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SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME
Economic Statistics (Program Activity 1)
| Resource Requirements |
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
| ($ thousands) |
209,502
|
206,241
|
195,424
|
| FTE |
2,469
|
2,460
|
2,388
|
Strategic Outcome: Canadians have access to objective, high quality, non-partisan statistics, statistical products, services and analyses on Canada's economy which fulfill legal requirements, are relevant to policy formulation and decision makers and are responsive to emerging issues.
Description: The Economic Statistics program provides micro- and macro-economic statistics and analysis on the entire spectrum of Canadian economic activity, both domestic and international. The information includes statistics on: gross domestic product; production, costs, sales, productivity and prices for the full gamut of industrial sectors; the flows and stocks of fixed and financial capital assets; international trade and finance; the extent of foreign ownership in Canada’s economy; federal, provincial and municipal government revenues, expenditures and employment; environmental issues related to pollution, natural assets and activities aimed at reducing environmental damage; consumer and industrial price inflation; science and technology; and research and development (R&D) activity.
The System of National Accounts program provides a conceptually integrated framework of statistics and analysis for studying the evolution of the Canadian economy. The accounts are centered on the measurement of production of goods and services, and the purchase/sale of goods and services in domestic and international markets. Production and consumption are measured in dollar terms. Corresponding price indexes are derived and estimates of economic activity in “real” or “inflation adjusted” terms are prepared. Monetary flows are tracked among the four major sectors of the economy: households, businesses, governments and non-residents. Saving, investment, assets, liabilities and national wealth are measured. The program supports various statutory requirements and its outputs are vital to the policy development and program responsibilities of the Bank of Canada, Finance Canada, Industry Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade and several other federal and provincial departments and agencies. Its outputs are also widely used in the private sector.
The Analytical Studies program integrates, analyses and interprets data collected both within the department and elsewhere to describe and draw inferences about the nature of Canada’s economy and society. It develops new and improved techniques for the statistical analysis and interpretation of socio economic data sets. The program produces annual estimates of multifactor productivity and associated analytical reports. These activities are vital for the Bank of Canada, Finance Canada, Industry Canada and the private sector financial community.
The Economic Statistics program activity is comprised of the following sub-sub-activities:
1.1.1 Income & Expenditure Accounts
1.1.2 Environment Accounts & Statistics
1.1.3 Balance of Payments
1.1.4 Public Institutions Statistics
1.1.5 Industry Accounts
1.3.1 Manufacturing, Construction and Energy Statistics
1.3.2 Distributive Trades Statistics
1.3.3 Service Industries Statistics
1.4.1 Prices Statistics
1.4.2 International Trade Statistics
1.4.3 Investment and Capital Stock Statistics
1.4.4 Industrial Organization and Finance Statistics
1.5.1 Agriculture Statistics
1.5.2 Small Business & Special Surveys
1.5.3 Science, Innovation & Electronic Information Statistics
1.5.4 Transportation Statistics
For most of these, the plan is to maintain statistical production at current levels of quality and costs. However, as a result of the Strategic Review, the Business Conditions Survey (part of 1.3.1 Manufacturing, Construction and Energy Statistics) and the Survey of Deposit-accepting Financial Institutions (part of 1.4.4 Industrial Organization and Finance Statistics) will be discontinued. Previously committed plans and priorities have been maintained for three sub-sub activities, Environment Accounts and Statistics, although scaled back somewhat, Public Institutions Statistics and Prices Statistics.
Environment Accounts and Statistics (Program Sub-Sub Activity 1.1.2)
The program integrates environmental and socio-economic information into sets of statistics relevant for the analysis of relationships between human activity and the environment in Canada. The primary outputs for this program are time series estimates of various components of Canada’s environmental wealth (water, clean air, forests, sub-soil minerals), natural resource usage, pollution flows and environmental protection expenditures. A detailed geographically referenced database is maintained that facilitates environmental studies by eco-region or by water basin. The program includes an annual compendium entitled Human Activity and the Environment which is widely used by schools as well as by federal and provincial government policy makers. Program outputs are used by Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, provincial government departments, and various private sector organizations and international institutions. This sub-sub activity is comprised of four activity elements:
- Core Environment Statistics Program
- Environmental Accounts and Surveys
- Expansion of Industrial Water Survey to include the Oil and Gas Sector
- Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators |
1,462
|
-
|
-
|
The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators program is a joint initiative by Environment Canada, Statistics Canada and Health Canada funded by Cabinet in fiscal year 2004/05 and sun setting in 2009-10. Of the $10 million allocated to the program annually, Statistics Canada receives $2.4 million. The majority of the remainder is allocated to Environment Canada. Under this program Statistics Canada is developing environmental indicators for air quality, water quality and greenhouse gas emission.
