Honourable senators, I listened very closely to Senator Cordy, who sponsored Bill C-36, and the honourable Senator Frum, and I have read and reread their statements.

My comments on Bill C-36 at second reading will be brief. I will be speaking not to the substance of the bill, but rather to the conversation and the vocabulary it contains regarding the independence of Statistics Canada.

Although the bill’s stated purpose is to strengthen the independence of Statistics Canada, I was relieved to learn that the independence the bill seeks to enshrine in the Statistics Act is largely confined to methodological and operational decisions. As Paul Thomas, professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba, said about this bill:

. . . the policy remains the prerogative of government and Parliament, whereas operational and technical matters are supposed to be the domain in which the chief statistician and other experts at Statistics Canada prevail.

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, minister responsible for Statistics Canada, also confirmed this division of responsibilities when this bill was being studied in committee in the other place. He said:

When it comes to the operational know-how, when it comes to determining how the data is going to be collected, what kind of data is going to be collected, whether it’s mandatory or voluntary, for example, all those powers and authorities lie within the domain of the chief statistician.

With regard to what data we’re going to collect and what kind of information we need, what areas we want to focus on, that lies within the prerogative of the minister.

That’s what this bill does very clearly. It takes the convention that currently exists and it enshrines that in legislation. It says very clearly that the minister will determine what kind of information we want to collect, and how we go about doing it is left to the prerogative and expertise of Statistics Canada and the chief statistician.

The bill makes no changes to section 21 of the Statistics Act, which gives the Governor in Council the power to, by order, prescribe the questions to be asked in the decennial census.

I wanted to speak to this issue at second reading before the bill goes to a committee for thorough study because I want my colleagues to be aware that deciding which questions appear on the decennial census is important, as is maintaining the Governor in Council’s powers in that regard.

The decennial census is our primary source of information about our country and the trends that will shape our future. The census is particularly important for official language minority communities because, with the right data, the federal government can inventory their needs and determine its obligations toward them.

More perceptive senators may have noticed that, for the most recent decennial census, the mandatory short form census included language questions. In the 2011 national census, Canadians were asked whether they spoke French or English well enough to carry on a conversation, which language they spoke most often at home, and whether they regularly spoke other languages.

The questions seem harmless enough, but it took legal battles, petitions, and applications for Federal Court injunctions to have them added to the census. I should remind you that the federal government had decided that the household survey, the long form, would not be mandatory as of 2011. The survey included five questions about language, and the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) was justifiably concerned about losing an important source of data. The government did not budge on making the long form optional, but it did add language questions to the mandatory short form census.

Under this bill, it is up to the Chief Statistician to determine whether participation in a census is mandatory or not, because it is a methodological issue. However, the government maintains control over, and more importantly, responsibility for the data collected. As evidenced by the legal battle being waged by the FCFA, this accountability is important, and it is reassuring to know that it will not disappear under this new legislation in the name of institutional independence. This accountability remains relevant today.

For instance, as they are currently worded, the questions in the decennial census do not allow for a precise count of rights-holders, they who are entitled to an education in a minority official language under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In English-majority provinces, the children of parents whose mother tongue is French or went to primary school in French and those who have a sibling who went to a French-language school are guaranteed this right.

The census counts only those in the first category and doesn’t ask any questions about the kind of school attended. This is a huge issue, because a complete and consistent count of rights-holders could help thousands of Canadians outside Quebec have access to education in French. The current government said that it is prepared to review the matter.

It is important for francophone minority communities to know that the federal government remains accountable when it comes to this process and that the goal of increasing the independence of Statistics Canada, though commendable, cannot be used as an excuse for inaction.

I want to reiterate my support for the principle of this bill, because it strikes the right balance between the operational independence of Statistics Canada and the government’s accountability regarding its political priorities. I will be following the committee’s study closely, and I urge my colleagues who will undertake this study to carefully consider the key role Statistics Canada plays for these small communities that continue to thrive across the country. Thank you.

Hon. Claudette Tardif: Would my honourable colleague take a question?

Senator Gagné: Certainly.

Senator Tardif: Senator Gagné, as you indicated in your remarks, it is vitally important for official language minority communities that questions be added to the 2021 census in order for rights-holders to be counted under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Can you assure us that Bill C-36 will not undermine the interests of official language minority communities in light of the fact that the government might not pursue the independence issue?

Senator Gagné: I thank the honourable senator for the question. I did, in fact, share your concerns at one time. To my understanding, section 21 of the act stipulates that the questions to be asked in a census conducted under sections 19 or 20 are prescribed by order of the Governor in Council. The Governor in Council still has that responsibility and role, which leads me to believe that he still has that authority.

Once again, as I mentioned in my speech, the increased independence of Statistics Canada cannot and must not be used as an excuse for inaction. I hope that answers your question.

Senator Tardif: Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Omidvar, for Senator Griffin, debate adjourned.)