Woman faces jail time and fine for not filling out 2006 census

For those who didn't think it happened, well, it can happen.  Three months in a jail and a $500 fine.  Nice.

As I said last year, the real contentious issue surrounding the whole voluntary census form debate is one of enforcement.  Lefties/progressives/liberals/dippers/socialists NEED the data to justify their big program ideas and the only way they say to ensure the data is valid is to threaten citizens with a punishment.

Even then, many of them came out and said that no one has been punished.  I argue that if no one had been punished, then why the heck is it in the law in the first place?

What I also don't get is how polling companies continue to provide valid statistics and data on demographics to the very political parties that these lefties are members of.  They don't threaten jail time, yet use the data to make all sorts of decisions.

I continue to support the Conservative government's decision on replacing the mandatory census with a voluntary one.

I'm still putting Jedi as my religion though.

Rex is king

The most eloquent journalist in Canada, Rex Murphy, has written an entertaining comment on the long-form census "issue". 

"On the other side, we've had a band of deliriously agitated opposition politicos and whole packloads of folks from various organizations and think-tanks arguing that stripping the long-form census of its "threatening" provisions will leave Canadian democracy rudderless, bereft of data absolutely critical for the exercise of efficient and noble statecraft. Operas have stronger plot lines."

(And now onto my non-eloquence...)  Well, ain't that right.  Anytime there's squib, yank, or rejig of the govmint, them beeurcats git all in a hissy fit.  And that's all good in ma books.

And for those who argue that no one has been jailed or fined for choosing not to fill out the long-form, then why is there this stupid law in the first place? So we should just leave this idled threat of punishment amongst the normally law-abiding citizenry in place as it stands?  Does that not just sound ... to put it eloquently, just plain stupid?


The whole article here.

The Sense and Cents of the Census

Here's a link to the 2006 long census form.  It's 40 pages and probably takes 30-45 minutes to fill out for a family.  That's not the issue here, the time.

The issue I had with it in 2001, in 2006, and now 2011 is not so much the intrusive personal questions it asks, because many people fill out forms, surveys, polls, etc., but it's that the government can PUT YOU IN JAIL for not filling it out.

And that right there is why I think it's the right decision.

While the majority of Canadians don't care about this issue, because the majority of Canadians don't have to fill out the form, it's pissing off statisticians, bureaucrats, and some Liberals because they won't be able to determine how federal cash should be handed out through the, what, thousands of programs that are out there?

Now what if there was no data to support the need for these programs?  That's right, there'd be no need for these programs.  And without need for these programs, the government can axe the program and either let a province support it, or let it die.  And you wouldn't believe some of the programs out there.

If any of you remember the old "Waste Report" published by then Reform Party MP, John Williams, and compiled by my friend Garry Keller, his executive assistant, you'd recall that it was an incredible piece of literature, listing the various funding programs the federal government supports, including American unions, seniors and sexuality in prisons, and an ongoing list of programs and dollar amounts where common sense really just doesn't apply anymore.  Regardless, estimates are in the $10-20 billion in funding for these so-called programs.

Some argue that charities would suffer.  Well, if I didn't pay as much in taxes, I would easily donate more and it would be MY choice.  And it's not really a charity anymore when the government is supporting it.  It's a social program, plain and simple.  So if we could rid useless programs and lower taxes, Canadians, ON OUR OWN, could support charities, community groups, and local programs.

Now, for this issue, which it really isn't, the long form is NOT being scrapped.  It will now be voluntary.  Statisticians are saying that the data sample then won't be useful.

Exactly.  And therefore, it makes sense to save cents on the census.