Just tried phoning their helpline and they are so busy they just say they can't answer questions and I should try later. I guess we're taking the form with us on our trip...

May 10th is not a deadline for replying. It's the reference date for answers.

Don't panic. You'll be able to complete the forms once you return.

I don't suppose you'll be barred from re-entry if you don't, but you never know...

Have a good trip.

Definitely? It's the in-bold 'complete it by May 10' that's disconcerting, but I see what you're saying.. it is a bit odd to assume everyone can do it in 7 days!

Thanks One week is a bit of a rush trip, but looking forward to it!

Maybe its worded poorly but I took the 10th as being a deadline.

For planning transit?

oooh, they're going to get in poop for just having "Male" and "Female" under sex

I never saw anything about sex masochism either.
(footie joke)

Just completed our census - we got the long form and it took a good 45-50 minutes!

Report on CBC radio this morning about how Canadians were so keen to partake that the census website crashed.

Agreed...but many municipalities keep precise data on areas that are growing etc that need transit that don't have it etc.

No questions on religion or income levels.

The problem with municipalities keeping data is they appear to apply car driving thinking rather than passenger thinking.

We have a good bus service here but we used to have a great one.

At one end of town we have a covered Mall including Walmart and Sobeys with Canadian Tire, Staples and Superstore just outside.

At the other end of town we have a couple of strip malls including Walmart, Sobeys, Canadian Tire, Staples and Superstore.

There used to be a bus that did one end to the other.

Obviously nobody wants to get on a bus from Walmart/Sobeys etc and go to Walmart/Sobeys etc at the other end.

But there is a massive residential area in between and people who live there will work at both ends and at numerous points in between like the downtown area as well as wanting to shop at both ends (sometimes one end rather than the other) as well as needing to go to all points in between and then, of course, back home again to points in between.

Some Clown decided that because it took half an hour to get from one end to the other and that could be done much quicker by car that it made travel by car more attractive. Who the hell wants to go from one Walmart to another?

No appreciation of the fact that it took half an hour because because of something called passengers. People getting on and off the bus, getting to and from where they need to go.

So now we have two buses covering the same route. And the transfer point is not even at the Downtown area so in the direction most people want to go, they need the second bus and on returning from where most have been, they need to transfer.

It hasn't sped up anybody's journey. In fact it has slowed it down since the bus makes a slight detour to the transfer point and, of course there's a delay between getting off the bus and waiting/getting on to the next.

But the data now shows a bus journey of 15 minutes (twice) instead of 30 minutes.

Just to rub it in, they introduced a new bus that goes from one end to the other via a different route. It's very quick.

Guess why it's very quick.

Yes, that's right. It's because it goes via the highway - more of a bypass really. It's just that there are no bus stops along the way, what with it being a highway and no residential area.

So now you can get from Walmart to Walmart in record time, as quickly as in a car. But WTF wants to?

Bloody cretins.

It would be funny if you didn't have to wait for your transfer bus when it's 30 below and then take longer to get to where you needed to go.

we had the long version, included housing & utility costs, property tax amounts, ethnic origin (really strange bunch of mixed questions) including details of my wife & I as well as our parents origins, languages etc.

Income questions: what did you earn, did you work, did you work prior to & before the last census that you filled in

Going gangbusters filling it out on-line, I thought it would never end, I reckon having stopped counting after 40 questions, that there had to be at least 60 questions - time spent 20 something minutes

does it tell you when you sign in if you've got the long or short version , or do you need to budget time for the long and then be surprised when it ends early?