News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

Dear Editor: 

In a recent news article it was revealed that, "The Conservative government announced at the end of June that the long form part of the questionnaire (Census) will no longer be mandatory because of privacy concerns. Now, Canadians who receive the long form can refuse to fill it out." 

At first glance you feel warm inside because it feels like Uncle Stephen is looking out for us.  We all know he has our best interest at heart.  Right?  Our privacy is preserved and we won't have to fill out those long, overtaxing forms. 

After I checked to see if that had brought a tear to my eye...the hem of my kilt was dry....I remembered another bit of ‘news’ I read a while back. 

This article was written by Loryanne Anthony of the Canadian Press and basically highlights the real reasons behind Uncle Stephen's concerns for his flock....I mean....fellow Canadians. 

Ms Anthony says that, "Almost a decade after the deadline by which the House of Commons was unanimously resolved to eliminate child poverty, Statistics Canada says there are still almost 900,000 children living in the poorest of homes. 

The latest census numbers released Thursday show that an estimated 879,955 Canadian children are living in low-income households, and that more than a third of these deprived children are in the care of single mothers. 

That grim portrait of the country's most vulnerable has changed little in a quarter of a century. " 

So, now I begin to understand why Prime Minister Harper is trying to put the kibosh on the idea that the Census is good for Canadians. 

It has nothing to do with safeguarding the welfare of our privacy, but rather, it would help expose the lack of welfare for ALL Canadians that his undemocratic policies help foster. 

Nice try, Mr. Prime Minister. 

Sincerely, 

John Visentin
Retired Teacher
Williams Lake, BC

| More...