There's Still Time to Save the Census

This fall, the Liberal Party will fight to make the census reputable and statistically reliable.

This summer's great census debate is far from over. When Parliament resumes on Sept. 20, the Liberal Party will unveil a bill to bring back the mandatory long-form census, including some concessions to hopefully appease the Conservatives. In the legislation, the threat of jail time will be removed, which was one of the reasons the Conservative Party made the census voluntary. When the Tories made their decision to scrap the mandatory census, it struck a chord with opposition parties, rights groups and organizations, and the business community, all of whom felt it was necessary for the Canadian government to obtain the best statistical information from its citizens as possible.

Bob Rae, Liberal MP for Toronto-Centre, spoke with The Mark about why he thinks the census can still be saved for 2011.