Data dictionary

Office

“Office” refers to any location where a federal institution provides services or information to the public. It can be a local office, a border port of entry, an information counter, a toll-free service telephone number, a train, boat or plane route or a commemorative plaque.

Office code number

A unique numeric code assigned to each office.

Institution name

“Federal institution” as defined in section 3 of the Official Languages Act.

Language obligation

The language obligation of each office as prescribed by the Official Languages Act and the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations. Refers to the obligation of an office to communicate with and provide services to the public in English, in French, or in both official languages.

Address

The civic address of the office.

Locality

The locality in which the office is located.

Province

The province in which the office is located.

Postal Code

The postal code associated with the address of the office.

Service

Indicates the type of services provided by offices subject to section 24 (Nature of the Office) of the Official Languages Act, as defined in paragraph 5 (f) of the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations. For more information, refer to General circumstances of the Regulations.

Census subdivision code

A numeric code associated with census subdivision in which the office is located. As defined by Statistics Canada, the census subdivision is the general term for municipalities (as determined by provincial/territorial legislation) or areas treated as municipal equivalents for statistical purposes (e.g., Indian reserves, Indian settlements and unorganized territories). For more information, refer to census subdivison.

Census subdivision name

The name of the census subdivision (see census subdivision code definition) in which the office is located.

Census Metropolitan Area Code

A numeric code associated with Census Metropolitan Area in which the office is located. As defined by Statistics Canada, a Census Metropolitan Area is an area consisting of one or more neighbouring municipalities situated around a core. A Census Metropolitan Area must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more live in the core. A census agglomeration must have a core population of at least 10,000. For more information, refer to Census Metropolitan Area.

Census Metropolitan Area Name

The name of the Census Metropolitan Area (see Census Metropolitan Area code definition) in which the office is located.

Office Type

The type of office. There are 20 types of offices included in this data set:

• Airport
• Canal
• Correspondence services
• Emergency services
• Ferry terminal
• Headquarters
• Historic Site
• Identifiable restricted clientele (i.e., offices serving only specific clientele such as veterans or inmates)
• In a Ferry Terminal
• In an airport
• Institution reporting to Parliament
• Local office
• National park
• Place of entry - custom services
• Place of entry - immigration services
• Proximity or located in a national park
• Railway station
• Search and rescue services
• Ship-to-shore communications
• Trans-Canada (TC) Highway Office
• Toll-free long-distance telephone services

Phone Number

The local telephone number associated with the office (see Office Type for toll-free numbers).