Introduction

Additional information

Data are used to prepare statements on Canada's Balance of International Payments and International Investment Position. Such statements are used as a major input in the conduct of monetary and exchange rate policies by the Government of Canada.

Authority

This information is collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19. Completion of this questionnaire is a legal requirement under this act..

Confidentiality

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes.

Record linkage

To enhance the data from this survey and to minimize the reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Security of emails and faxes

If you choose to transmit the questionnaire to Statistics Canada by facsimile or other electronic transmission, please be advised that there could be a risk of disclosure during the communication. However, upon receipt of your information, Statistics Canada will provide the guaranteed level of protection afforded all information collected under the authority of the Statistics Act.

Note: There is no risk of disclosure if you are completing a web-based questionnaire online.

Return procedures

A completed copy of this questionnaire should be returned within four weeks of receipt to:

Statistics Canada, 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Distribution Centre SC-0505
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T6

If you need any clarification about reporting, please call toll free at 1-800-565-1685. Fax 1-888-883-7999. Email: infostats@statcan.gc.ca

Reporting instructions

Reporting period:
Please report for the calendar year ending December 31, 20XX. If not possible, please report for this company's most recent fiscal year that ended at any time between April 1, 20XX and March 31, 20XX, and enter the period covered below:

Specify company's fiscal year:
Start: 20XX MM DD
End: 20XX MM DD

The Canadian reporting enterprise should report on this form all its Canadian subsidiaries and associates, according to the accounting practice used to report questionnaire: BP-FIC "Foreign investment in Canada".

Subsidiary:
A company in which the reporting company owns (directly and/or indirectly through other subsidiaries) a majority of shares carrying the right to elect at least a majority of the members of the board of directors.

Associate:
A company in which the Canadian reporting enterprise and/or its consolidated subsidiaries owns between 10% and 50% of the voting equity.

Enterprise structure:
Please provide information regarding your company's Canadian subsidiaries and associates. Indent the subsidiaries of each company. Rank companies according to their level in the enterprise structure. Continue on a separate sheet if necessary. The enterprise level locates each company within the enterprise structure (eg. 1 - the first primary subsidiary of the parent company, 1.1 - the first secondary subsidiary of the parent company, etc.).

Business or Organization and Contact Information

Please verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

Legal name modifications should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

Please verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where needed.

The designated contact person is the person who should receive this questionnaire. The designated contact person may not always be the one who actually completes the questionnaire.

Please verify or provide the current operational status of the business or organization identified by the legal
and operating name.

Why is this business or organization not currently operational?

When did this business or organization close for the season?

When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?

Go to question 4 once you have answered this question.

When did this business or organization cease operations?

Why did this business or organization cease operations?

Go to question 4 once you have answered this question.

When was this business or organization sold?

What is the legal name of the buyer?

Go to question 4 once you have answered this question.

When did this business or organization amalgamate?

What is the legal name of the resulting or continuing business or organization?

What is (are) the legal name(s) of the other amalgamated business(es) or organization(s)?

Go to question 4 once you have answered this question.

When did this business or organization become temporarily inactive?

When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?

Go to question 4 once you have answered this question.

Why is this business or organization temporarily inactive?

Go to question 4 once you have answered this question.

When did this business or organization cease operations?

Why did this business or organization cease operations?

Go to question 4 once you have answered this question.

Please provide the current main activity of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name.

Part 1 - Canadian subsidiaries fully consolidated in the balance of payments questionnaire, bp-fic (foreign investment in Canada)

Please add additional sheets if more space is required.

Please report the following items as indicated:

• (1): Enterprise level
• (2): Name of Canadian Subsidiary
• (3): Percentage of capital stock owned by your company and/or its consolidated subsidiaries - Common Stock
• (4): Percentage of capital stock owned by your company and/or its consolidated subsidiaries - Preferred Stock

Part 2 - Canadian subsidiaries and associates not fully consolidated in balance of payments questionnaire, bp-fic (foreign investment in Canada)

Please add additional sheets if more space is required.

