(LifeSiteNews) — One of Canada’s top constitutional freedom groups is gearing up for a legal fight against the Canadian federal government for what it said was an intrusive census that “forced” people to “disclose” to authorities their personal “religious” beliefs.
“What should you have to tell the government?” the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said in a recent email to LifeSiteNews and supporters.
“Should you be forced to disclose to the government your commuting habits, mental health conditions, or religious beliefs? That is exactly what the 2026 long-form census requires.”
Canada’s most recent census was mailed to Canadians in May. About 25 percent of census recipients were sent what is known as a “long-form” census that asked questions such as “What is your gender (defined as your ‘personal and social identity’ as a man, woman, non-binary, agender, gender fluid, queer or Two-Spirit)?”
The census also asked people’s religion, if they had any mental health or emotional or psychological issues, their rent or mortgage payment, and “What was your sex at birth?”
Many Canadians who refused to answer the census faced fines of $500 as well as in-person visits from officials asking why the census was not completed.
The JCCF said that due to the census’ intrusive nature it heard from “hundreds” of Canadians “expressing their opposition to this violation of their privacy and security.”
“No government has the right to this kind of information. That’s why we are asking the Federal Court to strike down the long-form census as unconstitutional,” the JCCF said.
The JCCF noted that in June it had filed an application for judicial review on behalf of Bradley and Linda Osborne of Foothills County, Alberta. The JCCF asked the federal court to “rule that portions of the long-form census are unjustified violations of our Charter rights and freedoms.”
The JCCF said its lawyers are arguing that forcing Canadians to disclose “deeply personal information violates their right to life, liberty, and security of the person (Charter section 7) and their right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure (Charter section 8).”
“The Supreme Court of Canada has stated that ‘respect for individual privacy is an essential component of what it means to be free’ and that ‘the infringement of this right undeniably impinges upon an individual’s ‘liberty’ in our free and democratic society.’”
The JCCF acknowledged that a census is a valid and important tool for governments, it should not be used to “peer into the private lives of citizens.”
“Our lawyers argue that the government acted beyond its authority by forcing Canadians to answer far more questions than necessary,” the JCCF said.
The Liberal federal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney has in recent months introduced multiple laws and past several that impact Canadians’ freedoms online and regarding religious speech.
10 Responses
We’re going to have a Disaster and War————- its on the way
As inflation rises, everyone is forced to work harder, take more jobs to pay the Bill’s & survive leaving less time to not think/work. Apparently there is a loophole such as: complete as soon as possible. Well maybe it’s not possible, it sure isnt fair considering the liberal gov chooses to be non-transparent yet expect you to be.
They should shove back so hard that the globalist slobs in their government will drop it entirely- not just a soft push that will encourage them to keep trying with something else after a cool-down period.
Full disclosure, I also do this with my income tax forms. I’ve never had them complain, but one year in particular stands out for me. I followed my usual procedure and low and behold, the fastest imprint of my starfish appeared on the last page. A miracle on par with the shroud of Turin if you ask me. I sent in the forms are mandated by law and that was the end of it, other than the laugh I get every time I think of it.
Is that a photo of a pedo, cause that guy sure has a sex offender vibe to him in my opinion. Anyway, I always lie as much as I can on the census. After I’m finished filling it out, I fold each page in half, with the writing out, and grip it between my butt cheeks, in the folds of my ass so to speak, for 30 seconds per page. I then give each page a quick sniff to ensure I’ve properly marked the document as my own, then mail it to the government with great love and respect.
I was a woman for the 2020 US Census. As I recall, the cramps, monthly rectal bleeds and osteoporosis risks were no fun after a while so I cancelled Josephine. But I answered my census questions. Canucks need a sense of humor.
I throw out the US census every 10 years when it is sent to me. I will not fill it out, or go online to fill it out and give the govt the middle finger, no matter which puppet is in power.
Likewise, it goes straight in the trash. And the gated entrance to my driveway prevents any unwanted visitors from reaching my front door.
Another “legal form scam” to where the lawyers profit for doing nothing.
Taxpayers should pay them nothing for any legal services in this nature.
We received that really long and very intrusive form during the Biden regime. I ignored it and they kept sending notices that it’s the law to fill it out, etc. Then they said they were going to show-up at our front door. They never did and they finally stopped harrassing us.