I am pleased to present Statistics Canada's 2021-22 Departmental Plan.
This report outlines how the agency is fulfilling its mandate over the coming year to provide Canadians with timely, high-quality data for decisions that impact all of us.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated Statistics Canada's multi-year modernization efforts, and fundamentally transformed the way we operate. And thanks to this modernization and to our dedicated staff, we were well prepared. Almost overnight, we were able to quickly pivot operations to focus on mission-critical programs, and move some 7,500 employees to telework. Faced with an unprecedented need for data, they stepped up to the plate, enabling the agency to deliver data-driven insights to Canadians at a time when they were needed most.
At no time has the role of data – and Statistics Canada's role as a trusted data steward – been more important in helping Canadians not only survive this crisis, but also thrive once we move past it.
Our effort to modernize our operations is based on five pillars:
- Fostering a modern and flexible workplace based on an agile workforce and culture.
- Delivering user-centric products and services to focus resources on what clients want and need today, and to make Statistics Canada data easier for anyone to find and use.
- Using leading-edge methods. We do this by identifying new methods of collecting data that move beyond the survey-first approach, finding new ways to integrate data from a variety of sources, and using high-throughput tools to analyze and visualize data.
- Collaborating and engaging with partners, sharing expertise, and increasing access to data.
- Building statistical capacity with partners and fostering data literacy among Canadians so that more end-users – whether they are businesses, governments or citizens – can make evidence-based decisions from data.
To that end, Statistics Canada will deliver results over the coming year based on the following priorities:
- Strengthening the Statistical System. The Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC) released, in October 2020, the first annual report which provides a detailed assessment of Canada’s statistical system and advice on how it could be strengthened. Statistics Canada will work closely with partners within and outside the federal government to make tangible progress in the areas recommended in the report.
- Launch the 2021 Census of the Population and Census of Agriculture. Every five years, the censuses provide a detailed portrait of Canadians and their communities. In 2021, census data collection will take place against the backdrop of a pandemic, which will require Statistics Canada employees to adapt to public-health measures, such as physical distancing, during the collection of census data. The data collected for this census will also capture the sheer scale of the social and economic impacts that Canadians continue to face as a result of COVID-19.
- Enhance coverage of emerging social and economic concerns. Statistics Canada will continue to produce more data on important issues, such as housing affordability, health outcomes, household debt and Canadians' quality of life. Given the economic uncertainty created by COVID-19, we will also identify timely and accurate indicators to track the sharp changes in employment levels and business activity during an economic shock. Another urgent priority is to disaggregate datasets to better identify the economic and social impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations, such as women, Indigenous people, people living with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, and groups designated as visible minorities.
- Seek out data from alternative sources. Canadians often wonder why they are asked to provide the same data multiple times to government institutions. That's why we will engage with Canadians and collaborate with both public- and private-sector partners on ways to collect, store and share administrative data – information not based on surveys that are already held by other organizations. The objective is to make Statistics Canada more responsive to the data needs of Canadians, without adding extra demands on them to provide the same information to us multiple times. This commitment is part of the Government of Canada's vision of offering services focused on the needs of end users. Better data integration from various sources means the federal government has a better sense of the needs of Canadians. Better data integration holds great potential for making Canadians' interactions with the Government of Canada easier, providing them with a more seamless experience when they seek a service or benefit. It can make government more efficient, better at coordinating public services and better equipped to make evidence-based decisions that can improve the lives of all Canadians, particularly those who may not have benefitted equally in the past. And as we seek to integrate more data to better serve Canadians, we will continue to strictly protect their privacy.
- Build statistical capacity and foster data literacy. Through newly established partnerships with Indigenous communities, we will share our globally recognized expertise in using data for public accountability, social impact and innovation. We will also continue to collaborate with other federal departments as well as our provincial and territorial counterparts to use data as a strategic asset to better serve Canadians.
- Modernize our operations. To better meet Canada's evolving data needs, especially during a public-health crisis, we are actively developing new technology-based solutions to provide Canadians with increased access to timely, high-quality data. We are investing in secure digital infrastructure to protect the data assets that Canadians have entrusted to us. We are also launching new on-demand digital tools and services – part of our commitment to improve our services to Canadians by identifying fresh ways to model and present data to them.
Over the past century, Statistics Canada has evolved from being the nation's collector and keeper of fixed stocks of data, to being a dynamic service provider that shares ever-moving flows of data, wherever and whenever they are needed. These data can be used by many more Canadians, who are looking for accurate, authoritative information tailored to their unique needs to make important decisions.
We will continue to strictly protect the information Canadians have entrusted to Statistics Canada and be transparent about the methods that we use to ensure that their information is both secure and kept strictly confidential. I invite Canadians to visit Statistics Canada's Trust Centre to see how we are introducing world-leading privacy-protection methods and how our dedicated employees work to bring Canadians the data and insights that they have counted on for more than 100 years.
Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada