Opposition is growing to the Conservative government’s decision to ditch the long-form census, but the Tories have so far refused to budge.
Xtra’s federal politics reporter Dale Smith has been following the census issue for the past few weeks. He says the Tories are “playing to a populist base
through use of red herrings, misdirection and a collection of straw
men, and much of it is predicated on half-truths and outright
falsehoods.” Read more on Dale’s Hill Queeries blog.
Just how ridiculous and desperate have the Tories’ arguments become? The government’s PR strategy seems to be, “Let’s make the long-form census look scary by suggesting that we’ll need to interrupt people who have sex at night! But wait! Let’s use a euphemism for sex, because that icky word might offend our religious voter base.”
It’s unbelievable, but that’s basically what PMO spokesperson Dimitri Soudas was hinting at on Sunday: “Canadians don’t want the government at their doorstep at 10 o’clock
at night while they may be doing something in their bedroom, like
reading.”
Also on Sunday, Conservative MP Maxime Bernier evoked Pierre Trudeau’s famous line on gay sex to defend the government’s census decision. “The state does not belong in the bedrooms of Canadians and
Canadians must have the freedom to choose if they want to answer it,” Bernier told The Star.
Conservative MP Maxime Bernier
The issue is set to continue this week as MPs recall the Commons industry committee for hearings.
Keep up on the latest census news on Twitter with the #census hashtag and join the “Keep the Canada Census Long Form” Facebook group
Follow federal politics news every weekday on Xtra’s Hill Queeries blog
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