OTTAWA - Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington, called the Harper government's move to make the long-form consensus voluntary "really strange."

"It will have a big impact on predictability for government and business that want to determine where the needs of people are moving and how they can better respond.

"In the Northwest Territories, with our mix and the need to understand that, it's essential to get the information to really understand how things are going here in 33 communities over 1.4 million square kilometres," said Bevington.

The decision could also interfere with how programs and services in the Northwest Territories are developed and delivered.

"The census is a vital part of data for the Northwest Territories," said Vishni Peeris, territorial statistician. "Any changes to the availability of that information is going to be have quite an effect on the territories."

There appears to be significant public opposition to the change that prompted government-appointed chief statistician Munir Sheikh to resign last week. Eighty-one per cent of 12,000 respondents to an online poll in The Globe and Mail oppose the change.

Peeris said in the Northwest Territories, the data potentially most vulnerable is that collected in Yellowknife where census forms are usually left at homes for residents to complete and mail to Census Canada.

Outside of Yellowknife, the census has always been delivered in personal interviews in the subjects' homes, Peeris explained.

"We get a very high response rate, generally - largely because of the face-to-face nature of data collection.

In support of its decision to make response voluntary, the government cited widespread opposition to mandatory questionnaires, but Peeris said there have been relatively few incidents of outright refusal to complete the form.

"Refusals are rare," she said. "In all of Canada, just 60 people were prosecuted for failing to complete forms in the 2001 and 2006 census."

"I would hope that residents will understand that their participation ensures quality data for quality decisions, and that they will take the time and effort to complete the survey."

The information is used for policy planning, monitoring programs, and measuring the effectiveness of policies, she said.

"These could be hampered by a lack of response. We may have issues in comparisons with the rest of Canada, the ability to compare ourselves historically may be compromised."

Peeris said each question in the survey "is rigorously reviewed for relevance and use through extensive consultations across Canada."

Although the data is detailed enough to develop policies for specific city neighbourhoods, personal information is rigorously protected. "We would never be able to know that Vishni Peeris has three children and lives in a one-bedroom bungalow," she said.

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