The federal Liberals have introduced legislation they say will strengthen the independence of Statistics Canada and establish a political firewall to protect it from government influence.

The bill, if passed, would also eliminate the threat of jail time for anyone who refuses to respond to mandatory surveys, such as the census.

Those who do challenge the law on mandatory surveys would still be subject to fines, although the measure has been rarely used.

The bill would also ensure the agency's chief statistician is appointed to a fixed term, making it impossible for the federal cabinet to make a change on a whim.

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains says the bill would protect Statistics Canada from direct political interference — a reference to the previous Conservative government's 2011 elimination of the mandatory long-form census.

The legislation does not address key recommendations that had been made by the agency and the National Statistics Council, which advises the chief statistician.

In a discussion paper provided to Bains, the agency asked for more powers to compel governments and companies to hand over information and impose fines to improve the flow of information.

The agency also asked to be cut loose from the federal government's problem-plagued central IT department, Shared Services Canada, which it said had been hampering its work.

The issue came to a head in September when Wayne Smith suddenly resigned as chief statistician.

In his resignation, Smith complained that federal efforts to centralize IT services were undermining Statistics Canada's independence.