By Mayor Al Raine
Between May 2 and 30 enumerators will be forwarding either a long form or a short form Canadian Census Questionnaire, which must be filled out as it is a legal obligation for every Canadian household. For Sun Peaks, this census is very important as many government grant programs are calculated on the number of permanent residents the community has.
At the last census taken in 2011, Sun Peaks recorded 371 residents. We believe that many residents did not complete their forms or were not aware of the census.
It is important that all residents (property owners and non-property owners) register with Canada Census and fill in the census form. Health, school, recreational and social programs rely on census data to plan for future services.
Most senior government grant programs use local population when awarding dollars to small communities so it is critical that we have everyone who calls Sun Peaks home to be register with their Sun Peaks address.
On May 2, Statistics Canada started sending census packages by Canada Post. However this year you can complete your census questionnaire online. If you are away in May, please remember you can file online and have your presence in Sun Peaks counted at http://www.census.gc.ca/.
Census Canada information states “that all persons must be included in their main residence including persons who are temporarily away. Only persons who do not have a main residence elsewhere in Canada should be included at the address they are staying at on May 10, 2016.”
Therefore if you are out of the country or temporarily away from Sun Peaks, your main residence is still Sun Peaks. For those who claim ‘Homeowner Grants’ for their Sun Peaks property, you have already declared your primary residence to be Sun Peaks, therefore you should report residency at Sun Peaks for May 10.
Those Sun Peaks residents who have two homes in Canada can decide whether or not their main residency is here in Sun Peaks or in another location. However, we would advise that residents should be consistent, i.e. take their homeowner grant here in Sun Peaks, vote here, or plan to retire here, etc. Please make your commitment to Sun Peaks and fill in the census form.
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