A woman facing jail time for refusing to fill out the 2006 census says she intends to use the courts to highlight her protest against Statistics Canada's decision to involve a
Sandra Findley, 59, will be court in January to defend herself after being charged earlier this year for declining to complete the census form. Federal lawyers have requested a day and a half of court time to lay out their case against her.
Findley, of
Todd Stelmach of
If found guilty they could face a maximum of three months in jail and a $500 fine.
Sixty-five people across
An estimated 35,000 aboriginals living on reserves also refused to fill out the census, according to published reports, but federal officials decided they should not be charged.
Findley estimates several thousand people, including members of
Lockheed Martin's involvement with the census sparked a series of protests from various groups and individuals at the time. Some warned that the contract was evidence of the deepening integration and close co-operation of the
Findley said she decided not to complete the census because Lockheed Martin manufactures weapons. "My problem is that money is going out of my pocket and it is enriching the Lockheed Martin corporation which makes billions of dollars from building weapons that kill people," said Findley.
Officials with Lockheed Martin Canada declined to comment.
Peter Morrison, the director-general of the census program branch at Statistics Canada, said he can't discuss individual cases but noted that the public prosecution service of
Morrison also said there is no basis for concerns about Lockheed Martin having access to individual data since only approved Statistics Canada employees see that information.
He pointed out that it is a legal requirement for all Canadians to fill out the census form and that such data is key in determining everything from public and health care policy to the distribution of almost $70 billion in federal funding.
Asked why Findley and Stelmach were being charged while a large number of natives were not, Morrison explained that a small number of reserves refused to allow Statistics Canada access to their communities.
"The bottom line is that you can't prosecute a community when you don't have access to that community," he said.
He noted that Statistics Canada is working with aboriginal representatives to further improve access and native participation in the census.
In her discussions with Statistics Canada, Findley has argued that federal officials should have been able to handle the census in-house without having to contract out work to Lockheed Martin. "There's a question whether under the law they can legally contract out to Lockheed Martin in the first place," Findley said.
Findley also argues that Statistics Canada does not need a 100-per-cent sampling of the population to obtain the information it is seeking.
Findley describes herself as a "small-c Conservative." But she also led
Although she faces the prospect of jail time, Findley said she believes the issue is important enough to fight in court. "I can say thank you [to Statistics Canada] for giving me the opportunity to talk about these things in the public forum," she said. "They are things desperately in need to be discussed."
After the 1996 census 37 people were charged and 19 decided to go to court. Fourteen ended up pleading guilty. The other five entered pleas of not guilty but the court found them guilty. They were fined up to $500 each.