Long-form census return will put stats back in Yukon communities
Seven Yukon regions have had no census information published since 2006
Yukon statisticians are glad to see the long-form census return, but say some information has been "lost forever" since several Yukon communities have had no census information published since 2006.
Gary Brown of the Yukon Bureau of Statistics says when the mandatory long-form census was scrapped in 2011, it was replaced with a voluntary seven-question National Household Survey.
Brown says the voluntary survey had a cutoff to ensure accuracy.
"Any community that had less than 50 per cent response, [Statistics Canada] suppressed that data. The data wasn't strong enough or solid enough to be released," he says.
Since 2006 the communities of Carmacks, Mayo, Tagish, parts of Teslin, Ibex Valley as well as two other rural sections of the territory have had no census information published.
Brown says it'll be interesting to see what has changed in 10 years.
"Obviously, we're 10 years out, pretty much, and that has an impact," he says.
Some info 'lost forever' during the gap
Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced the return of the long-form census on Parliament Hill Thursday. It will have 61 questions.
"It covers your wide range of topics," says Brown.
"There's a lot of labour force and employment data. There's education levels, income levels, a lot of information on housing. A lot of the types of housing ... also the condition of the dwelling and year of construction."
The long-form census will also measure if multiple families are living in the same home and collect information about languages and culture including ethnicity and First Nations, Métis and Inuit status.
"Right across the board it's a wealth of information," says Brown.
In 2006, Canada-wide participation in the long-form census was 94 per cent. The national participation rate in the voluntary National Household Survey was about 69 per cent in 2011.