Statistics Canada is also developing the following new surveys to provide additional data to aid in the interpretation of the indicators:
- the biennial Industrial Water Survey will collect data on use of water by establishments in the mining, manufacturing and thermal power industries
- the biennial Agricultural Water Survey will collect data on the irrigation and livestock use of water on farms
- the Municipal Drinking Water Treatment Plant Survey will collect data on the quality of ambient Water used as intake sources at the plants
The third annual report of the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators was released in two parts. The national indicator highlights were released in October 2007, while a longer report presenting regional detail plus a discussion of socio-economic linkages was released in December 2007. As in previous reports, the air quality indicators focused on human exposure to ground-level ozone as well as fine particulate matter. Both are key components of smog. The greenhouse gas emissions indicator described changes in emissions from 1990 to 2005 and the water quality indicator focused on the ability of Canada’s surface waters to support aquatic life over the period 2003 to 2005.
Particular attention was paid in the water quality indicator to the effect of phosphorus on water quality. Phosphorus is a pollutant commonly found in water across the country that can increase growth of algae, making water less suitable for fish.
Extensive use was made in the 2007 reports of results from the 2006 Households and Environment Survey to describe the links between socio-economic activity and the indicator trends. Use was also made of results from the 2006 Industrial Water Use Survey.
| Planned Activities: Another report will be prepared in 2008, at which point the program will be reviewed in consideration of continued funding beyond 2008-2009. The 2008 report will cover preliminary results from the Agricultural Water Use Survey and the 2007 Households and the Environment Survey. As a result of the Strategic Review, however, Statistics Canada will no longer author the annual report on the environmental sustainability indicators, leaving this task to its partners in Environment Canada and Health Canada. |
Public Institutions Statistics (Program Sub-Sub Activity 1.1.4)
The program produces financial and employment statistics for the Canadian public sector, more specifically revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities and debt statistics for the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government including government health and education institutions. The source data for these statistics are the audited “public accounts” records published by Canada’s various governments, however the statistics are adjusted to make them inter-governmentally comparable and consistent. The program outputs support the Fiscal Arrangements Act, the Comprehensive Integrated Tax Coordination Agreement and the Special Data Dissemination Standard with the International Monetary Fund, and they are key inputs to the income and expenditure accounts program. This sub-sub activity is comprised of four activity elements:
- Quarterly Public Sector Financial Statistics
- Annual Public Sector Financial Statistics
- Production of Certificates for the Fiscal Arrangement Act (FAA)
- Public Sector Employment Statistics
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| New statistics in support of the revised Equalization formula |
3,423
|
3,189
|
2,886
|
The federal government transfers funds to the provincial and territorial governments on an annual basis to assist in the provision of programs and services to the public. These transfers allow the provinces to provide comparable levels of public services at comparable levels of taxation. In the March 2007 Federal Budget, the Government of Canada announced the implementation of a series of changes to the Equalization program. Among others, the property tax base will be changed to better reflect current market values in the residential property sector.
This renewal of the property tax base of the Equalization program has entailed significant modifications to the data required by Finance Canada. The new data requirements are defined as annual data at the provincial and municipal level, broken down into residential and non-residential properties for the three major components of the property tax base: property values at market prices, property tax revenues and population estimates. The new data will not only serve to improve the fiscal capacity measures within the Equalization program, but statistical outputs will be made available to the public and within government. The planning, development and implementation of the Property Tax Base Project is scheduled to take place over three fiscal years (2007-2008 to 2009-2010). The project will become an on-going program in fiscal year 2010-2011.
