Census
Lynn said:
Is it true that there is a penalty to not fill it out?
I heard an interview on 680 news yesterday in which the reporter stated that the fine for not completing the Census is up to three months in jail / $500 fine.
I've looked on Stats Canada's site and never saw mention of this...
Just curious
From my brief and uninterested look at the forms I received, I am inclined to believe that there are no penalties whatsoever that could be visited on anyone who fails to fill out this rather benign census questionnaire.
Why? Well, for one thing, it requires your consent; and in this case your consent can only be acquired by your filling in the questionnaire. If you do not fill it in, then you have not given your consent. I do not believe that you can be penalized for not consenting to a process that requires your consent to penalize you.
Moreover, since these statistics will not be made public for 92 years or so, then any constitutional abirdgements of those in vogue in 2006 should not be of great concern to anyone who has not discovered the elixer of life.
So far as I can recall from my glance at this census, about the only matters of significance that it seems to be interested in are matters of housing, sexual cohabitation variences and ethnic and sexual orientations.
It is too bad that such intrusions into our private lives could not generate larger questions.
However, if you do fill it out, then you are subject to penalty should you fail to tell the truth. Mind you, it would be quite comical to make the case in 92 years from now.