Canadian government reinstates long-form census
On Nov. 5, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with Canada’s Liberal government reinstated the mandatory long form census. The census was originally scrapped by former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.
“Today, Canadians are reclaiming their right to accurate and more reliable information,” said Navdeep Bains, Canada’s new Minister of Innovation, Science, and Development. Reinstating the census was one of Prime Minister Trudeau’s campaign promises. According to Bains, Canadians will “once again have access to high-quality data they require.”
Former prime minister Harper eliminated the census on Aug. 23, 2012, in favour of a voluntary survey. Critics of the former administration suggested that the Conservative government had negatively affected the analytical work conducted by Statistics Canada.
Bains argued that the cost of the census is actually lower than the cost of a voluntary survey.
“Making it mandatory will actually be less expensive and it’ll be on budget and on time,” explained Bains.
Romanian prime minister resigns following Bucharest nightclub fire
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned on Nov. 4, 2015, after 20,000 Romanian people marched through the streets of Bucharest, demanding widespread resignations. The protests came as a result of a nightclub fire that killed 32 people in the Romanian capital.
“I’m handing in my mandate, I’m resigning, and implicitly my government to,” explained Prime Minister Ponta, in a Nov. 4 statement. “I hope the government’s resignation will satisfy the people who came out in the streets.”
Sorin Cimpeanu took over Ponta’s role, and currently serves as Romania’s acting prime minister.
Ponta’s resignation comes at a pivotal time in Romanian politics, as the former prime minister was charged with corruption in September 2015. Though he denied the allegations, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has repeatedly asked for Ponta’s resignation since the scandal first unfolded in June 2015.
According to witness reports, the fire started when the band playing in the nightclub set off fireworks inside the building.
—Compiled by Sameer Chhabra