July 24, 2010
Critics say census decision could hurt energy, transit policies
Census information vital to developing effective programs
MIKE DE SOUZA, Postmedia News
Federal energy efficiency policies to reduce home heating bills and public transit services could suffer as a result of the Harper government’s decision to end mandatory participation in the national statistical agency’s long-form census, say opposition critics.
Although government officials have repeatedly criticized some of the census questions for being too intrusive, environmental and energy experts say information from the detailed questionnaire, such as the number of bedrooms in a home, is essential for developing effective federal programs that will help Canadians reduce their environmental footprints and save money.
“There’s all kinds of data and information in the longform census which is useful for our future economic and environmental security,” said Liberal environment critic David McGuinty, the MP for Ottawa South. “Of course, knowing what kind of space people are living in is a factor in terms of our energy future.”
The government recently announced it was winding down funding to one federal program offering incentives for homeowners to do renovations that would lower their energy consumption.
NDP natural resources critic Nathan Cullen said the quality of information from a voluntary census would also make it harder for Canadians to evaluate whether government energy policies are succeeding in reducing consumption.
“If the government isn’t measuring, then it can’t manage,” Cullen said. “It seems ideological to me rather than thoughtful for a government just to refuse to take this information in simply to please a very, very narrow base of citizens who find the idea of a census a problem.”
McGuinty and Cullen also both said data regarding percentages of homeowners versus renters, along with information on the type of energy used for heating were important elements of the census that could be used to analyze and shape government policy.
Tim Weis, the director of renewable energy and efficiency policies at the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based environmental research group, said public transit agencies that want to plan new services, routes or incentives for commuters, also benefit from answers to questions on the long-form census that ask people how they get to work.
“When you’re looking at programs for energy efficiency or programs for public transportation, some of the things you need to know are the sizes of houses, how they’re living in them and how they’re getting to work.”
