RSSeNEWS to be determined...

The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has joined the coalition opposing the scrapping of the mandatory long form census, saying its abolition will diminish the prospects for Canadians who suffer serious personal injuries to win proper compensation.

In a letter to industry minister Tony Clements (pdf format – opens in new window), the CBA says that "women, children, and young and middle-aged adults without a regular work history" will be especially vulnerable.

CBA President and QC D Kevin Carroll wrote that “Lawyers and judges rely on data from the long-form census in personal injury cases to help evaluate the future needs of those who are not closely connected to the paid labour force … Judges are more willing to accept census data over information gathered through industry or professional associations. Precisely because the long-form census survey is mandatory, courts needn’t worry about perceived or real response bias in the information.” 

The CBA, which represents 37,000 lawyers, law teachers and law students, commented that reliable statistical information is fundamental to good public policy making in "access to justice, the rule of law, and conditions affecting the justice system, the legal profession, and Canadian residents generally".

Furthermore, personal privacy concerns "can be readily addressed by revising the [census] process rather than abolishing the long form entirely,” the CBA argues.