’The death of smart government’

David Eaves—with the essay that seemed to start yesterday’s Twitter exchange—condemns the census decision on a variety of fronts.

This is a direct attack on the ability of government to make smart decisions. It is an attack on evidence-based public policy. Moreover, it was a political decision – it came from the minister’s office and does not appear to reflect what Statistics Canada either wants or recommends. Of course, some governments prefer not to have information; all that data and evidence gets in the way of legislation and policies that are ineffective, costly and that reward vested interests (I’m looking at you, tough-on-crime agenda).

The Liberals are musing of an amendment to make the long form mandatory.