Every household in Manitoba will soon see census forms in the mail and the provincial government is encouraging everyone to complete the forms. The forms provide very important information that is used in the planning for vital front-line services such as health care, education and crime protection. This announcement was made by Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade Minister Peter Bjornson.
“The census is much more than just counting how many people live in our country, it’s about asking important questions that help shape vital front-line services to ensure all residents have access to the services they need,” said Bjornson. “It only takes a short time to fill out your census and the benefits are wide reaching.”
Census forms were to begin arriving in the mail for all Canadians on May 2. The census is made up of 10 questions, which all Canadians are asked to complete on May 10, Census Day.
The National Household Survey, a more in-depth questionnaire, is also part of Census 2011. One in three households will be asked to complete this survey.
Information compiled from the census and the National Household Survey is used in a number of ways including:
• emergency planning,
• planning for services such as health care, education and protection from crime,
• helping government make infrastructure investments,
• helping businesses make good decisions,
• allocating gas-tax revenue back into local communities, and
• ensuring proper democratic representation.
The minister noted that information collected by the census is used as a mechanism to allocate federal funding to municipalities such as the federal gas tax.
“It’s up to all of us to fill out the forms because, if we don’t, it’s our communities that could lose out,” said the minister.
Manitobans can obtain further information regarding the census at www.manitoba.ca/census. The site is called CensUS 2011. It Benefits Us All. Do your part for Manitoba.
If your household has not received a yellow census package by May 9, you are asked to call the census help line at 1-877-777-2011 (toll-free).
