November 7, 1984 (33rd Parliament, 1st Session)

Mr. Don Boudria (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell):

Mr. Speaker, it has been reported in the media over the last few days that the Government was planning to cancel the 1986 census. I have a question for the Minister of Supply and Services who is responsible for the matter.
Since there has been a census every five years in Western Canada since 1886, and in other parts of this country since 1956, and in view of the importance of the data collected by way of that census to the business and academic communities and also to social and government affairs, not to mention of course the issue of the jobs involved in census-taking, can the Minister give us his personal assurance that the census will not be cancelled, but held in 1986 as usual?