2006 Census - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

mykalberta · 05-15-2006, 02:26 PM

A few questions:

(1) Do I have to fill it out (ie criminal prosecution/fine).

(2) I havent recieved it yet, if I have to fill it out what is the best way to get one - I have tried calling the number multiple times and every time it says circuits are busy - doesnt let you wait on the phone.

Thanks - I went back a few pages and didnt see anything about this.

MYK

Staypuft · 05-15-2006, 02:37 PM

I can tell you right now that you want to fill out this census. Our newsroom did a story last week with a guy who didn't do his census last time around (he's a farmer) and he got personal visits/threats from stats-can to the tune of $5000. They apparently take this very seriously, which I was very surprised to find out, I thought a ton of people would slack on it.

As for actually getting your census, I'd continue calling 1 877 594-2006 apparently they man the lines from 8AM-9PM everyday. It sucks for you if you didn't get one, so it's an undeserved inconvenience, but I'd keep trying to get one.

Bobblehead · 05-15-2006, 02:40 PM

My package says I can fill it out on-line. I haven't looked to see if there is some sort of enumeration in it, or if you can complete it even if you don't get the package.

Staypuft · 05-15-2006, 02:47 PM

Yeah the census itself has your online "code" on it, so you need that to fill it out unfortunately.

ken0042 · 05-15-2006, 02:57 PM

I just checked out their website and they say if you haven't received it you can phone them. I would be inclined to say just get the census address from somebody who got the form and send a brief letter saying you didn't get it, and their phone line doesn't work.

They should really have some 90's technology in place and allow you to report it online.

Azure · 05-16-2006, 11:04 AM

I don't see why people wouldn't fill it out.

Seems fair enough, considering we live in this country.

Scorponok · 05-16-2006, 11:32 AM

How often do they do it, and why is it so important to them? What if you fill it out incorrectly? Can they jail you?

Staypuft · 05-16-2006, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scorponok

How often do they do it, and why is it so important to them? What if you fill it out incorrectly? Can they jail you?

Technically they can charge you, but the only thing that would come of it is a fine. No judge in the world would choose to jail a person over it.

mykalberta · 05-16-2006, 11:43 AM

Well I decided to call again today, and it looks as if they finally now have an on hold option.

Eegats, isnt technology amazing.

MYK

Agamemnon · 05-16-2006, 12:01 PM

I had a friend who was actively avoiding the census lady. She saw me coming down the hallway into his unit the other day, followed me down and started banging on the door. He seemed adamant that he 'didn't want to be a part of the census, and didn't have to do anything he didn't want' (sort of like an anti-government/pro-militia type, apparently).

She just kept on banging, knowing we were there, and eventually he got up and had to answer it. Hilariously, it then took about 15 minutes to do... I recall mine taking about 30 seconds

AaronSJ · 05-16-2006, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scorponok

How often do they do it, and why is it so important to them? What if you fill it out incorrectly? Can they jail you?

It's done every five years and provides governments, businesses, and other organizations with very reliable and valuable demographic information. This information is used to track changes and patterns and make to projections and decisions for the future.... for everything from electoral boundaries to healthcare resourcing to building & land developments. You can view data from the 2001 census here: http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/home/index.cfm

A side note -- four out of five families receive the (very) short questionaire which takes a minute or two to complete, while 20% of families receive a much longer form with 52 additional questions. The data from this longer form is much more valuable and interesting... it contains questions on daily activities, sociocultural information, education, employment, and income. These longer forms are randomly distributed and the 20% is a large enough sample size to make accurate projections about the entire country.

cSpooge · 05-16-2006, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Staypuft

Technically they can charge you, but the only thing that would come of it is a fine. No judge in the world would choose to jail a person over it.

im working for the census atm.. its a $1000 and/or 6 months in jail if they go ofter you for not filling it out.

theJuice · 05-16-2006, 02:32 PM

That was brutal to fill out

Fobby · 05-16-2006, 02:38 PM

the 20% is actually not by random. it's every 5th house on the street. It has some really personal questions that a lot of ppl might not want to answer, but they have to.

I did the census 5 years ago, ppl would yell at me and chase me down the street trying to beat me over the head with the census form. =\

loob job · 05-16-2006, 02:45 PM

Good luck trying to get through on that phone number, i've been trying the last half hour. What a country we live in, one number for all of canada.

loob job · 05-16-2006, 02:59 PM

should be called the census unhelp line.

Bobblehead · 05-16-2006, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loob job

Good luck trying to get through on that phone number, i've been trying the last half hour. What a country we live in, one number for all of canada.

One number does not equal one phone line. They may have 1000 phone lines that are swamped.

I'd imagine it would be brutally difficult to hire a truckload of people when 90% of the calls would come in on 1 or 2 days. That would be a staffing nightmare.

loob job · 05-16-2006, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

One number does not equal one phone line. They may have 1000 phone lines that are swamped.

I'd imagine it would be brutally difficult to hire a truckload of people when 90% of the calls would come in on 1 or 2 days. That would be a staffing nightmare.

i realize it's not one phone line, but they could have a few numbers for ontario, a few for alberta etc. Thats my point.

Bobblehead · 05-16-2006, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loob job

i realize it's not one phone line, but they could have a few numbers for ontario, a few for alberta etc. Thats my point.

Why? What benefit would that give?

ken0042 · 05-16-2006, 03:14 PM

How would a division of provinces help? Let's say they have 100 people; so Alberta gets 10 of them. How would it be faster to have a pool of 10 people for 3 million, than it would be to have a pool of 100 people for 30 million? In fact under your scenario you could have the 5 Saskatchewan people sitting there bored while the 10 Alberta operators are super busy.

Edit- Bobblehead you beat me to it!