| Planned Activities: In 2008-2009, Statistics Canada will complete Phase I of the Property Tax Base project dedicated to detailed planning, development and implementation of collection concepts, methods and tools. The collection of data on property values and property tax revenues from provincial / territorial centralized administrative sources is well underway. Discussions continue to take place with each province and territory to determine to what extent existing sources of data are meeting the new requirements from Finance Canada for the renewal of the property tax base and to find new sources where existing data are not sufficient or available. Discussions are also addressing inter-provincial comparability issues related to the definitions and classifications of residential and non-residential properties. During Phase I, Statistics Canada has also worked on the model to be used for producing population estimates by municipality. Furthermore, the update of the municipal structures in place in each province and territory is well underway. In 2008-2009, Statistics Canada will also undertake Phase II of the project dedicated to the planning, development and implementation of processing automated applications for editing and validating data collected on property values and property tax revenues. Moreover, the model for producing population estimates by municipality is planned to be implemented and tested. Finally, the update of the municipal structures in place in each province and territory will be completed. |
Prices Statistics (Program Sub-Sub Activity 1.4.1)
This program provides information on consumer prices and industrial products, raw materials, farm input prices and construction price indexes, as well as a number of indexes relating to capital expenditures and services. This sub-sub activity is comprised of 4 activity elements:
- Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- Industrial Product Price Index
- Services Producer Price Indexes
- Capital Expenditures Price Indexes
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| New Services Price Index |
4,953
|
5,934
|
5,934
|
Services industries comprise approximately two-thirds of the Canadian economy. Business services represent almost 40% of gross domestic product compared to about 17% for government services and 11% for personal services. Despite their importance, price indexes for the business services sector are a significant gap in the Canadian economic statistical system. This gap seriously affects the quality of real output and productivity change estimates for this sector.
Starting in 2006-07 and over a five year period, the Department, through internal reallocation, will develop services price index for approximately 30 broad business services categories which account for approximately 80% of value added of the business services sector. Preliminary data collection has been ongoing for wholesaling, truck transportation, non-residential rents and machinery and equipment rents since the 2006/2007 fiscal year. Preliminary price collection began for property/casualty insurance and retailing services in 2007. Research and development of price index methods was also carried out for banking services, brokerage and wealth management financial services, telephone and other telecommunications services, other professional, scientific and technical services, and rail transportation and freight services.
| Planned Activities: In 2008-2009, initial development will be completed for eight major services categories. This will result in the initial release of regular quarterly national price indexes by the end of the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Research, development and testing is expected to be initiated for additional business services categories including other administrative and support services, real estate commissions, management fees, rental of automobiles and trucks, water transport and air transport. |
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| Strengthening the Consumer Price Index |
1,483
|
957
|
957
|
To protect and enhance the credibility of the Consumer Price Index in the eyes of the Canadian public and to mitigate risks regarding the quality of the output, a plan to strengthen quality management has been put in place, focusing on 4 specific measures: 1) improving quality assurance processes; 2) enhancing the sample; 3) additional training for interviewers; 4) developing better analytical tools. This plan, funded through internal reallocation, will not eliminate all risks, but will minimize the probability adverse events in the monthly production of the CPI.
| Planned Activities: In 2008-2009, a permanent team will be put in place to ensure that methods, concepts and data sources follow best practice in the field and to develop an effective analytical program aimed at monitoring and bolstering the quality of the CPI. |
Social Statistics (Program Activity 2)
| Resource Requirements |
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
| ($ thousands) |
147,702
|
145,642
|
143,119
|
| FTE |
1,689
|
1,710
|
1,703
|
Strategic outcome: Canadians have access to objective, high quality, non-partisan statistics, statistical products, services and analyses on Canada's society which fulfill legal requirements, are relevant to policy formulation and decision makers and are responsive to emerging issues.
Description: The Social Statistics program provides information on the economic and social characteristics of individuals, families and households in Canada, and on the factors that contribute to their well-being. The information includes statistics on education and labour, income and wealth, criminality, culture, tourism and the health of Canadians. The statistics are generally organized around frameworks that measure the characteristics of Canadians along these dimensions, their interaction with institutions that deliver services in these domains and the outcomes of these interactions. To this end, the program produces statistics on educational, health, justice and cultural institutions as well as on all organizations in their role as employers.