Please report the following items as indicated:

• (1): Enterprise level
• (2): Name of Canadian Subsidiary or Canadian Associate
• (3): Percentage of capital stock owned by your company and/or its consolidated subsidiaries - Common Stock
• (4): Percentage of capital stock owned by your company and/or its consolidated subsidiaries - Preferred Stock
• (5): Total value of investment in subsidiary or associates as reflected in the books of the Canadian reporting enterprise in thousands of Canadian dollars (CAN$ '000) - Equity
• (6): Total value of investment in subsidiary or associates as reflected in the books of the Canadian reporting enterprise in thousands of Canadian dollars (CAN$ '000) - Other securities or advances

Certification

Person primarily responsible for completing this questionnaire:
Last Name:
First Name:
Title:
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Extension:
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Fax number:
Signature:
Date: YYYY MM DD

Feedback

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Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

We invite your comments about this questionnaire.

Thank you for completing this questionnaire.
Please retain a copy for your records.

Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the accompanying financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2020, and all information contained in these statements rests with the management of Statistics Canada (the agency). These financial statements have been prepared by management using the Government of Canada's accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the information in these financial statements. Some of the information in the financial statements is based on management's best estimates and judgment, and gives due consideration to materiality. To fulfill its accounting and reporting responsibilities, management maintains a set of accounts that provides a centralized record of the agency's financial transactions. Financial information submitted in the preparation of the Public Accounts of Canada, and included in the agency's Departmental Results Report, is consistent with these financial statements.

Management is also responsible for maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) designed to provide reasonable assurance that financial information is reliable, that assets are safeguarded, and that transactions are properly authorized and recorded in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and other applicable legislation, regulations, authorities and policies.

Management seeks to ensure the objectivity and integrity of data in its financial statements through careful selection, training and development of qualified staff; through organizational arrangements that provide appropriate divisions of responsibility; through communication programs aimed at ensuring that regulations, policies, standards, and managerial authorities are understood throughout the agency and through conducting an annual risk-based assessment of the effectiveness of the system of ICFR.

The system of ICFR is designed to mitigate risks to a reasonable level based on an ongoing process to identify key risks, to assess the effectiveness of associated key controls, and to make any necessary adjustments.

A risk-based assessment of the system of ICFR for the year ended March 31, 2020 was completed in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Financial Management and the results and action plans are summarized in the annex, which can be found at the end of the notes to these financial statements.

The effectiveness and adequacy of the agency’s system of internal control is reviewed by the work of internal finance staff, who conduct periodic assessments of different areas of the agency’s operations, and by the Departmental Audit Committee (DAC), who provide advice to the Chief Statistician on the adequacy and effectiveness of the agency’s risk management, control and governance frameworks and processes.

The financial statements of Statistics Canada have not been audited.

Statement of Financial Position (Unaudited)
As at March 31
(in thousands of dollars)

	2020	2019
Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (note 4)	75,031	79,357
Vacation pay and compensatory leave	34,674	27,577
Deferred revenue (note 5)	614	619
Lease obligation for tangible capital assets (note 6)	0	6
Employee future benefits (note 7)	20,520	19,280
Total net liabilities	130,839	126,839
Financial assets
Due from Consolidated Revenue Fund	55,874	63,107
Accounts receivable and advances (note 8)	12,276	7,316
Total net financial assets	68,150	70,423
Departmental net debt	62,689	56,416
Non-financial assets
Prepaid expenses	5,851	4,174
Consumable supplies	1,561	1,098
Tangible capital assets (note 9)	163,237	164,985
Total non-financial assets	170,649	170,257
Departmental net financial position	107,960	113,841
Contractual obligations and contractual rights (note 10) Contingent liabilities and contingent assets (note 11) The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31
(in thousands of dollars)

