a voluntary census will introduce uncertainty with its reliance upon householders’ willingness to complete and mail a census form;

AND WHEREAS people who tend to rely most on government assistance programs, particularly aboriginal citizens, are most affected by literacy and social issues and hence less inclined to complete and mail a voluntary census form;

AND WHEREAS it is estimated that it would cost the Government of the Northwest Territories approximately $500,000 to increase its data collection to replace the data no longer available from Statistics Canada;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that this Legislative Assembly urges the Government of Canada to reverse its decision to eliminate the mandatory long-form census questionnaire.