It’s census month! That magical time every five years when we are legally obligated to answer personal questions for the government. This is the first year you can complete your census form online, which might be exciting, except for the small fact that Statistics Canada has outsourced census-collection software and data processing to U.S. weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
Aside from the fact that Lockheed Martin is well, kinda evil, and we shouldn’t be, you know, giving it money (although we had to allow it to bid on the contract — thanks NAFTA!) critics point out that, despite StatsCan’s assurances our personal data will be kept private, it is theoretically possible for the U.S. government to gain access through the Patriot Act, if it really wanted to. Fun stuff!
Here are some suggestions for how to count yourself out.