The scrapped long-form census is sparking a battle between ideology and what some are calling sound public policy.
The Conservative cabinet's plan to drop the questionnaire has many across the country fired up.
Ottawa resident Ross Bigelow does not have a problem with the long-form census, but says he could see why others would.
"It's kind of necessary, but I can see where people would feel it's invasive."
For that reason, the federal government is replacing the mandatory long-form census with the voluntary national household survey. It means municipalities and organizations will no longer have data they depend on.
"It's like going into an endless dark room without a flashlight," said Leslie McDiarmid of Ottawa's South East Community Health Centre.
The centre serves about 10,000 clients each year. Social determinants like health, education, employment, housing and language impacts its programs and services.
"If we can't get that information in our local communities it makes it very difficult to engage with those communities and then plan and program and implement services that are relevant to those communities," said McDiarmid.
"From senior services to health care services, all of those type of things find their home, their foundation in the long form census," said Ottawa councillor Peter Hume.
City officials in Ottawa say they cannot afford to gather information independently.
With a report from CTV's Karen Soloman
