"Reinstate the Long-Form Census"

Michael Gordon, President of the Canadian Association of Planners, is asking for your immediate help to support the bill described below.
This came home to me when I was attending a lecture on housing, urban growth, transportation in Canada – you know, the basic stuff about urban planning – and the speaker confessed at a certain point that the data was increasingly unreliable because of the inadequacy of the household survey.  Simply embarrassing for a country like Canada.

Ted Hsu, the Member of Parliament from Kingston and the Islands, has asked me to reach out to you and ask for your support regarding his private member’s bill, Bill C-626, which proposes the reinstatement of the mandatory long-form census and expands the authority of the Chief Statistician.
The bill is scheduled to be considered by Parliament on November 6th, 2014. It is hoped that there will be enough support to have it referred to committee rather than voted down.
You could help by contacting your Member of Parliament before November 6th and urge them to support the referral to committee.
The voluntary National Household Survey has proven to be an unreliable replacement, resulting in undependable data. This is negatively affecting public and private sector decision-makers who rely on solid data to make policy decisions. In particular, decisions on matters regarding housing, transportation and social policy have been impacted due to the lack of reliable data.
Your National Council is on record as requesting that the long form census be brought back. This is an important issue for Canadian planners and the professional as a whole.
Please contact your Member of Parliament and urge them to support the referral of the bill to committee.
Sincerely
Michael Gordon M.Sc. MCIP RPP
President of the Canadian Institute of Planners