C D Howe Institute: Immigration

Economy And Society Dept: If you are one of the many Canadians who would like government to do less but do it better, this spectacle risks making you tear your hair. The state’s role in our economy and society has grown prodigiously over the past century – and not only radical libertarians worry about the resulting cost to prosperity and freedom. As governments’ reach grows, however, so does the need for information with which citizens can hold them to account. In eliminating the census long form, the libertarians have taken out the wrong target, according to Globe And Mail. Some opponents hurt their case more subtly. Too few acknowledge that mandatory information gathering by government is intrusive and burdensome – if it weren’t, all Statistics Canada inquiries could be mandatory. And too few acknowledge that compliance with the census is not universal – tens of thousands of aboriginals have not responded in the past – and not all answers supplied are accurate and researchers – including many who work with the C.D. Howe Institute – have condemned the move. So has The . On-line surveys are documenting the damage. Open letters and petitions are calling on the government to reverse the decision. The decision may yet be reversed – I hope it is – but the reaction from many opponents risks cementing the government’s resolve. The partisans denouncing an authoritarian government have no credibility. Imagine that, rather than dropping the long form, the Harper Conservatives proposed mandatory questions on ethnicity, ability, time-use and dwellings for the first time. Every major city would be overrun with protesters. As reported in the news.
@t mandatory questions, line surveys