Industry Minister Tony Clement says he and the prime minister are in agreement regarding his decision to make the country's long-form census optional due to privacy concerns, despite criticisms and even the resignation of Canada's chief statistician in protest. Clement said the government has taken a "compromise position" between privacy concerns and ensuring usable data from the next census in May 2011, CBC News reports. Though the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said it has received only two complaints since the 2006 census and is satisfied with the privacy protections in place, Clement says he has to be respectful of Canadians who have voiced concerns to him about the "very private nature of those questions" asked and must give them "a chance to opt out if they so choose."
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