StatsCanWatch: Chief Statistician cancels town hall, is "reflecting on his position"

Hot off the agency's internal listserv:

From: Sheikh, Munir A. - CS/SC 
Sent: July-21-10 12:58 PM 
To: *STC -All STC Staff (Ottawa); *STC -All Region Staff 

Subject: Town Hall / La séance de discussion 

Sensitivity: Confidential 

In light of today's media coverage, I am cancelling the scheduled Town Hall meeting. I am reflecting on my position and that of the agency and will get back to you soon. 

Compte tenu de la couverture médiatique d'aujourd'hui, j'annule la séance de discussion prévue. Je réfléchis à ma position et à celle du Bureau et je communique avec vous très bientôt.

For a little context, here's the text of the original invitation: 

From: Sheikh, Munir A. - CS/SC 

Sent: July-19-10 9:09 AM 

To: *STC -All STC Staff (Ottawa); *STC -All Region Staff 

Subject: 2011 Census: Meeting the challenge / Recensement de 2011 : relever le défi 2011 

Census: Meeting the challenge 

On June 26, 2010, the questionnaire for the 2011 Census was published in the Canada Gazette as required by the Statistics Act. The census will consist of the same eight questions that appeared on the 2006 Census short-form questionnaire. The information previously collected by the mandatory long-form questionnaire will now be collected as part of the new voluntary National Household Survey. 

Since the announcement, this new format has received widespread coverage in the news media. 

I am aware that this situation has generated questions. Given this, I have decided to hold a town hall on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 in the Simon A. Goldberg Conference Room from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m (Ottawa time). 

In order to ensure I address those issues of most concern, I ask that you submit your questions via e-mail to Chief Statistician/Statisticien en chef before 12 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20 (Ottawa time). 

Because of the limited capacity of the conference room, the meeting will be broadcast live on the ICN. An e-mail with the link to the broadcast will be sent to all employees before the meeting. Simultaneous translation and sign interpretation will be provided.