Many of the outputs of these programs are integrated in the System of National Accounts, in particular labour input to economic production, income and expenditures of the household sector and the contribution to GDP of the institutional education and health sectors. Other socio-economic frameworks include the Tourism satellite account and similar analyses for the culture sector.
The Labour and Household Surveys Analysis program and the Socio-economic and Business Analysis program integrate, analyze and interpret data collected both within the department and elsewhere to describe and draw inferences about Canadian society. They develop new and improved techniques for the statistical analysis and interpretation of socio economic data sets. They produce widely read analytical reports and publications such as Perspectives on Labour and Income, Education and Health Reports.
The Social Statistics program activity is comprised of the following sub-sub-activities:
2.1.1 Justice Statistics
2.1.2 Culture Statistics
2.1.3 Tourism Statistics
2.1.4 Education Statistics
2.4.1 Special Surveys
2.4.2 Income Statistics
2.4.3 Labour and Household Surveys Analysis
2.4.4 Labour Statistics
For most of these, the plan is to maintain statistical production at current levels of quality and costs. However, as a result of the Strategic Review, the Civil Court Survey and the Survey of Maintenance Enforcement (part of 2.1.1 Justice Statistics) and the Radio Listening and Television Viewing Databank (part of 2.1.2 Culture Statistics) will be discontinued, while the in depth investigation of five specific topics by the Canadian Community Health Survey would be surveyed every 3 years instead of every 2 years as is the current situation. Previously committed and ongoing plans and priorities have been maintained for two sub-sub activities, Health Statistics and the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.
Health Statistics (Program Sub Activity 2.2)
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| Health Statistics Program |
28,302
|
17,513
|
16,939
|
Three major activities dominate the Health Statistics Program in the coming year. One is the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), a new and highly innovative ‘direct measures’ health survey. The second is the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) which provides sub-provincial data at the health region level. A third initiative relates to the use of provincial health care administrative data for an innovative range of new statistical information.
First, to address longstanding limitations within Canada’s health information system, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada have supported Statistics Canada in obtaining funding for the new CHMS. This support was announced in the 2003 Federal Budget as part of an extension of the Health Information Roadmap Initiative.
The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is collecting key information relevant to the health of Canadians by means of direct physical measurements such as blood pressure, height, weight, lung function and physical fitness. In addition, the survey will collect blood and urine samples to test for infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and nutrition and environment markers. The survey will also measure physical activity directly with an electronic activity monitor respondents will wear over a one week period, and thus provide a key point of information with regard to the growing prevalence of obesity.
Information from the CHMS will provide much more reliable estimates of the extent of such major health problems as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, physical inactivity, exposure to infectious diseases and exposure to environmental contaminants.
The CHMS will collect information from 5,000 Canadians aged 6 to 79, located in 15 sites across Canada. This sample size will provide national level estimates only. Work was ongoing during 2006-2007 to finalize the collection applications, construct the mobile examination clinics, hire and train collection staff, negotiate locations and legal arrangements with the provinces and communities where sites are located and conduct a dress rehearsal of the entire survey. Collection has started in March 2007 and will continue until April 2009. Initial data release should occur in late 2009 or early 2010.
Second, the CCHS has been in place since 2001, and has been critical in benefiting Canadians by providing data on their health not only to provinces, but also to municipalities and communities. It is primarily an interview survey, the main exception being direct measures of height and weight in order to track the prevalence of obesity for a sub-sample. The main challenge for the coming year will be to release data from the survey for the first time following its redesign from a biennial format (i.e. a large sample every other year) to a continuous data collection format. This will represent a significant improvement in the timeliness of CCHS data. In order to maximize the use of the data by decision-makers and researchers, significant emphasis will be placed on efforts to improve the technical capacity of users, including the ability to interpret data from a variety of reference periods. As a result of the Strategic Review, the in depth investigation of mental health, nutrition, physical health measures, healthy ageing and children’s health will be scheduled every three years instead of every two years.
