From: Sandra Finley Sent: February-17-15 To: bill.durodie at royalroads.ca Subject: Calls for mandatory long form census
Dear Professor Durodie,
RE: your Shaw interview last summer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76uBmi5IAuk.
If what I say has merit, I would appreciate if you would share it with interested others.
There are complexities with the data base on Canadians at Statistics Canada that are unknown in some circles.
You will know of the leaks about NSA surveillance by Edward Snowden. Because you were interviewed in relation to the trial of Eve Stegenga, I think you will know of Lockheed Martin’s involvement in the data base on Canadians at StatsCan.
Further to that:
- Lockheed Martin Corporation works with the NSA
- Lockheed’s website tells that an area of expertise they offer is surveillance
- Snowden explained the NSA’s “back door entry” to data bases, if the NSA/FBI cannot gain front-door access.
- Ladar Levison’s story is one example of what the FBI is doing to forceably gain access to personal information without court orders. In case you are not familiar with Levison’s story: 2014-05-29 Lavabit founder, Ladar Levison, fought 9-month legal battle with FBI & 2014-06-27 Ladar Levison: The American who shut down his business when he felt his government wanted too much
- Many Canadians are not aware of the extent of the data collection being done, and illegally by StatsCan. The long form census in 2006 had approximately 50 questions. It has been replaced by the National Household Survey with a > 50% increase in the number of questions. Racial and sexual profiling, the NAME (not just the industry sector) of your employer, and so on and on. The building of files on individuals is on-going weekdays and weekends (“Surveys” are not confined to once every 5 years). The illegal part is that StatsCan pronounces that people can/will be prosecuted and potentially sent to jail if they don’t answer the questions. But under the governing legislation, the Statistics Act, surveys are voluntary, only the census is mandatory. (You may be interested, 2014-05-26 Census, Surveys & Lockheed Martin. More concise argument? (conversation with JoAnne)
Canadian citizens began protesting in 2003 against the involvement of Lockheed Martin, effectively the American military, in the data base on Canadians at StatsCan. (People in the UK also objected to the involvement of Lockheed Martin in their similar data base.)
Humans have experience with Governments that build data files on citizens. It was specifically through censuses in the case of Nazi Europe (ref IBM and the Holocaust by Edwin Black). Because of the known association between police states and detailed files on citizens, Canadians have THE CHARTER RIGHT TO PRIVACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION:
“In fostering the underlying values of dignity, integrity and autonomy, it is fitting that s. 8 of the Charter should seek to protect a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to maintain and control from dissemination to the state.”
A large and growing number of Canadians understand that the assaults on democracy in Canada need to be vigorously challenged.
(An irony to me is that the intention of the American militaristic forces vis-a-vis Canada have been spelt out through the years in our own media. It’s as though we didn’t believe them, but lo and behold today – – they have almost succeeded in their intentions to have access to all the data on Canadians, including for example, those who oppose the Northern Gateway Pipeline – – one example among many.)
I hope that this additional information might bring about a re-evaluation of support for making it an offence for Canadians to defend the Charter Right to Privacy of personal information. We should not walk blindly.
I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Best wishes,
Sandra Finley