OTTAWA — A Liberal member of Parliament is calling on Canadians to fill out their census surveys for the good of their communities, as some Canadians are refusing and claiming the questions on it violate their privacy.
Statistics Canada asked Canadians to fill out the census form by today.
The federal Statistics Act says every household and farm operator in Canada must participate, and failing to do so could result in a 500-dollar fine.
But some Canadians have taken to social media to express their discontent with the census, fearing it is invasive and protesting by posting pictures of ripped-up forms or envelopes marked "return to sender."
Mark Gerretsen, the M-P for Kingston and the Islands, says the census is not a personal data grab by the prime minister.
He says the census is how Canada collects the data it uses to decide how many schools a community needs, where hospitals and clinics should be built, and how much federal funding a municipality receives.