Wilf Falk and Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada: It was April, 2013, nearly two years after census day, and Statistics Canada had gathered the countrys top provincial statisticians to review the revised, adjusted and final population figures. Mr. Falk could see at a glance that the revised results were too low. In his 34 years as Manitobas chief statistician, he d never seen anything like it, according to Globe and Mail. The buck stops with me on the statistical side, Mr. Falk said. It was my duty to say, This is not right. Numbers have consequences and Wilf Falk knew instantly that the population estimates he was looking at meant trouble for Manitoba. Over the next six months, he asked Statistics Canada to check and recheck its figures. They did, but the result didnt improve. He tried to keep the fight within the statistical family, but Statscan wouldnt budge. The stakes were high. The dispute centred around just 18,000 people, but losing those people would cost Manitoba nearly half-a-billion dollars over five years no small amount in a province where the annual budget is $14-billion. In the arcane world of official statistics, head counts equal currency. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.