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One of the obligations of living in this wonderful country is filling out the short-form census every five years, and the long-form census, on average, every 25 years.
This letter appeared in the July 15, 2010 Edmonton Journal:
Lorne Gunter's position that it is undemocratic to require one in five households to fill in the long-form census is disappointing.
Gunter seems to hold to the view that democracy is all about rights without any of the corresponding obligations. I disagree.
One of the obligations of living in this wonderful country is filling out the short-form census every five years, and the long-form census, on average, every 25 years.
As Gunter acknowledges, it takes one or two hours to complete the long-form census. We will be required to do so two or three times during our adult lives. In exchange, Canadians receive a portrait of who we are and how we are changing in terms of family composition, ethnicity, education, income, housing and other key areas needed for sound decision-making. There is simply no way other than the census to gather this type of information about ourselves right down to the neighbourhood level of detail.
No statistical survey is perfect. The census is no exception. However, the vast majority of us answer truthfully and completely. That's what makes this detailed snapshot of Canadians so valuable and important.
To be statistically valid and to allow societal trends to be accurately measured over time, the long-form census must be completed by a representative sample of the Canadian population. A voluntary long-form census will make campaigns by interest groups to skew census results more likely than the current mandatory approach. Moreover, to make up for those who refuse to do their civic duty, the rest of us will have to complete the long-form census on average every 15 years rather than every 25 years.
In my experience, Statistics Canada goes to great lengths to avoid penalizing people who fail to complete the long-form census, while still reminding them of their duty to do so. In cases where learning disabilities and low literacy levels make completing the long-form census difficult, assistance is provided.
I sincerely hope the Conservative government comes to its senses and reverses this ill-advised decision.
John Kolkman, Edmonton
Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/Part+civic+duty/3280317/story.html#ixzz0tmNOZjvU
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Thursday, 17 May 2012 
The ESPC is a member of the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (ECOHH). ECOHH sent out a three question survey related to housing security to each political party competing in the 2012 Alberta election. So far, the Progressive Conservatives (PC), the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the Alberta Party responded to ECOHH's questions. Below are their respective answers.
