This morning’s Globe and Mail has a real investigative scoop, but apparently they don’t realize it.

As most Canadians know by now the government wants to make the census
long form voluntary rather than mandatory, which everyone who has any
expertise in statistics knows, will destroy the validity of the survey. 
The head of Statistics Canada,Munir Sheikh, has now resigned rather than implement the decree
from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Industry Minister Tony Clement.

In an editorial this morning (July 22) the Globe notes that:

And in recent days, the rhetoric has become baffling: the government has
invoked the fact that a tiny mischievous minority list “Jedi Knight” as
their religion as a reason to get rid of the questionnaire.

As the millions of people who have seen the Star Wars movies know, that when former Senator, now Chancellor (the equivalent of the  Prime Minister in the galactic republic) Palpatine does when he is ready to seize absolute power is to wipe out the Jedi (the guardians of freedom and the light side of the Force)  from the toddler younglings all the way up to the Jedi Council. As we all know, Palaptine succeeds in destroying almost all the Jedi, and then becomes the dictatorial emperor of that galaxy far, far away.

Some columnists and commentators have said that Harper and Clement are embracing American style Tea Party politics, extreme libertarianism where no one supports the maintenance of society.  

Now thanks to the Globe’s scoop, we know the future is much more  ominous.

Ottawa columnists have said that Harper is the unfriendly dictator, with his whims and short term political tactics governing his decisions. Some commentators have said that Harper is a king, especially when it comes to the rule of law where Harper personally decides whether or not the law applies to certain individuals.

Now it appears that if there are no Jedi in Canada (at least on paper or in a StatsCan database), Harper will be free to declare himself Emperor, with Count Dooku Clement by his side. (And since the Liberal Party, the supposed loyal opposition, is in as much disarray as the opposition in the galactic republic was, the Jedi may be Canada’s only chance.  Is there a Luke Skywalker somewhere in the dry land country of south central  British Columbia?).

We have to keep our fingers crossed for a new hope.

Now to get serious for a moment.  That reference to the Jedi in the last census actually proves the value of the long form.  Fewer and fewer people in Canada believe in traditional religion. Canadians are interested in various forms of spirituality, and the George Lucas Star War’s concept of The Force is one way of expressing that spirituality. So if someone in Canada believes in a spirituality that say blends The Force, aboriginal spirituality and traditional monotheism, there is no little box to check that says part of a, part of c and part of e.   Calling oneself a Jedi Knight maybe be mischievous for some, but for others it is an accurate reflection of their beliefs.

That amorphous spirituality is another inconvenient truth among many that the Conservatives want to bury (especially those who are Christian fundamentalists).