Item - 2010.HL33.2

The Federal Government has decided to replace the mandatory long form census with a voluntary “National Household Survey” in 2011.  The criticism of this decision has been swift, strong and crosses all sectors.

Over the past 35 years the mandatory Census has included a short form, which collects basic data on age, gender, marital status, household characteristics and mother tongue, and a long form, which collects a broader range of socio-economic data.  This data is critical for ongoing health surveillance and assessment which includes understanding the social determinants of health in Toronto.  The knowledge derived from this process underpins Toronto Public Health’s (TPH) foundational principles of identifying priority populations and using evidence to plan services and develop policies.

In addition to these principles, the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) mandate Toronto Public Health to conduct health surveillance and assessment of the city’s population using, in part, the data collected in the long form.  The Federal Government’s proposal to eliminate the census long form will compromise Toronto Public Health's ability to fulfill this mandate.