“In the past, it was mandatory for Canadians to answer every question on the census,” Minister Sheridan says. “Now, all but a few will be completed voluntarily. That means we may end up with skewed information about our Island communities, including income and education levels, the number of people staying home with children or seniors, ethnicity, which languages are spoken in the home, or the number of people identifying themselves as having a disability.”

Minister Sheridan outlined his concerns in a letter to Tony Clement, the Minister Responsible for Statistics Canada. “It is my fear that many of these groups will now find themselves under represented by the very data we use to make effective policy decisions,” he wrote. “Quite simply, we rely on the information gathered from the long-form of the census when deciding the best way to deliver programs and services for Islanders.”

Minister Sheridan expressed his concern that losing access to the information contained in the long-form of the census will have far-reaching implications. “I believe that giving people the option of ignoring all but the very basic of questions will give us only a partial picture of Canadians”, he wrote. “Those who choose not to volunteer more information about their socioeconomic situation may inadvertently jeopardize some of the very programs targeted toward them.”