General News and Announcements

July 22, 2010

In a letter this week to Industry Minister Tony Clement, the church urged the government not to implement a voluntary system of collecting detailed census information.

Dear Mr. Clement,

I am writing on behalf of The United Church of Canada to express our concern regarding the elimination of the mandatory long-form census.

At a time when Canada is rapidly changing, Canadians need more, rather than less access to reliable census information to help build a more equitable and just society. We therefore believe that introducing a voluntary long-form household survey is an ill-advised move on the part of the Canadian government, and will ultimately lead to a significant loss of important public information concerning societal trends.

As well, like many other charities and non-profit agencies, The United Church of Canada benefits from the wealth of data that is collected and analyzed by Statistics Canada. The church relies heavily on Statistics Canada data for the planning of its mission priorities. Local congregations, particularly those facing significant demographic change, use Statistics Canada information to help identify community needs within the neighbourhoods they serve.

Responding to community needs, both spiritual and social, is how the United Church, its congregations, and its members live out our faith in this world. Knowing who our neighbours are is an important part of adapting congregational outreach programs and advocacy initiatives that are integral to the church’s mission. Losing the statistical tool that helps to identify these needs will seriously handicap our ability to respond as effectively in the future.

I would also like to echo the concerns raised by both the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada with regard to the significance of questions related to religion contained in the long-form census. It would be a great loss to the church and to the country if Statistics Canada was not able to provide statistically valid information that will help us in understanding the multiplicity and richness of the spiritual makeup of Canada.

And finally, speaking on behalf of a faith community that has gathered its own denominational statistics annually since 1925, I must emphasize the importance of reconsidering this decision and allowing Statistics Canada to maintain the historic integrity of the data that is collected with the compulsory long-form census. It is indeed a rich storehouse of information that must not be compromised in this way.

Sincerely,
Nora Sanders,
General Secretary, General Council

CC: Right Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Marc Garneau, Liberal Party of Canada Industry Critic
Hon. Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party
Brian Masse, New Democratic Party Industry Critic
Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois
Robert Bouchard, Bloc Québécois Industry Cri