The Statistics Canada Sellout

The long-form census controversy holds important lessons for both federal public servants and their political masters.

How dare an elected government of Canada tell the civil service how to run the country? How dare a mere prime minister contradict the settled professional views of his fearless bureaucratic advisers? By what right do insignificant cabinet members interfere in the critical tasks of public servants?

-David Warren, the Ottawa Citizen, August 7, 2010

David Warren’s sarcastic editorial in the Ottawa Citizen was printed in response to my own opinion piece published in the same newspaper on August 2. The article addressed the attacks by the Harper government on an independent public service and quasi-judicial commissions, which culminated in the events that led to the resignation of Munir Sheikh, the head of Statistics Canada.

It is a public servant's duty is to provide fearless advice to the government. If elected officials choose not to accept that advice, it is also the public servant’s responsibility to loyally implement the lawful decisions of their political masters.

What the government can't do, however, is put senior public servants in a position where they have to act as if they have offered advice that they have not given. This would undermine their duty to Canadian citizens, as I demonstrated in my opinion piece back in August. Yet this is precisely what the Harper government wanted Chief Statistician Sheikh to do.

The Harper government asserted that the voluntary long form option was an idea put forth by Statistics Canada, when in reality the department was in favour of the mandatory long form option (which is supported by virtually all of Canada’s leading business, academic, government, and civil society groups). Also advocating for the mandatory long form option were Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada, and the governments of Ontario and Quebec, which have decades of experience using the data provided by the census.

In a letter dated September 11, 2010, the minister of industry, Tony Clement stated, “The chief statistician has indicated that this new approach will provide useful and usable data that can meet the needs of many users.”

As Parliament resumes its session, the opposition parties should not let the discrepancy between Sheikh’s advice and the Harper government’s actions proceed without consequences. The latest revelation of a potential breach of trust in government’s duties to Canadians are allegations that political staff in the office of Cabinet Minister Christian Paradis may have improperly interfered with the release of information under the Access to Information Act. Ironically this legislation was promoted as one of the corner stones of the Harper government’s accountability agenda. If the facts of these breaches of trust towards Canadians are proven, there should be resignations at the Ministerial level if these egregious breaches are proven, and not just those of political staffers or courageous public servants. Surely the Canadian public deserves a minimum of transparency and accurate facts from their elected officials. The principle of Ministerial Responsibility also demands resignations at the highest levels.

Despite the assertions articulated in Mr. Warren’s editorial, an increasing number of individuals are questioning the ways in which the Harper government is undermining the integrity and value of federal public service. In an editorial published on September 15, 2010, the Calgary Herald denounced the muzzling of Natural Resources and Health Canada scientists and public servants.

Mr. Warren’s own newspaper – in an editorial on September 18, 2010 – stated that the Harper government’s penchant for controlling the media reveals a mistrust of the ability of citizens to make choices on the best information available. The editorial adds that “such mistrust suggests a creeping and worrisome authoritarianism.”

The most important result of reliable data is that it helps elected officials design policies and programs that benefit the majority of Canadians. Yet for Mr. Warren and the Harper government, the collection of accurate and representative information on the lives of Canadian citizens is no longer a priority.