Third the Health Person Oriented Information initiative (HPOI), created under the Health Roadmap, is currently being enhanced as Statistics Canada is negotiating partnerships with Provincial, Territorial and Federal Ministries responsible for Health Care and Public Health, to obtain ongoing access to administrative data routinely collected through the health care system. These data can be combined with survey data to look at risk factors, health services utilization and health outcomes.
| Planned Activities: In 2008-2009, data collection for the CHMS continue and should be completed in April 2009. An evaluation of the change to continuous data collection for the CCHS, implemented in 2007-08, will be undertaken and the in depth investigation of five specific topics will be surveyed every 3 years instead of every 2 years. Memoranda of Understanding will be negotiated with those jurisdictions interested in participating in the partnership for HPOI and an inaugural record linkage research agenda setting conference will be held. |
Justice Statistics (Program Sub-Sub Activity 2.1.1)
The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS) is the operational arm of a federal-provincial-territorial partnership for the collection of information to support the administration of justice and to ensure that accurate information on the nature and extent of criminal and civil justice in Canada is available. Programs are guided by the Justice Information Council (JIC) – a committee of some 28 federal and provincial Deputy Ministers responsible for the administration of justice, and the Chief Statistician of Canada. This partnership also known as the National Justice Statistics Initiative (NJSI), strives to develop, implement and manage an effective national justice statistics program. The programs cover the civil and criminal justice systems, including law enforcement, prosecutions, legal aid, courts, and correctional services. The CCJS provides information about each sector of the justice system, measures and describes caseloads, and quantifies revenues, expenditures and personnel employed. The CCJS also provides services designed to improve the manner in which managers and policy makers develop and use information on the justice system and assists jurisdictions to introduce and use modern information technology. The rationale for this program stems from a Memorandum of Understanding with Justice Canada and Cabinet decisions where Statistics Canada was named a partner in the National Justice Statistics Initiative. The program also administers the Family Violence Statistical Program funded by the Family Violence Initiative.
The Justice Statistics program has four components:
- Policing services
- Courts
- Corrections
- Research and Analysis
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| Integrated Correctional Services |
372
|
-
|
-
|
Considerable investment has been made to date in the development of the Integrated Correctional Services Survey (ICSS). This includes significant progress developing the ICSS production system including tools for data quality checks, database management, statistical reporting processes and the development of methodologies to facilitate the transition between this new micro-data survey and the older aggregate surveys and to derive daily snapshot counts from the ICSS data.
Without a fully developed and implemented micro-data corrections survey it is not possible to adequately examine offender recidivism and explore offender outcome trajectories across the justice sectors or beyond the criminal justice system. Offender outcomes were identified as a strategic priority of the National Justice Statistics Initiative during consultations in 2005. In addition, in 2003, the National Statistics Council highlighted the importance of focusing attention on the factors and contexts that contribute to crime and to successful interventions and outcomes. Investments in micro-data collection in our courts and policing programs have created tremendous analytical potential within these areas; however, alone they are insufficient to address the issue of recidivism and offender outcomes.
To date, development and implementation of the ICSS has benefited greatly and relied on cost-recovery funds from Justice Canada through the Youth Justice Renewal Initiative (YJRI). The YJRI fund was designed to assist stakeholders in youth justice with the development of programs in support of the new Youth Criminal Justice Act. This special funding came to an end in fiscal year 2005/06 leaving the ICSS in mid-development. Jurisdictions implementing the survey have been very supportive, providing equivalent services in kind.
This project will produce the following benefits for Canadians:
- The current base budget for the Corrections program allows for the management and statistical reporting for 4 aggregate surveys. Funding has provided the necessary resources to manage the transition from several aggregate surveys to the ICSS. Once complete, the Corrections program expects to manage its survey program without any additional staff complement while at the same time greatly improving the quality, utility and comprehensiveness of the corrections data.
- The ICSS is a response to a review of the existing aggregate corrections surveys that highlighted data quality and data utility issues. As such, ensuring data quality in the ICSS is a priority.
| Planned Activities: In 2008-2009, the project will complete development of the ICSS data processing system, a set of comprehensive reporting tools to assess ICSS data quality on an ongoing basis as well as any necessary changes to the survey specifications. |
Census, Demography and Aboriginal Statistics (Program Activity 3)
| Resource Requirements |
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
| ($ thousands) |
94,680
|
88,337
|
31,563
|
| FTE |
1,038
|
958
|
532
|
Strategic outcome: Canadians have access to objective, high quality, non-partisan statistics, statistical products, services and analyses on Canada's population which fulfill legal requirements, are relevant to policy formulation and decision makers and are responsive to emerging issues.
