StatsCan to unveil new ‘efficient’ long-form census for 2016

Good example of the public service doing its job and preparing for a possible change:

When the Liberals were sworn into office in November, one of their first orders of business was to announce the reinstatement of the long-form census.

The timeline seemed very tight — the first forms are to go out to residents in the North in February.

But Marc Hamel, the census program director general, says the agency had planned for risks associated with the 2016 census. One of those risks was if a new government decided to bring back the long questionnaire.

“It had already been in the public sphere that opposition parties last year were saying, if they were elected, they would bring back the mandatory long-form census, so we had started to look at how that would be possible,” Hamel said in an interview.

The agency decided to design the questionnaire in a more adaptable format.

Rather than sending selected households separate pieces of mail with the short form and then the National Household Survey, the questionnaires were integrated into one document.

“That design was going to be efficient and it was going to work for both approaches,” said Hamel. “From that perspective, no redesign was required. We were simply able to move ahead with the same questionnaires that we had already designed for 2016.”

Also, because most Canadians fill out the census online — 64 per cent in 2011 — changing details in a computer system was not a major overhaul.

The letter that accompanies the questionnaires will allow the agency to underline that the long part is mandatory again. Census staff will also drive home the message.

Fewer people will have to fill out the long form than last time, one in four households rather than one in three with the NHS. Statistics Canada has had to print more short-form questionnaires as a result of the change.

The agency doesn’t think it will save money with fewer people getting the bigger package. It expects it will have more responses to process because of the return to the mandatory format.

The main challenge will come from adjusting to the data logistics of bringing back the long-form census. Bar codes help the agency keep track of where they drop off which forms and some of that work will have to be rejigged.

There will also be a public awareness campaign to make sure that people realize they need to fill out the forms. Hamel says the agency never really emphasizes the penalties associated with not filling out the forms — a $500 fine or up to three months in jail, or both.

“Census information is really important, and that’s where we put the focus,” said Hamel.

“What do we use the census information for, why is it important for communities, and why is it important for people to participate.”

Source: StatsCan to unveil new ‘efficient’ long-form census for 2016 – The Globe and Mail

And one of the new challenges:

Quinn Nelson wants to be counted in the 2016 long-form census, but when it comes to the question of gender identity there’s a problem: Nelson is transgender and identifies as neither male nor female.

“As a non-binary person, often when I fill out forms there’s only two options given to me and that’s not enough for me,” Nelson said in an interview on CBC’s Power & Politics.

In November, Nelson wrote an email to Navdeep Bains, the minister responsible for Statistics Canada and the census. Nelson didn’t want to violate the law by not filling out the questionnaire.

The University of Calgary sociology student also wanted to make sure Statistics Canada was going to provide an accurate reflection of the country.

The census assumes that 100 per cent of the respondents can answer that they are either male or female, “and that’s not accurate,” Nelson said.

“The census is used by a lot of policy makers, sociologists and government officials to make decisions. They really need to know what their population is. That’s the point of the census.”

….Bains hasn’t responded to Nelson, but Statistics Canada did. Deputy chief statistician Connie Graziadei said the 2016 census questionnaire had already been approved and published, but there is an option for Nelson.

“I was told to answer neither, to leave the question blank; also to answer in the comments why I found the question inadequate.”

Transgender student says some Canadians need 3rd option for gender on census