The Canadian Association of Professional Employees is decrying the announcement from Statistics Canada that the department will be cutting hundreds of jobs over the next two years. This move will have severe negative consequences for our government’s ability to make policy decisions based on quality evidence and information.
“This announcement sounds like a warmed-over rehash of Stephen Harper’s anti-data playbook,” said CAPE President Nathan Prier. “The Harper era cuts to StatCan represented a hostile attitude towards facts and reality. Mark Carney’s government seems to be taking us in the same direction.”
The work done by Statistics Canada is critical to understanding our country, the people in it, and how best to deliver for them. From the census to the consumer price index, and demographic surveys, Statistics Canada employees help to ensure that Canadians are represented properly and fairly.
The Carney government has yet to explain what corresponding programs will be lost with these job cuts. Similar cuts under Stephen Harper’s government caused significant setbacks in the government’s ability to collect and use data effectively, a move which took years to recover from and build back capacity. Today, these job losses threaten to have widespread knock-on effects on all programs and services, leaving Canadians – especially those from vulnerable or minority groups – without the support they need.
CAPE will continue to fight against these reckless cuts because Canadians deserve policies and programs that are based on data and informed decisions and not the whims of whichever politician is in charge.
