Statement made on 07 October 2010 by Senator Joan Fraser
Hon. Joan Fraser:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
The minister has said again that the information will be as good from the voluntary survey as it would be from the census. However, let us go back to the earlier question about the reason why the chief statistician resigned. The minister might not recall that, in his letter of resignation and in his public comments, he made two things plain. First, he resigned because he learned through reading the public press that the Minister of Industry was telling Canadians that Statistics Canada believed the results from the new voluntary survey would be as valid as those from the long census form. Second, Statistics Canada does not believe any such thing.
He resigned because he believed that what the minister had said was impugning the reputation, not only of himself, but of the whole institution he served. Does the minister recall that?
Please click here to read the full text of the Senator's question