The manager of Statistics Canada's National Household Survey explains why some data might be skewed. The Harper government sparked controversy when they replaced the long-form census with a voluntary survey.If you accessed the Internet in Canada on Wednesday, you probably noticed a news story or two about the 2011 National Household Survey, the “spam email” replacement to Canada’s long-form census.

Results released on Wednesday were the first batch to come after the death of the mandatory long-form census, which was killed by the Conservative government ostensibly because we shouldn’t be forced to share our personal information with anyone, even if it is used anonymously by your government to form appropriate public policy or, y'know, understand stuff.

Most, if not all, of the reports on the voluntary survey came with caveats about the quality and usefulness of its results. At the least, they would include cautions that this year’s results shouldn’t be compared to census numbers of the past.

[ Related: One in five Canadian residents were born elsewhere: survey ]

In short, the National Household Survey is the government-issued equivalent of those Facebook messages you have to forward to 10

Read More »from Canada's suspect survey leads to calls for return of long-form census

The young pharmacy assistant who discovered chemotherapy drugs given to hundreds of cancer patients in Ontario and New Brunswick were diluted says he is no hero.

And he's right.

Craig Woudsma testified before an Ontario legislative committee looking into the blunder. He said he was just doing his job, The Canadian Press reported.

“It’s just part of the process, it’s part of our job, and it just happens that this check that we made had a broader impact than we certainly would have anticipated,” Woudsma, 28, who works at a small hospital in Peterborough, said on Tuesday. “But definitely not a hero, no.

“We’re not looking for glory or anything like that. What we do is kind of the same thing day in and day out, and we’re there for the patients.”

Absolutely correct.

[ Related: Watered down chemo drugs given to 1,200 cancer patients ]

We tend to pin the hero label on people a little liberally these days, I think, to the point we may be devaluing the currency of heroism.

The Oxford Dictionary defines

Read More »from Worker who spotted bad chemo drugs is no hero – he just did his job

The material, a poster and brochures, was part of an AIDS awareness campaign.There's no question sexually explicit posters intended to caution adults in gay bars and bath houses about safe sex don't belong on the bulletin board of a junior high school classroom.

But the amount of puffed up indignation and partisan political bashing over the incident at a Toronto school seems over the top.

A teacher at Delta Alternative School in Toronto's Little Italy district has been suspended for posting the materials in classrooms used by Grade 7 and 8 students, the National Post reported.

The material, a poster and brochures, was part of an awareness campaign by the AIDS Committee of Toronto. The poster had an eye-grabbing phrase "If you like to f—" and included tips on how gay and bisexual men can practise safe sex, the Post said. The material included a picture of a man's partly exposed rear and advice on how to "use your head when giving it."

Principal Marc Mullan sent a letter home to parents of the school's 63 students on Tuesday saying he was made aware of the poster

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If you haven't read this exclusive interview with Colin Henthorne, the captain of the Queen of the North BC ferry that sunk 2006, it is worth a look.

The interview, with CBC News, tells a story of remorse and broken-hearted longing from a man who once considered the doomed vessel to be his home.

"It just settled lower and lower in the water and as I was watching it, all I could think about was 'my beautiful ship,'" Henthorne said as he recalled watching from an escape raft. "Alternately praying for a miracle that would save it and, if that wasn't happening, just hurry up and get it over with."

[ Related: Jury deliberates in case against Queen of the North officer ]

Henthorne was at first hailed as a hero for leading an evacuation that saved the lives of all but two passengers on board the Queen of the North on March 22, 2006. He was later fired by BC Ferries, a decision that survived union appeal.

He was never accused of being directly responsible for the sinking, but as captain it appeared

Read More »from Queen of the North ferry captain prayed for ‘miracle’ night of fatal crash

I don't know about you but I'm a little concerned about the drastic decline in the number of Jedi Knights in Canada.

The Canadian Press reports new census data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada shows people identifying themselves as Jedi in the 2011 National Household Survey dwindled to about 9,000 from a peak of more than 20,000.

This may be an under-reported crisis for Canada. After all, with budget cutbacks hitting the military and border guards, who's going to protect us from the Empire and its allies on the Dark Side?

One of Canada's most famous Jedi apprentices, Ghyslain Raza of Trois-Rivieres, Que., whose 2002 video drew more than 27 million views on YouTube, quit the order and went to law school, according to a 2010 article on Mashable.

It's part of a global decline in declared Jedis, Statistics Canada senior analyst Jane Badets told The Canadian Press.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia had more than 70,000 declared Jedi in its 2001 census but the figure shrank

Read More »from The Force apparently weakening in Canada as number of Jedi declines

The Department of National Defence headquarters is viewed from Laurier Avenue in Ottawa on Sept. 25, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathalie MadoreA suspicious package found in Ottawa last night had all the makings of an improvised explosive device (IED), making it the most frightening of several recent similar reports across Canada.

Ottawa police confirm that a package found outside the Department of National Defence on Tuesday evening contained "components of an improvised explosive device."

What does that mean?

According to the Ottawa Citizen, the police technicians found what appeared to be a power source, a detonator and explosive material.

Police destroyed the package in a controlled explosion, but also told the Citizen there was never a danger to the public.

[ Related: Explosive device found in Kamloops, B.C. ]

It is a lovely reassurance that, it should be noted, sounds very similar to the talking points released after an investigation disrupted an alleged terrorist plot to derail a passenger train outside of Toronto.

The discovery of suspicious packages has become fairly common in recent weeks, after two IED-like bombs were

Read More »from Package found outside Ottawa’s DND HQ contained ‘components’ of IED

The systematic shortcomings of Canada’s new voluntary population survey have been a rightful topic of conversation this week, considering today marks the release of the first report from the questionable compilation.

And perhaps those shortcomings are felt strongest in questions of our aboriginal population. A population that faces troubles of poverty, overcrowding and fading traditional languages.

The newly-released 2011 National Household Survey includes a report entitled Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: First Nations People, Métis and Inuit, which outlines a community being stretched in disparate directions.

The details suggest that while Canada’s aboriginal population is increasing, their traditions and languages are draining away.

Then again, perhaps not. Significant issues face the voluntary survey, which was implemented after the Conservative government cancelled the mandatory long-form census. Statistics Canada has identified a variety of ways that results from the new survey would be

Read More »from National Household Survey's trouble with Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples

Results of the 2011 National Household Survey outline in some detail the "ethoncultural mosaic" that Canada has become.One out of every five people in Canada was born in another country, most notably Asia and the Middle East, according to details from a national survey released on Wednesday.

Results of the 2011 National Household Survey released by Statistics Canada outline in some detail the "ethoncultural mosaic" that Canada has become.

"Canada is a nation with an ethnocultural mosaic as indicated by its immigrant population, the ethnocultural backgrounds of its people, the visible minority population, linguistic characteristics and religious diversity,"the report states.

[ Photos: Highlights from National Household Survey ]

The results released on Wednesday outline a country with a shifting immigration base. Canada is home to some 6.7 million foreign-born residents, a number that represents more than 20 per cent of the country's population.

This gives Canada the highest proportion of foreign-born population of the G8 countries. Germany follows with 13 percent and the United States with 12.9 per cent.

Read More »from One in five Canadian residents were born elsewhere: national survey