What is the legal authority for the Census of Agriculture?
The mandate to conduct the Census of Agriculture every 10 years comes from the Constitution Act–1867 (formerly the British North America Act (BNA)). Over the decades the mandate to conduct a census in the Constitution Act–1867 was augmented by the Statistics Act–1970, which stipulates that “A census of agriculture of Canada shall be taken by Statistics Canada (a) in the year 1971 and in every tenth year thereafter; and (b) in the year 1976 and in every tenth year thereafter, unless the Governor in Council otherwise directs in respect of any such year. 1970-71-72, c. 15, s. 19.
The mandate to conduct the Census of Agriculture every 10 years comes from the Constitution Act–1867 (formerly the British North America Act [BNA]). Over the decades the mandate to conduct a census in the Constitution Act–1867 was augmented by the Statistics Act–1970, which stipulates that “A census of agriculture of Canada shall be taken by Statistics Canada • in the year 1971 and in every tenth year thereafter; and • in the year 1976 and in every tenth year thereafter, unless the Governor in Council otherwise directs in respect of any such year, 1970-71-72, c. 15, s.
