[LINK] "Statistics Canada sees record census response, sends 347 compliance letters"

[rfmcdonald]

The Globe and Mail's Bill Curry reports on the 2016 census' few issues.

The Globe and Mail has learned that 347 letters were sent last month to individuals who had not yet completed the 2016 census (202 for the short form and 145 for the long form). That is about in line with 331 letters that were sent after the 2011 census, when only the short form was mandatory.

Restoring the mandatory long-form census was one of the first official acts of the new Liberal government last year. The quick decision allowed Statistics Canada to shift gears in time for the 2016 survey, which is now complete. The agency has said it received a response rate of 98.4 per cent, including 97.8 per cent for the long-form census, which does not go out to all households.

Statistics Canada’s chief statistician, Wayne Smith, announced his resignation on Sept. 19 as a protest against information technology issues that he said were compromising the agency’s independence. Mr. Smith sent the 347 compliance letters on Aug. 19, and the letters give a deadline of Sept. 9.

“Anyone convicted of an offence under the Statistics Act is liable to punishment as set out in the Statistics Act,” the compliance letters stated.

The act says a person found guilty could face a fine of up to $500, up to three months in jail, or both.

How to manage these files is now an issue for Mr. Smith’s replacement, Anil Arora.