July 22, 2010
Beyond the census: other Statistics Canada surveys that have been cut
Statistics Canada surveys that have already fallen victim to budget cuts and expenditure restraint:
The Workplace and Employee Survey – the only source of annual information on job vacancies, benefits and pensions. The survey was cut in the middle of the recession just when thousands of workers were losing their jobs, benefits and pensions.
The annual Survey of Household Spending tells Canadians about their spending patterns. It is being changed and will no longer provide information on the savings and debt levels of Canadian families at a time when personal debt levels are at record heights and savings levels are at record lows.
The Survey of Financial Security is important for tracking inequality. It hasn't been administered since 2005 and there are no plans for it to be conducted anytime soon.
The Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada – a cost-recovery survey designed to examine the first four years of settlement of recent immigrants to Canada. The last interviews were done in 2005-2006 and the results released in 2007. There are currently no plans to redo the survey.
The Participation and Activity Limitation Survey is another cost-recovery survey that examines the activity limitations of Canadians with disabilities. The survey has been conducted a number of times following a census. The last survey was conducted in 2006 with results made available in 2007. There are no plans to conduct this survey in 2011.
There is a possibility that the Aboriginal Children's Survey which provides data on the early development of Aboriginal children and their social and environmental conditions may also have been cut.
See also:
- Long form census: playing political games will have consequences
- Canadian Labour Congress opposes changes to Canada's national census
- All the latest on the census long-form debacle (CCPA)
Date Modified : 2010/07/23
