Canada's Chief Statistician Resigns

Munir Sheikh has resigned as Chief Statistician of Statistics Canada over the Government's plans to scrap the mandatory long-form census questionnaire. The old system will be replaced by a shorter version which opponents claim will exclude hard-to-reach respondents.

Last month, the Government announced that it would no longer require 20% of Canadians to fill out the long form of the census, answering questions about income, family and ethnicity that some people reportedly find intrusive.

In a letter to Tony Clement - the minister responsible for Statistics Canada - the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) expressed its concerns that the decision will impact on the 'availability, quality and reliability of essential data' that is collected about Canadians once every five years.

Sheikh advised that getting rid of the mandatory form would be 'disastrous' for Statistics Canada, and on Wednesday he posted his letter of resignation on the agency's web site.

In the letter, he commented: 'I want to take this opportunity to comment on a technical statistical issue which has become the subject of media discussion. This relates to the question of whether a voluntary survey can become a substitute for a mandatory census. It can not.'

'I also want to thank Canadians,' he added. 'We do remember, every single day, that it is because of you providing us with your information, we can function as a statistical agency.'

Yesterday, the government removed Sheikh's statement from the Statistics Canada web site and sent an e-mail to supporters saying:

'We do not believe Canadians should be forced, under threat of fines, jail or both, to divulge extensive private and personal information. It is not appropriate to compel citizens to divulge how many bedrooms they have in their houses, or what time they leave for work in the morning. Our approach is about finding a better balance between collecting necessary data and protecting the privacy rights of Canadians. It is unfortunate that Mr. Sheikh did not share these objectives.'