Description: The Census, Demography and Aboriginal Statistics program provides statistical information on the Canadian population, its demographic characteristics and conditions, and their changes over time. It also provides in depth information on special populations such as operators of agricultural holdings and aboriginal peoples.
Population counts and estimates are fundamental to the basic governance of Canada and its political sub-divisions, providing the basis for representation by population, for all per capita measures used in fiscal policies and arrangements and other economic analysis and for program and service planning by all levels of government.
Data produced by the Census, Demography and Aboriginal Statistics program activity are used by a vast number of users in every sphere of Canadian society, for a wide array of purposes. They are particularly used by students as an introduction to the demographic size and composition of the communities in which they live and of the country overall.
The Census, Demography and Aboriginal Statistics program activity is comprised of the following sub-sub-activities:
3.1 Census of Agriculture
3.2 Demography
3.3 Aboriginal Statistics
3.4 Census of Population
New plans and priorities have been identified for three of these sub-sub activities, Census of Population, Census of Agriculture and Aboriginal Statistics. For the Demography sub-sub-activity, the plan is to maintain statistical production at current levels of quality and costs.
Census of Population (Program Sub Activity 3.4)
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| 2006 Census of Population |
18,997
|
9,332
|
-
|
| 2011 Census of Population |
44,509
|
50,749
|
-
|
| Total |
63,506
|
60,081
|
-
|
Censuses have been held in Canada since 1871, with one every five years since 1956. The Constitution Act requires that a Census be conducted in 2011.
The results of a Census are used in the development, monitoring and refinement of a number of major government programs and policies. The Census is essential in anchoring population estimates that govern the annual allocation of billions of dollars in health and social transfers and equalization payments to provinces and territories (approximately $67 billion in fiscal year 2007-08), as well as in determining electoral boundaries for democratic representation and reform.
The Census collects basic demographic data from one hundred percent (100%) of households in Canada, and, since the advent of self-enumeration in the early seventies and advances in sampling methodology, more comprehensive socioeconomic data from only twenty percent (20%) of households. The “basic” portion of the Census provides information on population and dwelling counts, and a breakdown of the population by age, sex, relationship, marital status and the first language learned in childhood. The “comprehensive” portion of the Census provides information on mobility, ethnicity, labour, education, income, citizenship, immigration, transportation, and dwelling characteristics.
The Census is the only source of coherent and detailed information for small geographic areas, based on the same statistical concepts for the entire country. This information is vital to all levels of government, the private sector, academic and not-for-profit entities in the decision-making process, and in the formulation and monitoring of programs and policies. Census data are used extensively by the private sector in pursuing market opportunities including expanding or locating new businesses.
For the 2006 Census, the collection and processing phases were conducted in 2006-07. The 2007-08 activities focused on edit and imputation, certification, tabulation, dissemination and coverage measurement studies in support of data and analytical releases. In 2007-08, five of the seven major releases were disseminated. In 2008-09, the major activities will constitute the completion of the data quality studies and the dissemination of two remaining major releases. Final estimates of the net under coverage are planned for release in September 2008.
For the 2011 Census, Statistics Canada plans to leverage heavily on the approaches and processes developed for the 2006 Census. These include an option for Canadians to respond to the Census on-line, automated editing and data capture technologies and greater centralization of operational activities. A strategy that maximizes the re-use of successful 2006 approaches and systems will be pursued.
The interim funding allocation for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10 is required to plan, design, develop and test systems and processes in advance of the 2011 Census, as well as to maintain essential infrastructure. Statistics Canada must test key census processes, systems, and planning assumptions in an integrated end-to-end Census Test which will be conducted in 2009.
