To the editor,
On June 26, the federal government announced that Canadians would no longer be required to complete Canada’s long-form census.
Doctors Nova Scotia is concerned that the alternative – a voluntary survey – will not be able to provide the necessary credible data to guide health-care policy and program development in our province.
The long-form census provides information related to factors that influence access to care and health outcomes in this country.
The information gathered from the long-form census is critical to the development and delivery of health-care programs and services. With a voluntary survey, we are running the risk of obtaining unusable data due to a larger amount of bias and under-represented population data.
Reliable information is key when meeting the challenges that face our health-care system. Doctors Nova Scotia is concerned with any decision that affects the credibility and reliability of data and hope government will reconsider its decision to eliminate the mandatory completion of the long-form census in Canada.
Jane Brooks, MD, PhD, CCFP
President
Doctors Nova Scotia
www.doctorsns.com
