But to the Tories, that's not a bug -- it's a feature.

[bcholmes]

Canada is facing international criticism in the prestigious science journal Nature over the Harper government’s decision to stop requiring Canadians to fill out a long-form census questionnaire.

Two U.S.-based statistics experts describe Canada’s move as part of an international attack on census taking that is jeopardizing a vital tool for taking the pulse of a nation.

"Census taking around the world is under assault, thanks to concerns about privacy, cost and response rates," Stephen Fienberg and Kenneth Prewitt write in the August 26 edition of Nature.

"Most scientists and policy makers worldwide fail to appreciate what is at stake until it is too late to repair the damage of short-sighted decisions," they say.

[...]

"This decision will lower the quality and raise the cost of information on nearly every issue before Canada’s government," the opinion piece in Nature says.

— "Science journal laments census 'assault'", The Globe and Mail