The census is here and its time to implement plan MINIMUM COOPERATION!

[arikara]

Lockheed Martin's role in the May 2006 Census of Canada is not insignificant. In fact. millions of dollars of public taxpayer's money is being paid to Lockheed Martin (Canada) a subsidiary of US weapons of destruction manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin's involvement with the 2006 Canada Census brings two changes from the way the Census has been carried out in the past.

1.) The public is being encouraged to file census returns online
2.) Census returns on paper are being entered into the computer by optical scanning machinery, using Lockheed Martin designed software and hardware.

Both of these Lockheed Martin innovations will result in huge job losses for StatsCan Canadian wage-earners, both in this census and even more devastatingly, in future ones. Online filing takes jobs from outside census workers (doorbell ringers) AND from inside workers (data entry clerks). Optical scanning of paper census returns takes jobs away from the inside census wage-earners. We have even had these concerns quietly expressed to us by census workers--both present and past.

That is why many of the minimum cooperation methods presented in CountMeOut.ca are designed to make the census returns unreadable by Lockheed Martin software and hardware, but readable by StatsCan Canadian wage-earner data entry folks, who are our friends, our family, members of our community and, of course, taxpayers.

There are many suggestions for minimum cooperation on this website.

http://www.countmeout.ca/

Such as:

• you have the option to file your census return on-line, or on paper. WE STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU AVOID ONLINE FILING, developed by Lockheed Martin. We feel that the privacy of online data is more easily compromised in this new technology
  
• you can request a replacement form if you lose the original form that Statistics Canada mailed you.
  
• StatsCan encourages one census return per household, covering all household members. BUT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REQUEST AND FILE INDIVIDUAL CENSUS RETURNS FOR EACH MEMBER OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD. When a viewer called the StatsCan 1-800 number and requested separate forms, he was advised that the separate forms would not be mailed to him until at least May 26. Because that is after the Census deadline, he was given a reference number to quote to any StatsCan people pestering him for his return. THIS CLEARLY IS A SUPERB MINIMUM COOPERATION TECHNIQUE, AS IT GENERATES CONSIDERABLE WORK FOR STATSCAN, AND ALSO PROVIDES A TOTALLY LEGITIMATE STALLING TACTIC. WE SHOULD ALL USE IT!
  
• You can request the census form in large, easier-to-read print. Very helpful given the amount of strain that our eyes endure in this day and age. Also helpful for anyone who ever gets headaches We are not sure yet, but think that the large-print forms may not be readable by the Lockheed Martin scanners.
  
• You can be busy at the time that a census worker calls at your door, or on the phone. You can politely suggest another time when you are not busy
  you can choose not to answer your doorbell if you are busy at the time.
  
• You may like to have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, while you are completing your census form. Careful not to spill. But if you do, don't worry--your form can still be processed manually instead of by the Lockheed Martin scanning software system.
  
• You may like to add a sticker or two on your census form, perhaps a sticker with your name and address, or a sticker to promote your favourite charity.. Try not to completely cover over the bar-code on your census form.. But again, if you do happen to cover the barcode, your return can still be processed manually instead of with the Lockheed Martin designed scanning/tracking
  system.
  
• Maybe you like light blue pencils for filling in forms. Maybe you generally write very lightly. While this may be unreadable by the Lockheed Martin designed scanning equipment, you will be helping Canadian data-entry StatsCan employees keep their jobs and not join the ranks of the unemployed.
  

More at http://www.countmeout.ca/

[tuvor]

1. Too late for me.

Filed online yesterday.

[ClusterFreak]

2. How about flushing the census forms down the toilet?

That's what I'd like to do, anyway.

[Spazito]

3. Love that list!

I will definitely NOT file on-line and my writing is often illegible due to writing TOO lightly, lol. I was APPALLED when the government contracted out to Lockheed Martine and fired off a letter stating my disgust.

[Pierre Trudeau]

4. cool! Writing upside-down is fun

check their "example" page for a way to provide the legally-required info without making it machine-readable.

And now, spill your coffee!

[arikara]

5. My eyes have really gotten bad lately

I need one of those special large print ones. My hubby wants to do his own and like some men, he can't follow instructions. I sometimes spill red wine on things. Should be fun.

[SixStrings]

6. Wow. I just threw mine out. Am I going to jail? n/t

[arikara]

7. You can call and request another one

but you have to do it. At minimum you have to tell them how many cows you have.

[SixStrings]

8. In all seriousness, do I have to fill this out?

I've always just chucked them in the garbage.

[arikara]

9. Yes... the Statistics Act

makes it an offence to refuse to provide the information, or to provide false information. They will contact you. However, you can register your disapproval with the system by the minimum cooperation tactics.

You can start by calling them and asking for the large print version. One for each member of your household.