	2020 Planned Results	2020	2019
Expenses
Statistical Information	646,031	663,599	610,940
Internal services	72,521	93,839	78,608
Total expenses	718,552	757,438	689,548
Revenues
Special statistical services	138,000	143,220	143,882
Other revenues	100	72	80
Revenues earned on behalf of Government	(18,100)	(21,356)	(20,418)
Total revenues	120,000	121,936	123,544
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	598,552	635,502	566,004
Government funding and transfers
Net cash provided by Government of Canada		553,096	504,373
Change in due from Consolidated Revenue Fund		(7,233)	958
Services provided without charge by other federal government departments (note 12a)		83,756	74,507
Transfer of assets to other federal government departments		2	100
Net cost (revenue) of operations after government funding and transfers		5,881	(13,934)
Departmental net financial position - Beginning of year		113,841	99,907
Departmental net financial position - End of year		107,960	113,841
Segmented information (note 13) The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements

Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31
(in thousands of dollars)

	2020	2019
Net cost (revenue) of operations after government funding and transfers	5,881	(13,934)
Change due to tangible capital assets
Acquisition of tangible capital assets (note 9)	28,447	36,046
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 9)	(30,146)	(27,418)
Net loss on disposal of tangible capital assets including adjustments	(70)	(76)
Transfer of tangible capital assets to other federal government departments	21	95
Total change due to tangible capital assets	(1,748)	8,647
Change due to consumable supplies	463	(182)
Change due to prepaid expenses	1,677	(1,181)
Net increase (decrease) in departmental net debt	6,273	(6,650)
Departmental net debt - Beginning of year	56,416	63,066
Departmental net debt - End of year	62,689	56,416
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31
(in thousands of dollars)

	2020	2019
Operating activities
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	635,502	566,004
Non-cash items:
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 9)	(30,146)	(27,418)
Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets	(70)	(76)
Services provided without charge by other federal government departments (note 12a)	(83,756)	(74,507)
Transfer of emergency salary advances to other federal government departments	20	(5)
Variations in Statement of Financial Position:
Increase (decrease) in accounts receivable and advances	4,960	(1,343)
Increase (decrease) in prepaid expenses	1,676	(1,181)
Increase (decrease) in consumable supplies	463	(182)
Decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities	4,326	5,397
Increase in vacation pay and compensatory leave	(7,097)	(1,966)
Decrease in deferred revenue	5	8
Increase (decrease) in employee future benefits	(1,240)	3,572
Cash used in operating activities	524,643	468,303
Capital investing activities
Acquisitions of tangible capital assets, excluding capital leases (note 9)	28,447	36,046
Cash used in capital investing activities	28,447	36,046
Financing activities
Payments of lease obligation for tangible capital assets	6	24
Cash used in financing activities	6	24
Net cash provided by Government of Canada	553,096	504,373
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Notes to the Financial Statements (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31

1. Authority and objectives

Statistics Canada (the agency) was established in 1918, pursuant to the Statistics Act. The agency received full departmental status by order-in-council in 1965.

The agency is a division of the public service named in Schedule I.1 of the Financial Administration Act. The minister responsible for Statistics Canada is the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, who represents the agency in Parliament and in Cabinet.

The agency's mandate derives primarily from the Statistics Act. The act requires the agency — under the direction of the minister — to collect, compile, analyze, and publish statistical information on the economic, social, and general conditions of the country and its citizens. Statistics Canada has a mandate to coordinate and manage the country's statistical system.

The agency's mandate has two primary objectives:

• Provide statistical information and analysis of the economic and social structure and functioning of Canadian society as a basis for the development, operation and evaluation of public policies and programs. This information is used for public and private decision-making, and for the general benefit of all Canadians.
• Promote the quality, coherence, and international comparability of Canada's statistics through collaboration with other federal departments and agencies, with the provinces and territories, and in accordance with sound scientific standards and practices.

The agency reports on the two core responsibilities described below.

Statistical information - The agency has a responsibility to produce objective high-quality statistical information for the whole of Canada. The statistical information produced relates to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic, environmental and general activities and conditions of the people of Canada.

