Note: www.census2006.ca
Reply To Statistics Canada
Posted on Friday, May 26 at 21:27 by Eleanor
Dear Mr. Fellegi,
Thank you for your reply to my message to Minister Bernier.
Even if all your assurances proved true, however, I would be no less
scandalized about being asked to participate in this tainted census. The
following is what I wrote to some friends a few weeks ago:
"Many Canadians are not convinced by Statistics Canada's assurances that
Lockheed Martin - the world's most notorious military contractor - is not
going to have any part in reading the data that's collected on the census.
"First, this compromise was only won by widespread protest in 2003; without
protest there would have been a larger role for Lockheed Martin, and that
was the government's intention.
"Second, if that's what the gov't really wanted to do, it follows that
without massive protest this time around, they are more likely to introduce
more contracting-out next time (and to God knows whom). It's the thin edge
of the wedge - they're seeing if they can get away with it with the people.
"Third - Lockheed Martin is one of the few most disgusting corporations in
the world, and many people are shocked that it would have been offered any
role in the census. It is odious to us to have anything to do with that
company.
"Fourth - if LM ever did get our personal info, it could be asked by the US
gov't to disclose it to them, and under the 'Patriot Act', we would never be
told that this disclosure had occurred."
Mr. Fellegi, I am sickened that my government would have any dealing
whatsoever with these slime-balls (Lockheed Martin) - and THEN use coercion
to force the people to acquiesce in it.
Conduct a Canadian government census the way you used to do, if you want me
to be part of the portarait.
Yours sincerely,
Eleanor Grant
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Cc: ;
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 4:24 PM
Subject: Count me out of the census!
Dear Ms. Grant:
The Minister Responsible for Statistics Canada, the Honourable Maxime
Bernier, has asked me to respond to your email of May 11, 2006.
I would like to assure you that Statistics Canada has taken a number of
important safeguards to protect the privacy and confidentiality of your
Census responses. These safeguards have been independently assessed by IT
security specialists and the entire assessment process overseen by a Task
Force headed by the former Auditor General of Canada, Mr. Denis Desautels.
The task force was clear in their conclusion: "Canadians can trust that the
information gathered during the 2006 Census will be secure." The entire
report is available at www.census2006.ca. I would also like to expand on
some of the security safeguards in place for the 2006 Census.
Statistics Canada is completely responsible for every phase of conducting
the 2006 Census. The contract with Lockheed Martin Canada, IBM Canada and
Transcontinental Printing Canada is strictly for the provision of hardware,
software and printing services. No contractor ever has access to or is in
possession of Census responses.
Census information is, at all times, under the complete care and full
control of Statistics Canada employees. In fact, all census databases,
facilities and networks containing confidential data are physically isolated
from any networks outside Statistics Canada. Therefore, even if a request
were ever to be made by an external authority to any contractor for
confidential data, it would be physically impossible for a contractor to
comply, given that they are never in possession of census responses.
Public Works and Government Services Canada awarded the contract through an
open, transparent, and stringent competitive bidding process following all
the laws and regulations pertaining to procurement. Statistics Canada has
relied on the private sector in the past to provide equipment and services
to conduct a Census in a cost effective manner, without compromising
confidentiality, and the 2006 Census is no exception.
Census data are a vital source of information for decisions by governments
and private citizens and businesses that affect the daily lives of
Canadians. The data must be complete and accurate for these purposes. We
have put so much emphasis on security and confidentiality measures regarding
contractor provided systems to ensure that Canadians can complete their
Census questionnaires in full confidence of these measures. It is critical
that we all be part of the Canadian family portrait that is the Census. I
urge you to be part of that portrait.
Thank you for your interest in the census.
Ivan P. Fellegi
Chief Statistician of Canada
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on May 28, 2006]
Note: www.census2006.ca
Note: www.census2006.ca
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Hi there, thank you for the reply, a couple of comments if you don't mind...<br />
<br />
You mention that the contract with Lockheed Martin, IBM, and Transcontinental Printing is responsible for, among other things, printing services. That does not necessarily give me a lot of confidence. Also, your statement that your safeguards were independently assessed by IT professionals also does not give me a lot of confidence seeing as how supposedly secure voting terminals assisted George W. Bush and the Fascist neocons steal the last election in the United States:<br />
<br />
More info here:<br />
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/30/diebold_hides_source/">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/30/diebold_hides_source/</a><br />
<br />
Now, if we all remember, the 2001 elections in the U.S. occurred under some strange circumstances as well. So, if we look at the Project for the New American Century, which boasts such members as Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Libby, and their call for a "New Pearl Harbor" one year before 9/11 to acheive their imperialistic goals:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf">http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf</a><br />
<br />
It sure seems like the NeoConservatives wasted no time in ensuring their "New Pearl Harbor" in September of 2001.<br />
<br />
Now that we have a Conservative government of our own in Canada, I'm not liking our chances. What did becoming best buddies with Bush get Tony Blair besides a terrorist attack of their own? Canadians are now dying in Afghanistan thanks to the Americans illegal war on terror, and you want me to trust the government???<br />
<br />
Until this government publicly questions the events of 9/11, they will not get any support or trust from me.