The size and scope of the 2011 Census will be presented to Cabinet for approval in the fall of 2009. Development and testing activities have been designed to allow the presentation of basic or comprehensive content options. Should the decision be to conduct a comprehensive census in 2011, funds are expected to be sourced from both the fiscal framework and other federal departments, as has been the case since the 1986 Census.
|
Planned Activities: In fiscal year 2008-2009, the 2006 Census results will continue to be communicated to Canadians. Data will be produced for use by community groups, businesses, governments and Canadians at large. Central to the Census dissemination strategy is to provide information, analysis and data products that showcase the strength of Census data and meet a wide range of users’ data needs. The following 2 major data releases will occur during 2008-2009:
In addition, Census staff will be planning, designing, developing and testing systems and processes in advance of the 2011 Census, these activities include:
|
Archiving Census Records
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| Archiving Census Records - 1991, 1996 & 2001 |
1,021
|
-
|
-
|
Statistics Canada is tasked with preserving copies of historical census records in its possession and, in consultation with Library and Archives Canada (LAC), converted the 1991 to 2001 census questionnaires to microfilm. In response to the deterioration of the quality of existing census microfilm for previous censuses, a review of the condition of the microfilms for census years 1956 -1986 is currently underway in partnership with LAC.
| Planned activities: The work is expected to continue until 2008/09. The project will be completed on schedule and on budget in 2008-09 as planned. |
Census of Agriculture (Program Sub Activity 3.1)
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| 2006 Census of Agriculture |
2,000
|
-
|
-
|
| 2011 Census of Agriculture* |
TBD
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
| *Planned spending for the 2011 Census of Agriculture has yet to be determined. | |||
The 2006 Census of Agriculture will be releasing additional key statistical tables and analytical products in 2008-2009. The Agriculture-Population linkage database will provide a profile of socio-economic characteristics for farm operators and their families, based on data collected through the Census of Agriculture and the long Census of Population questionnaire.
Analytical articles from the 2006 Census of Agriculture will continue to be released electronically on the Statistics Canada website. The compendium of the entire series of articles will be published in book form in 2008-2009.
Through consultations with data users and stakeholders, a number of new or modified questions have been proposed for the 2011 Census of Agriculture to address evolving policy and monitoring requirements. Testing of this content, which began in 2007-2008, will be continued in 2008-2009 with farm operators across Canada in order to evaluate their ability and willingness to answer the questions. Questionnaire design activities will be initiated during this time period.
Building on successes and lessons learned in the 2006 Census, the Census of Agriculture will increase the target for mail-out (as opposed to direct delivery by field Census staff) to farms from the 6% achieved in 2006 to 90% in 2011. In order to achieve this, it will be necessary to enhance the Census of Agriculture Farm Register and develop its compatibility with the Census of Population Address Register. This enhancement and compatibility work will begin in 2008-2009.
The system architecture for the 2011 processing systems will be created in 2008-2009. Specifications for the collection and early processing systems will be finalized and development will be undertaken in preparation for the Census Test to be conducted with the Census of Population in May of 2009.
| Planned Activities: In 2008-2009, Census of Agriculture will release all remaining products from the 2006 Census. For the 2011 Census of Agriculture, content testing will be completed and systems specifications and development will be undertaken leading towards the Census Test in May of 2009. In addition, activities designed to enhance the Farm Register will begin in preparation for an expanded mail-out to farm operators in 2011. |
Aboriginal Statistics (Program Sub Activity 3.3)
|
Planned Spending
|
|||
|
2008-2009
|
2009-2010
|
2010-2011
|
|
|
($ thousands)
|
|||
| Aboriginal Peoples Survey |
6,550
|
6,550
|
6,250
|
The Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) is funded through a cost-recovery arrangement with a consortium of policy departments, led by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The 2006 APS will complement the Census data, providing a snapshot of the socio-economic, cultural, and health conditions of Métis, Inuit and First Nations people living off-reserve. The survey will provide governments and Aboriginal organizations with indicators to monitor change in educational outcomes, health status, employment and Aboriginal language proficiency. More importantly, it will provide statistical information on the determinants of these changes. Initial results from the survey will be released in the fall of 2008.
In addition to the off-reserve survey, planning of an on-reserve component to the APS is underway. The consortium of funding departments is evaluating different options for conducting the on-reserve survey in order to better meet the federal policy needs. The coming year (2008-09) will be spent determining the design and content of the on-reserve survey, and testing various survey collection modes. As part of the Aboriginal statistical program, Statistics Canada will be providing ongoing technical support and assistance to the newly established First Nations Statistical Institute (FNSI).
| Planned Activities: In 2008-2009, an on-reserve component of the Aboriginal Peoples Survey will be developed and tested and technical support will be provided to FNSI. Data collected from the off-reserve survey will be released in the fall of 2008. |