FAUST's letter to Hon. Tony Clement re: the federal government's desire to eliminate the long-form census

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Faculty Association of the

University of St. Thomas

(FAUST)

Fredericton, New Brunswick

E3B 5G3

 

Phone: 506.452.9667                                                                                          Fax: 506.450.9615

 

3 August 2010

Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Industry
C.D. Howe Building
235 Queen Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5
Canada

 

Dear Minister Clement:

 

As the Executive of the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas (FAUST), we wish to voice our concern over the federal government’s decision to scrap the mandatory long-form census in favour of a shorter voluntary National Household Survey. Many of our members, as educators and researchers, rely on the long-form census as an integral tool in dissecting trends and patterns in Canadian society.The optional nature of the household survey will not compensate for the long-form census, for it lacks the comprehensiveness of the latter, and will thus produce uneven and unreliable data. As James Turk, Executive Director ofCAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers) has noted, not only will this decision to eliminate the census have “disastrous consequences” for our “understanding of Canadian society,” but it will also compromise the ability of various levels of government to make “informed decisions about social and economic policies.”http://www.caut.ca/news_details.asp?nid=1540&page=490

 

In short, we urge you in the strongest language possible to reconsider your decision and reinstate the long-form census immediately. The future of Canadian social policy depends on the continued availability of comprehensive and systematic information.

 

 

Yours Sincerely,

 

Robin Vose, President,

for the FAUST Executive

 

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 The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has also expressed major concerns about the federal government's decision to scrap the long-form census, which has major implications for researchers, educators, and policy-makers across the country. For CAUT's position on this issue, see: http://www.caut.ca/pages.asp?page=906 and http://www.caut.ca/pages.asp?page=908

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FAUST urges you to take action on this issue. There are various options:

Comment at Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-the-Canada-Census-Long-Form/141550925859979?ref=ts
 
Sign petition: www.gopetition.com/petitions/keep-the-canadian-census-long-form/sign.html
 
Send a letter to media; contact info at: www1.gnb.ca/cnb/medialist/index-e.asp
 
Contact Minister Tony Clement: minister.industry@ic.gc.ca
 
Contact N.B.’s representative in the federal Cabinet Keith Ashfield, Ashfield.K@parl.gc.ca ; 506-452-4110 ; FAX: 613-996-9955
 
Find your federal Member of Parliament’s contact info: www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

 

Send to all 10 N.B. MPs:
Mike Allen, Conservative, Tobique- Mactaquac, Allen.M@parl.gc.ca
Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, Moore.R@parl.gc.ca ; 1-866-433-4677
Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, ONeill-Gordon.T@parl.gc.ca ; 506-778-8448 ; Fax: 506-778-8150
Greg Thompson, Conservative, NB Southwest, Thompson.G@parl.gc.ca ; 506-466-3928 ; Fax: 506-466-2813
Rodney Weston, Conservative, Saint John, Weston.R@parl.gc.ca ; 506-657-2500 ; Fax: 506-657-2504
Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, Murphy.B@parl.gc.ca ; 506-851-3310 ; Fax: 506-851-3273
Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, Leblanc.D@parl.gc.ca ; 506-533-5700 ; 1-800-432-0311 ; Fax: 506-533-5888
Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie--Bathurst Godin.Y@parl.gc.ca ; 506-548-7511 ; Fax: 506-548-7418
Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska--Restigouche, Damours .J@parl.gc.ca

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