Et tu, Brute?

Add economists to the loooong list of professional organizations who oppose Harper's decision to axe the census long-form questionnaire.

The Canadian Association for Business Economics poll found that 76 per cent of 252 respondents surveyed last week say they do not believe it is good policy to replace the mandatory long-form census with a voluntary national household survey.

The survey comes as a growing number of groups are speaking out against the proposed change, saying it will degrade the quality of information on everything from city planning to school sizes and immigrant income levels. [...]

“There is no substitute for the census. It is the foundation of our household information set,” said Paul Jacobson, vice-president of the economics association. The switch means “we’re spending more money for less quality – that’s the part a lot of us find offensive.” [...]

Economists use census results to track changes in Canadian life, right down to the neighbourhood level. The census also serves as the backbone upon which almost all other household surveys, including the labour force survey, are weighted.

Gee, does this mean Stevie Spiteful is a maverick economist? (snort, snicker)