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"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
(Albert Einstein)
statistics is to extract the greatest amount of information
from a minimum sample. If I am faced with sorting out
from a population of 10,000 green apples, 5 which are red,
then one way to do this is to examine all 10,000 apples and
when I find a red one, set it aside. This way I am sure
that I will find the red apples, but even here (the so called 100% inspection) mistakes can be made, for example
the sorter may THINK that he/she has a red apple, but since
he/she is colour blind, errors will occur.
Now, 100% inspection in not 100% foolproof, which is one
'strike' against it. Further, it is time consuming and
costly, finally there is not need to do it since statistics
will tell us the result within a certain probability. The point to all this is that STATISTICS CANADA DOES NOT NEED TO
SAMPLE ALL OF THE POPULATION FOR INFORMATION AS DEMANDED BY
THE CENSUS LONG FORM. Statistics Canada say that they need
the statistical information for 'planning purposes'. First, this is false. No statistics office requires private information for the purposes of planning. Statistics Canada
should be asked to PROVE that it requires a sample of 1 in 5
households for its mythical planning. It does not, as we
have seen by our green and red apples. It only requires
enough sample on which to base certain conclusions. In
keeping with good economics, Statistics Canada should be
working to keep its COSTS LOW, and not maintain an artificial need for information thus inflating costs. At present there is something like 26,000 employees working
on the 2006 Census. These people, and the cost fo generate
doubtful information, could better be utilized elsewhere.
With the aforgoing in mind, and assuming that large samples
are NOT REQUIRED from a stable population (ie. non-shifting)
then one is correct to ask, 'WHY DOES Statistics Canada require so much and so detailed information as provided by
the Long Form?'
There are several replies to this question. The first is
wrapped about the human weakness that, having a new toy,
(computers) we are prone to finding ways to play with the toy, mainly for our amusement.' Second, there are many
people who simply LOVE NUMBERS...including graphs, rows and
columns, tables, mathematical manipulations etc. and these
folk cannot be suppressed, it is an obsession. Having
convinced themselves and their boss that a certain route
of study or endeavour should be taken, they are unstoppable
EVEN WHEN IT IS PROVEN THAT THE CHOSEN ROUTE IS WORTHLESS.
This is one of the fundamental weaknesses of governments.
A third possibility is, that, having set up a large white
horse (a Trojan horse perhaps?) there is need to feed and water it...without this it will die. Since Canada has
a Statistics operation, which has been established and maintained at a huge cost to the public money, it would be
singularly embarassing if it were allowed to slide into a
decline. Thus, our Trojan horse, instead of discharging its cargo, grows ever fatter due to projects being stuffed
into it, many of which have no earthly use.
Finally, and this is the most imponderable and perhaps the
most important, the GOVERMENT IS COLLECTING INFORMATION ON
CANADIAN CITIZENS SO THAT EACH CITIZEN WILL HAVE A COMPLETE
CRADEL TO GRAVE FILE OF INFORMATION ON HIM/HER. The evil implicite in this nefarious system can only be imagined, and
I challenge readers to list the possibilities. For those
who would like a hint, examine the post WW2 history of
E.Germany...your findings will be horrible. Could this
situation develope in Canada...well, we have made a start!
As an ancillary to the above, we need to ask ourselves whether the Canadian Government is, perhaps, being ASKED
OR CAJOLED INTO COLLECTING INFORMATION ON ITS CITIZENS?
This is something every Canadian should consider, and
consider well.
The collection of private information on citizens of a
country is the first step towards the slippery slope which
relinquishes democracy. You have all seen this happen inmany countries over the past 50 or so years. Hitler
was good at it, and, as we have seen, the various 'rulers'
of E. Germany were past masters at the practice. Please do not let this happen to our beautiful country with its
great wealth of fine citizens, its magnificent collection
or wonderful flora and fauna, and its imposing geologic
make up. Yes, you see, a slide from democracy wil affect
all of these beautiful things...to the negative end.
ps. if someone could correct my spelling, I would be obliged, I have to feed baby now....Goodbye, John. R. QC.
With the many ways our information is gathered this is just one more unnecessary one and the excuse they use about distributing money sounds feeble at best and an outright deception at its worst.
---
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche
Statcan has a long and short form. Both a sample and a census are used to get a good picture of Canada. Pick up any paper any day and you will find references to this essential information.
Statcan uses some kind of sampling for every other survey. I'm pretty damn sure they know more about statistics than you.
Want to know how many schools your city will need? How many people in Canada speak english? How many people will retire in the next ten years? How long we are living?
This all comes from the Census. We need this infomation.
If you have real privacy concerns, look at the cameras your municipalities want to install.
You may have read that Statcan didn't even want to release census information after 100 years. I don't see that anywhere here
Do you really believe that ALL that information comes directly from our census? I have read articles that state that information used by StatsCan has been gleened from other gathering sources as well. It was stated right in the article where they had taken the info from.
Would you by any chance know which *specific* person, in the government or otherwise, is responsible for hiring Lockheed Martin?
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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche