Attendance
CSAC Members Attendance
Dr. Howard Ramos (Chairperson), Anil Arora, Catherine Beaudry, David Chaundy, Benoit Dostie, Annette Hester, Anke Kessler, Jan Kestle, Vinamra Mathur
CSAC Members Regrets
Stephen Tapp
Statistics Canada
Assistant Chief Statisticians (ACS): Josée Bégin, Stéphane Dufour, André Loranger, Eric Rancourt, Mélanie Scott
Directors General on behalf of ACS on March 14th: Gayatri Jayaraman (on behalf of Josée Bégin), Milana Karaganis (on behalf of Mélanie Scott), Janice Keenan (on behalf of Kathleen Mitchell), Larry MacNabb (on behalf of Josée Bégin)
Meeting Agenda – Day 1
| Time | Agenda | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 – 9:00 |
Members meet-and-greet |
All members |
| 9:00 – 9:10 |
Chairperson introductory remarks |
Howard Ramos |
| 9:10 – 9:40 |
Chief Statistician updates and overview of Statistics Canada |
Anil Arora |
| 9:40 – 10:50 |
Orientation presentations by fields and questions-answers with members |
Stéphane Dufour Gayatri Jayaraman (on behalf of Josée Bégin, Assistant Chief Statistician, Social, Health and Labour Statistics Field) Janice Keenan (on behalf of Kathleen Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Chief Statistician, Corporate Strategy and Management Field) André Loranger Larry MacNabb (on behalf of Josée Bégin, Assistant Chief Statistician, Social, Health and Labour Statistics Field) Eric Rancourt Milana Karaganis (on behalf of Mélanie Scott, Assistant Chief Statistician, Digital Solutions Field) |
| 11:00 – 12:00 |
Modernization of our infrastructure and leading-edge methods (Generative Artificial Intelligence) |
Milana Karaganis Marc Peladeau Christos Sarakinos Wesley Yung |
| 12:00 – 13:20 | Lunch and photo opportunity | |
| 13:20 – 14:20 |
Climate change and environment projects at Statistics Canada (including Census of Environment) |
Augustine Akuoko-Asibey Mark Brown Rebecca Kong Gayatri Jayaraman Étienne Saint-Pierre Claudia Sanmartin Michael Scrim François Soulard |
| 14:30 – 15:55 |
Roundtable discussion about the report In camera |
All members |
| 15:55 – 16:00 |
Chairperson closing remarks for the day |
Howard Ramos |
Meeting Minutes
1. Chairperson introductory remarks
Dr. Ramos opened the meeting by welcoming members to the in-person meeting of the CSAC, with a special note for newest members, Catherine Beaudry, Anke Kessler and Vinamra Mathur, present at the meeting and Stephen Tapp, who was unable to attend. Building on issues discussed at the virtual meeting on February 1, 2024, he invited members to also consider ongoing legislative changes and their potential impact on the authority of the agency as the Council is planning the work for the year. He highlighted the unique importance of the Council this year, especially during the transition to a new Chief Statistician. The Council's role includes emphasizing the importance to continue the momentum of modernization efforts, explain the value of the agency, foster trust with stakeholders and ensure that the agency continues to play a stewardship role in terms of methodology and data quality. He then provided an overview of the agenda for the first day of the in-person meeting.
2. Chief Statistician updates and overview of Statistics Canada
After a roundtable, Mr. Arora provided some historical context about Statistics Canada, for the benefit of new CSAC members. He also provided background on how the legislation defines the role of the Chief Statistician and the mandate of the Council as an independent advisory body, created to increase the transparency of the system. He also provided some background on the modernization efforts and how these efforts have ensured the agency remains world class and a leader internationally. He then provided an overview of what the agency does: its work, operations, including funding, and examples of key programs and initiatives supporting modernization.
Members discussed Statistics Canada's sources of funding (including cost-recovery) for economic and social programs, the challenges and benefits from this funding model, as well as the transition to a new Chief Statistician and what would be required to ensure efforts towards continuous modernization.
3. Orientation presentations by fields and questions-answers with members
Assistant Chief Statisticians and acting Directors General presented an overview of their respective fields to provide some context to new members, focusing on key initiatives and programs, priorities, opportunities, challenges and risks related to their area of responsibility.
A question-and-answer discussion followed the presentations, during which members and presenters discussed management of the duplication of efforts, implications of the cost-recovery models on programs, measures to mitigate low response rates, data standards coordination with key stakeholders for administrative data, the importance of issues of trust in government in the current context, maintaining the culture of the agency and measurement of cyberthreats. Members noted opportunities to collaborate further with Policy Horizons, for example, to make their scenarios'impact on the economy, environment and society more concrete.
4. Modernization of our infrastructure and leading-edge methods (Generative Artificial Intelligence)
Mr. Yung began the discussion with some context on previous presentations by Statistics Canada to the Council on this topic and the purpose of the presentation. He then provided an overview of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) and summarized work being done by the agency with international organizations. He presented an overview of the IT foundational infrastructure and where LLMs fit as well as recent activities at Statistics Canada. Ms. Karaganis presented specific examples, including two use cases Statistics Canada is working on, and next steps.
