Believing that it had a war-ready population of 20 million citizens in 1749, the government of Sweden conducted the first-ever modern census. Bluntly, leaders discovered they were short by a factor of 10.
The rude awakening prompted the government to invest in public health and stem infant mortality. It was the beginning of sophisticated, evidence-based decision making in government for the benefit of the people.
Flash forward more than 250 years, and it looks like we’re finally returning to an era of actual evidence-based decision-making in government.
In its first act of policy-making, the Liberal government announced that Statistics Canada would reinstate the mandatory long-form census after it was unceremoniously scrapped by the Tories in 2010 in favour of an optional household survey. With 25 per cent fewer respondents, statisticians warned the value of the data collected from the optional survey was questionable to the point of being, arguably, useless.
Whether it was scrapped to satisfy the more paranoid, libertarian branches of the party or to confound critics who used data to challenge the Conservatives’ agenda, we’re glad to see our mini-Dark Ages of governing from the hip are over.
People may forget it, but filling out the census is a civic duty on the same level as paying taxes and voting. The root of the word statistics, is in fact, “state.”
So when you sigh and grumble about having to take the time to fill out the census form, remember that it’s part of your obligation as a citizen. And, moreover, it’s a good thing. Governments can’t make good decisions with bad (or no) information.
Let’s face it, every day big and expensive decisions are being made, and we want to be sure we’re on the right track.
Among the reliable info collected in the census was information on the length of citizens’ commutes – this as we’re moving to spend $140 million redesigning our Highway 1 interchanges and the region struggles with how it will pay for transit improvements.
We hope this move marks the return to evidence-based decisions in Ottawa.
When it comes to our time and our money, vague guesses simply won’t cut it.
– guest editorial courtesy of the North Shore News
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