Canadians shouldn’t pay the costs of conservative cuts to Statistics Canada

Admission of a significant error in Statistics Canada’s July jobs report highlights the cost of Conservative cuts to the agency and the negative impact on other government services such as Employment Insurance.

“Conservative cuts are taking a toll on Statistics Canada’s ability to provide reliable data,” said NDP Industry Critic Peggy Nash (Parkdale – High Park). “We’ve already seen many surveys scrapped and data quality diminished with serious impacts on the ability of government to deliver services across the board.”

The Labour Force Survey is a critical product that moves markets and also forms the basis of many other government programs. The erroneous report has already been used to adjust EI eligibility rules, which could end up costing some Canadians significantly in reduced benefits.

“The Conservatives must ensure that no EI recipients are penalized because of their jobs data mistake,” said added Nash . “Conservatives have already cut EI access to historic lows, Canadians shouldn’t pay the price of their cuts to Statistics Canada.”