Statistics Canada says it is ready to deliver this year’s national census on schedule at the beginning of May, and is adjusting the program to fit the new realities of 2016.
One of the first questions on the census, for example, is sex. For the majority of respondents, it’s a simple matter of checking the “female” or “male” box and moving on, but for some transgendered or non-binary Canadians who do not identify as either male or female, the question is a tricky one.
Leaving the form blank is an offence, punishable by fines of up to $500 and even jail time.
The issue was recently raised by a student at the University of Calgary, Quinn Nelson, in a letter to Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Singh Bains.
“As a non-binary transgender individual, I would be wholly unable to fill out a census (long or short) accurate and completely,” Nelson wrote.
According to Statistics Canada, Nelson has two options when the census starts landing in Canadian mailboxes in May.
Transgender, transsexual, and intersex Canadians are invited to indicate the gender “with which they most associate themselves.” If a person is still uncomfortable choosing, they can leave the question blank “and indicate, in the comments section at the end of the questionnaire, the reason(s) for which they’ve chosen to leave this question unanswered.” This should prevent fines.
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A spokesperson for Statistics Canada also pointed out that there will be public consultations in the lead-up to the 2021 census, which could result in permanent changes to the sex question. Census questionnaires in other countries, like India, already have a third category for non-binary individuals.
Nelson, who received the same answers from the agency, said he was “pretty happy” with the response.
Web traffic expected to grow
With computers, smartphones and tablets now ubiquitous in Canadian households, Statistics Canada confirms it is anticipating a more than 10 per cent jump in the number of census respondents who choose to fill out their forms online. In 2011, the national Internet response rate was 54.4 per cent. This time around, it’s expected to top 65 per cent, which means there will be more room for technical glitches.
According to the agency spokesperson, Statistics Canada has already tested the compatibility of the online questionnaire with the most popular mobile devices and operating systems used by Canadians, and is confident its servers can handle the traffic.
In fact, Canadians are being actively encouraged to skip the traditional paper method and use the web option, which has been available since the 2006 census.
Covering the bases as the long-form becomes mandatory again
After being caught off guard by the Conservatives’ decision to axe the mandatory long-form census in 2011, Statistics Canada says it was more prepared this time around for possible last-minute changes. As the agency had anticipated, the Liberals re-instated the “mandatory” part of the longer version of the census almost immediately after taking office in November.
Statistics Canada says it covered its bases by integrating the short-form census and the longer version into one document. About one in four households will get that integrated document, and the rest will receive just the short questionnaire. The system would have worked with or without the Liberal government’s changes, explained census program director general Marc Hamel. The only difference is that the letter accompanying the bigger package will make it clear that not filling it out is illegal.
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One question that won’t be on any questionnaire will be religion. Statistics Canada only asks Canadians to identify their religious affiliation once every ten years. The last time was in 2011, so we’re not due for another check until 2021.
Census day is May 10, and most people will begin receiving letters and packages on May 2.
Statistics Canada has hired “a couple hundred” new employees in recent months, it says, and job applications are now being processed for early enumeration activities in Northern communities, scheduled for February. The agency is looking for about 35,000 workers in total to help with the census. Details are on its website at www.census.gc.ca.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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