Cannabis Stats Hub

Consultation objectives

On April 13, 2017, the Government of Canada tabled the Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) in Parliament to legalize the production, distribution and consumption of cannabis. If legislation is approved by Parliament, the new status might come into effect by mid-2018.

Statistics Canada's mandate is to provide Canadians with high-quality statistical information on the country's economy and society. As legalization of non-medical cannabis has social and economic implications, the agency is preparing to track the impact of this change in Canada.

The Cannabis Stats Hub has been created as an innovative way to collect and disseminate information on the purchase and use of cannabis, through a centralized portal. The statistics produced will provide important data, ensuring that Canadians are well-positioned to understand the socioeconomic impacts of legalization in the event that Bill C-45 is passed.

Consultation methodology

Statistics Canada conducted in-person usability consultations. Participants were asked to complete a series of tasks and to provide feedback on the proposed website.

How to get involved

This consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a consultation may contact Statistics Canada by sending an email to statcan.consultations-consultations.statcan@statcan.gc.ca.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

Statistics Canada is committed to respecting the privacy of consultation participants. All personal information created, held or collected by the agency is protected by the Privacy Act. For more information on Statistics Canada's privacy policies, please consult the Privacy notice.

Results

What worked

Most participants successfully completed a series of tasks on various pages of the Cannabis Stats Hub. Overall, they indicated that the hub was simple enough to use and that they were pleased to see that so much cannabis-related information will be released in a centralized portal.

The participants mentioned that the graphs, charts and other visualizations in the hub helped better understand the data presented and are ideal for reports.

Areas for improvement

• When on the landing page, participants were not sure what information was included under each section of the hub.
• Participants who were less familiar with the subject requested to see more definitions.
• The placement of the menu buttons were not intuitive to participants.
• There was a desire to have the ability to export the hub’s underlying data.

Recommendations

• Simpler and more explicit explanations should be added on all pages of the hub. These explanations should also provide context to the data being presented to ensure that users properly understand the numbers they are looking at.
• Reconsider the layout and placement of the menu buttons.
• Add a feature to export the underlying data.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the agency's web development and ensure that the final products meet users' expectations.