Members and presenters discussed social acceptability within and outside the agency, governance around AI and the importance of identifying AI as a priority for the agency. They also had a conversation about implications of using AI while respecting confidentiality, especially as Statistics Canada is partnering with other departments who need to access the agency's data. They also spoke about how to bring technology and statistical rigour together to create real possibilities, and ensure the agency is moving at a pace that allows to manage risks while maintaining the agency's status as a leader in this area. They noted that AI is part of the continuum of modernization and case studies presented are examples of the innovation system of Statistics Canada showing the potential AI has for the agency.
The Council noted that while currently AI can be helpful for administrative tasks, for example, it is important for statistical agencies to be cautious when using publicly available AI, especially when dealing with confidential data. They also spoke about the potential of AI to support statistical analysis and opportunities for public-private partnerships.
5. Climate change and environment projects at Statistics Canada (including Census of Environment)
Mr. Loranger introduced the presentation by mentioning that the focus was on the follow ups from the last presentation by Statistics Canada on the Census of Environment at the last in-person meeting and that the deck circulated in advance of the meeting included projects and initiatives about climate change that were broader than the Census of Environment. Mr. Soulard began with a reminder of the recommendations provided by CSAC at their previous in-person meeting in October 2023. He then provided an update of activities since that meeting related to the recommendations including on engagements with stakeholders to build trust, technologies and modern workforce and ease of access. He concluded with questions for the Council.
The Council was pleased with progress made since October 2023. Members encouraged the agency to partner with other departments and external stakeholders to ensure integration of data and avoid siloes. They also recommended to ensure the framing of the initiative is clearly articulated to make it easier for Canadians to understand the purpose and content of the Census of Environment. They noted the importance of consultations and outreach to ensure the agency understands the need of stakeholders, including on how to use the portal and data visualization to make the relevant data available and easy to use.
Members mentioned that as the data steward, the agency's role is not only to integrate environment and socioeconomic data but also to disseminate these data. Even if the data are not comprehensive, a data steward should still disseminate them on the portal and include cautions. The data steward's role is also to help educate the public on why sharing data with government is important and the portal provides an opportunity to engage Canadians while showing them how the data on a topic that is top of mind for them, such as climate change, makes a difference. The CS reiterated the importance of CSAC's feedback, especially for a program that is the first of its kind in the world. The agency is looking forward to hearing recommendations on how the initiative can benefit the business sector at a subsequent meeting to ensure the initiative is going in the right direction.
6. Roundtable discussion about the report
The Chairperson facilitated an in-camera roundtable discussion on key takeaways from the day and how they will inform the Council's annual report's themes.
7. Chairperson closing remarks for the day
Dr. Ramos provided closing remarks for the day.
Meeting Agenda – Day 2
| Time | Agenda | Lead Participant(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 9:10 |
Chairperson introductory remarks |
Howard Ramos |
| 9:10 – 9:40 |
Update on Virtual Research Data Centre |
Shelley Jeglic Genevieve Jourdain Claudia Sanmartin |
| 9:40 – 10:25 |
Taking stock for the coming year |
Annette Hester Rory Gilsenan |
| 10:35 – 11:20 |
Rapid fire key takeaways In camera |
All members |
| 12:00 – 12:40 |
Working lunch Discussion of work for the year and report In camera |
|
| 12:40 – 12:50 |
Chairperson closing remarks |
Howard Ramos |
1. Chairperson Introductory Remarks
Dr. Ramos welcomed participants back and provided an overview of the agenda for the second day of the CSAC in-person meeting.
2. Update on Virtual Research Data Centre
Mr. Rancourt provided context on the purpose of the presentation on the transition from in-person Research Data Centres to virtual ones. Ms. Jourdain presented the purpose of Virtual Research Data Centres (vRDC), the new business model, including in partnership with the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN), progress done so far this year, key milestones, timelines and next steps.
Members and presenters discussed timelines, the communication plan and rollout to academia as well as other stakeholders. They spoke about roles and responsibilities of the CRDCN and Statistics Canada and different ways to access data for researchers and how to scale up existing solutions. Members mentioned the importance of building a community of research around the data, ways of exchanging information on methodology and benefits of both in-person and virtual access.
3. Using Data Visualization as a tool to make data useful and usable
Ms. Hester thanked the Council for the opportunity to share her perspective on how to use data visualization and concrete examples of how it was used for decision-making. She spoke about the importance of data visualization and how findings are communicated in a world where people are overwhelmed by the amount of data to process.
She presented key examples of data visualization and tools used by a range of sectors that show interactive data systems allowing users to explore the information. Mr. Gilsenan provided an overview of the NRCan data visualization project and Ms. Hester presented the results and how the interactive data visualization responds to users'needs and can be used for decision-making. Statistics Canada representatives welcomed the opportunity to discuss the importance of visual communications with Ms. Hester and Mr. Gilsenan and noted the work presented will inform ongoing visual communications efforts.
4. Rapid fire key takeaways
The Chairperson facilitated an in-camera roundtable of quick key takeaways from the morning, any additions to the themes for the report discussed the day before and provided a summary of themes mentioned to include in the report.
5. Discussion of work for the year and report
The Chairperson held an in-camera discussion on the work of the Council for the year to come, including the annual report and next steps.
6. Chairperson Closing Remarks
Following a roundtable discussion among CSAC members, Dr. Ramos summarized next steps for the Council. He thanked CSAC members, the Chief Statistician, the Assistant Chief Statisticians and their teams and the CSAC Secretariat for their support.