The Canada Census
The issue
The Canada Census which is done every five years does not respect the needs and lives of Deaf people.
CAD's position
Changes should be made to enable the Census to more accurately measure the statistics and lives of Deaf people.
The 1986 Census and its accompanying HALS census (Health and Activities Limitations Survey, known as "the disability census") raised serious concerns about the accuracy of any statistics about Deaf people that resulted. Some of these concerns were dealt with in the 1991 Census and HALS. However, a large number of issues remained unresolved and continued to plague the 1996 and the 2001 censi.
This is an important concern because the statistics that result from the Census and HALS are used by governments and researchers to help them set policy on social security, taxation, education, and medical care, among other subjects.
The Census and HALS are not designed with Deaf people in mind. The use of written questions laid out like school examination papers is intimidating and confusing to Deaf people whose first language is visual and gestural. The Census is available in English or French but not in Sign language and not in videotape format, two methods that would make it accessible and comfortable for Deaf people.
Questions on language use fail to include Sign language. The CAD applauds the fact that Sign is included in the Census databank, thanks to our own lobbying efforts ; but we deplore the fact that this is not mentioned in the Census form itself, thus misleading Deaf people to believe they cannot identify their language on the Census.
The terminology used for the language questions is insensitive. The phrases "mother tongue" and "language spoken" are used repeatedly, implying that only a spoken/heard language has legitimacy. The CAD recommends these terms be replaced with "native language", "natural language", "language used", "first language", and/or "language of choice".
The definitions used in the General Census to identify individuals who have a disability are overly restrictive, inaccurate, and confusing. They should be brought into line with the questions asked in the HALS, which are generally quite good in relation to deafness. Our concern is that the questions in the Census designed to determine eligibility for consideration as disabled persons tend to eliminate Deaf people, who thus never get to participate in the HALS census. For example, a Deaf person skilled in Sign language would have no difficulty in communicating with another Deaf person and would indicate so in the General Census, thus placing him/herself in the "hearing" category and eliminating him/herself from participating in the HALS!
Questions designed to enumerate the number of technical devices in use in Canada, such as TTYs and caption decoders, are focussed only on Deaf people. This leads to inaccurate reports. A family with hearing parents who have purchased devices for their Deaf children may not be included in the survey. Friends of the Deaf, such as interpreters, may have such devices in their household in order to accommodate the needs of their friends; but again, these non-Deaf people would not be included in the survey. The questions about devices should therefore be included in the General Census, rather than the HALS.
Census questions about education do not allow for answers that reflect the educational reality for Deaf people. They do not include Deaf Schools and do not distinguish between Deaf Schools and mainstream or integrated classes in regular schools.
The HALS census includes good questions about education and employment; again, however, we draw attention to the fact that most Deaf Canadians will never be included in a HALS census — they will be eliminated by the General Census questions that identify their eligibility for consideration as disabled persons. Thus, the HALS will not result in an accurate picture of the educational and employment status of Deaf people.
In conclusion, the Canadian Association of the Deaf encourages further improvements for future Canada Census and HALS surveys in hopes that accurate statistics on Deaf Canadians may then finally be collected.
approved: 17th July 2002
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The Canadian Association of the Deaf
203 - 251 Bank Street
K2P 1X3
(613)565-8882 TTY
(613)565-2882 Voice
(613)565-1207 Fax
www.cad.ca
