by Kirsten Smith, Postmedia News

Here are some not-so-well-known details about distant-past and more-recent efforts to gather the information of Canadians.

- The cost for preparing, conducting and analyzing the 2011 census was budgeted at $660 million.

- Data from all censuses up to 2006 takes up three terabytes of space on 14 computer servers at Statistics Canada. A terabyte equals 1,000 gigabytes. The average iPod music player holds 32GB of data. In 2010 Facebook used 60,000 servers to store user data.

by Randy Boswell, Postmedia News

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada is set to reveal the initial results of the 2011 census, the first complete national head count in five years.

On Wednesday morning, the Ottawa-based federal agency will release detailed population data for all provinces, territories and municipalities across the country. The numbers are likely to show — as they did in the last census, in 2006 — the increasing people power of Western Canada and the steady population growth throughout a nation that remains one of the most favoured destinations in the world for immigrants seeking a new homeland.

We are pleased to inform that the Community Data Program of the Canadian Council on Social Development has submitted this document to the Application Process for the April 2012 Open Government Partnership Meeting from Local Civil Society Organizations.

The cover letter, which has been endorsed by those from public, private and non-government sectors including individual experts, encapsulates a watershed moment for open data and open government in Canada. It is the first time where open data and open government advocates had to consider who was to represent them and be a spokesperson on their behalf at such as esteemed forum. There is however much to learn and much bridging still to do with open data advocates who are generally from new media/CIO-CTO/engineers communities.

It is hoped that this process will create a rapprochement between and among the major individuals and organizations. There is much to gain by doing so. This letter and the discussions it has stimulated, have been excellent first steps in that direction.

The Canadian Council on Social Development has advanced Harvey Low, its Toronto Consortium Lead for the Community Data Program (CDP) and a founding and active member of Canada Data Canada (CDC), as the civil society representative for Canada at the Open Government Partnership Annual Meetings in Brazil.

Thank you to Tracey Lauriault and datalibre.ca for sharing and communicating this effort.

Community Data Progtam OGP Cover Letter (PDF)

The Options Paper from the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario has been released. You can find the paper, “Approaches for Reform” here. (PDF)

Other Commission publications, including "Approaches for Reform" in Word format are available from their website.

Quebec's population shrinking; Figures expected to show strong growth in Prairies, Newfoundland and Labrador

by Mike De Souza, Postmedia News

Major changes in the makeup and population of the Canadian federation will come into sharp focus next week as Statistics Canada unveils the first results of its 2011 census.

This glimpse at Canada's people won't be without controversy, however. Some experts have questioned the federal government's 2010 decision to replace its mandatory long-form questionnaire, previously sent to a representative sample of the population, with a voluntary household survey.

by Joe Friesen, The Globe and Mail

Stephen Harper owes his success in no small part to his mastery of demographics, having tailored his election platform to winning enough seats in key pockets of Ontario and elsewhere to achieve a majority.

Now, the renowned tactician has turned his attention to a grand vision, a once-in-a-generation kind of reform that would change how we save for retirement, whom we admit to the country and how we orient our economic policy.

by Katherine Scott, Canadian Council on Social Development

Let’s be clear: There is no pension crisis in Canada. The stories in the news this week about the future sustainability of seniors’ benefits have caused heartache and stress. To what end? Just two years ago, a study done by the OECD for the federal Department of Finance concluded that “Canada does not face major challenges of financial sustainability with its pension schemes.”