Noteworthy
The end of the census long form?
As I write this post, federal opposition parties in Canada are calling for the Harper government to reverse its decision to do away with the long form of the national census. The decision to scrap the mandatory long form and replace it with a voluntary ‘National Household Survey’ yesterday culminated in the resignation of Munir Sheikh, the head of Statistics Canada. Sheikh resigned in protest, arguing that a voluntary survey cannot be an effective substitute for the mandatory long form. Adding their voices to the debate, many Provinces are also claiming that the changes will compromise their budget decisions and make it harder to plan responsive social programs.
As the Canadian Council on Social Development correctly points out, Aboriginal individuals, lower income earners, immigrants and those earning higher incomes tend to have lower response rates to voluntary surveys. In the absence of a mandatory long form, therefore, the census cannot help but produce a portrait of Canadian society that is fatally skewed. Further, scrapping the mandatory long form will end longitudinal data collection for several data sets, putting decision-makers even further in the dark when it comes to time-trends and forecasts.
It is far from clear what data the new survey will collect, and how the demise of statistical representation will be addressed. The manager of research and information at Toronto’s city planning department, Tom Ostler, told the CBC today, ‘We're operating in an entire fog here. We do not know what the questions will be on this voluntary long form. We do know that the United States census bureau attempted the same thing in 2003 and abandoned it.’ He notes that the absence of long form data will compromise local government efforts in strategic land-use planning and social housing.
The Harper Government cites privacy concerns as the rationale for its decision. According to Industry Minister Tony Clement, ‘The government does not think it is necessary for Canadians to provide Statistics Canada with the number of bedrooms in their home, or at what time of the day they left for work, and how long it takes them to get there.’
However, the Globe and Mail reports that Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has received just three complaints about privacy issues in the last two censuses, and the House of Commons has no record of any petition tabled by an MP about such concerns. A Globe and Mail online survey asking, ‘Do you think the Stephen Harper government should rethink its position and proceed with the 2011 census as it has been previously conducted, including the long-form version?’ already shows an affirmative response of 10,501 votes at the time of writing, or 81% of responses. While still only a crude measure of public opinion, this online survey casts further doubt on the Federal Government’s claims of privacy concerns.
Crucial questions for policy making and the planning of social services arise with the potential of compromised census data. How can the government and community sectors address the needs of vulnerable Canadians if key data from these groups are insufficiently captured? How can settlement and education services be targeted to immigrant communities if information on second-language use is no longer collected? Will public policy made on the basis of future census findings drift closer towards the interests of middle-Canada? It is clear that a reinstatement of the mandatory long form is the only way to secure the evidence base on which so much crucial decision-making relies.
A culture of engagement
The latest release from the Institute of Wellbeing (a non-partisan think-tank funded by a consortium of private and public sector funders) has delivered sobering news about the state of Canadians’ engagement and satisfaction with their democracy. The Democratic Engagement report—the latest in a series of research projects on Canadian well-being—considered factors such as the participation of citizens in public life and in governance, the functioning of Canadian governments, and the role Canadians and their institutions play as global citizens. Among the report’s findings:
• Fewer Canadians are voting;
• Participation rates in formal political activities are extremely low;
• Canadians aren’t satisfied with their democracy;
• Women and minorities are underrepresented in the political process; and
• An overwhelming majority of people say that federal government policies have not made their lives better.
These findings should send up a red flag for planners and policy-makers, especially those at the local and regional level, where small-scale engagement can succeed even when citizens are losing faith in democracy at a national level. Take for example the Institute’s ‘Ten ideas for positive change’—local initiatives such as Citizens’ Assemblies and specific acts and charters of local government have been cited as effective ways to generate a ‘culture’ of engagement, both within communities and within governments themselves.
Beyond the limited and over-used ‘community consultation’ approach (it’s not called ‘consultation fatigue’ for nothing!), a true culture of engagement can ensure government decisions reflect community concerns and aspirations, build community capacity for participation in decision-making, and provide governments with the confidence to set strategic directions. At the same time, this culture must include a commitment to the delivery of concrete outcomes. In other words: show communities that their participation has made a difference, and real community/government planning partnerships can thrive.
See the Institute of Wellbeing website for domain reports on Living Standards, Healthy Populations and Community Vitality. Upcoming reports on other domains of well-being are due for release over the coming year.
Meeting the knowledge needs of settlement workers—the ARC E-Portal project
As most people working in Canada’s immigrant settlement services can attest, there’s no shortage of useful research to be found online, just not enough time in which to find what’s needed.
The AMSSA Research Connections (ARC) E–Portal—funded by Metropolis BC and developed by the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA) with the consulting services of EJ Shu at Pacific Social Planning Ltd—has transformed Metropolis BC’s vast research collection into a user-friendly, searchable knowledge source on immigration and immigrant settlement issues. Featuring independent research from 1996 to the present, the ARC E–Portal is dedicated to helping frontline workers and policy–makers in the field of immigrant settlement meet the everyday challenges of planning, decision-making, program design and funding submission preparation.
The ARC E–Portal differs from other online databases in that the research has already been reviewed with the needs of settlement workers in mind. The site features hundreds of customised research summaries, enabling users to quickly extract the knowledge they seek and download the full research paper if needed. The flexible search function allows users to search by keyword and/or browse by a combination of themes:
- Immigration Process and Trends
- Policy and Law
- Integration and Adaptation
- Multiculturalism and Identity
- Income Security
- Employment and Labour Market
- Education and Language
- Housing and Shelter
- Health and Wellness
The ARC E–Portal also features the latest videos from the AMSSA Research Connections (ARC) E–Symposia, links to several research-related sites, and BC’s only comprehensive glossary of immigration and settlement terms and acronyms. Try it for yourself at: www.amssa.org/arc
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