Introduction

The integration of business and human resources (HR) planning is fundamental to informed priority setting and is a key to supporting Statistics Canada’s raison d’être and responsibilities as presented in the 2012/2013 Report on Plans and Priorities.

The main priorities and challenges that Statistics Canada faces over the next three years include

• preparing to conduct the 2011 Census of Population and the 2011 Census of Agriculture
• launching a new National Household Survey
• producing new quantity and price indicators for the increasingly important service sector
• improving the availability of data for the Aboriginal population
• developing a framework to guide and prioritize the collection of high-quality statistics on the environment
• improving Canadians’ access to economic and social data.

Statistics Canada cannot achieve its strategic outcome without talented and knowledgeable personnel. Continuous innovation in HR systems and practices is an Agency hallmark, as witnessed by the prestigious 2010 awards presented to Statistics Canada, including

• Canada’s Top 100 Employers, by Maclean’s magazine
• National Capital Region’s Top 25 Best Employers, for a third straight year by the Ottawa Citizen
• Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, for a second year in a row by Mediacorp Canada Inc.
• Top 25 Family-friendly Employers, by Today’s Parent magazine.

Statistics Canada provides services in both official languages to Canadians and international communities with a highly competent, non-partisan and representative team in which the appointments are based on the values of access, fairness, transparency and representativeness. The Agency received a strong evaluation of its accountability related to staffing from the Public Service Commission.

The organizational structure supporting the strategic outcome can be found in appendix A.