Statistics Canada wants to be able to invade your privacy to a degree only rivaled in totalitarian states

They want to be able to see credit card transactions and Internet searches, among other very personal data:

...Statistics Canada currently has a policy paper out asking for the law to be changed to give them this extraordinary power. Here's the quote,

that the Agency can require any organization to provide any data file in its possession, that originates with that organization, to Statistics Canada for statistical purposes.

That's a pretty broad and sweeping statement, it would seem to encompass anything and everything they could want.

To say “any organization” and “any data file” is pretty sweeping.

But the national statistics office didn’t stop there, they spelled out some of what they would be looking for.

This would include, without restricting the generality of the provision, such things as: building permit records and property evaluation records from municipal governments; health insurance records, motor vehicle registration and vital statistics records from provincial government departments; and electrical service billing files, credit card transaction files, cellular telephone transaction files, point of sale product code scanner transaction files and internet search transaction files..,