LONDON (May, 1996) - Fp's Manager of Special Projects, Lloyd Walker, has refused to complete the 1996 Canadian Census on the grounds that filling it out would require him to adopt a racist perspective. In an open letter to Prime Minister Jean Chretien, which was also published in Dialogue magazine (June-July 1996), Walker concluded that "to me, the 1996 census is an example of government gone bad. Your fascination with what people were prior to their choosing to become Canadian is abhorrent."

Referring to the government's collection of racial data, Walker's criticisms elicited a revealing written response (July 29, 1996) from Ivan P. Fellegi, Chief Statistician with Statistics Canada:

"Question 19, often erroneously referred to as the 'race' question, was intended to produce information on the visible minority population. Answer categories listed in the question, with the exception of white, are those used in defining the visible minority population for purposes of the Employment Equity Act."

It was not until October 16, 1996, that Walker wrote back:

"I have waited a few months to reply to you letter. I had hoped that after a couple of months I could reread your letter and take less offence at what it contained. On that point I was wrong.

"I was brought up to think about people as individuals. My parents taught me that you don't make judgements based on race or visual characteristics. That is my culture! Why, of all cultures present in Canada, is mine (one that believes all people are individuals should be equal before and under the law) the culture that is to be belittled and prosecuted by Statistics Canada? Mr. Fellegi, your reply has only served to confirm my original opinion of the nature of Canada's census."

Walker concluded by thanking Fellegi for his response, since it would be of great assistance in helping him convince even more people that they should boycott the next census.

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Page last updated on August 19, 2005

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