Internal services - Internal services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies

These financial statements have been prepared using the agency's accounting policies stated below, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. The presentation and results using the stated accounting policies do not result in any significant differences from Canadian public sector accounting standards.

The significant accounting policies are as follows:

(a) Parliamentary authorities

The agency is financed by the Government of Canada through Parliamentary authorities. Financial reporting of authorities provided to the agency do not parallel financial reporting according to generally accepted accounting principles since authorities are primarily based on cash flow requirements. Consequently, items recognized in the Statement of Financial Position and in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position are not necessarily the same as those provided through authorities from Parliament. Note 3 provides a reconciliation between the bases of reporting. The planned results amounts in the "Expenses" and "Revenues" sections of the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position are the amounts reported in the Future-oriented Statement of Operations included in the 2019-20 Departmental Plan. Planned results are not presented in the "Government funding and transfers" section of the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and in the Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt because these amounts were not included in the 2019-20 Departmental Plan.

(b) Net cash provided by Government

The agency operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by the agency is deposited into the CRF, and all cash disbursements made by the agency are paid from the CRF. The net cash provided by the Government is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements, including transactions between federal government departments.

(c) Amounts due from or to the CRF

Amounts due from or to the CRF are the result of timing differences at year-end between the time when a transaction affects authorities and when it is processed through the CRF. Amounts due from the CRF represent the net amount of cash that the agency is entitled to draw from the CRF without further authorities to discharge its liabilities.

(d) Revenues

• Revenues received for special statistical services are recorded as deferred revenue upon receipt. These amounts are recognized as revenue in the period in which the services are rendered and related expenses are incurred.
• Other revenues are recognized in the period the event giving rise to the revenues occurred.
• Revenues that are non-respendable are not available to discharge the agency's liabilities. While the Chief Statistician; is expected to maintain accounting control, he has no authority regarding the disposition of non-respendable revenues. As a result, non-respendable revenues are considered to be earned on behalf of the Government of Canada and are therefore presented as a reduction of the entity's gross revenues.

(e) Expenses

• Transfer payments are recorded as an expense in the year the transfer is authorized and all eligibility criteria have been met by the recipient.
• Vacation pay and compensatory leave are accrued as the benefits are earned by employees under their respective terms of employment.
• Services provided without charge by other federal government departments for accommodation, employer contributions to the health and dental insurance plans, and workers' compensation are recorded as operating expenses at their carrying value.

(f) Employee future benefits

1. Pension benefits — Eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multi-employer pension plan administered by the Government. The agency's contributions to the Plan are charged to expenses in the year incurred and represent the total departmental obligation to the Plan. The agency's responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan's sponsor.
2. Severance benefits — The accumulation of severance benefits for voluntary departures ceased for applicable employee groups. The remaining obligation for employees who did not withdraw benefits is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the Government as a whole.

(g) Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable are initially recorded at cost. When necessary, an allowance for valuation is recorded to reduce the carrying value of accounts receivable to amounts that approximate their net recoverable value.

(h) Non-financial assets

• All tangible capital assets and leasehold improvements having an initial cost of $10,000 or more are recorded at their acquisition cost. Tangible capital assets do not include immovable assets located on reserves as defined in the Indian Act, works of art, museum collection and Crown land to which no acquisition cost is attributable; and intangible assets.
• Consumable supplies include items held for future program delivery and are not intended for resale. These supplies are recorded at the acquisition cost. If there is no longer a service potential, the supplies are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value.

(i) Contingent liabilities

Contingent liabilities are potential liabilities which may become actual liabilities when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. If the future event is likely to occur or fail to occur, and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made, a provision is accrued and an expense recorded to other expenses. If the likelihood is not determinable or an amount cannot be reasonably estimated, the contingency is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

(j) Contingent assets

Contingent assets are possible assets which may become actual assets when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. If the future even is likely to occur or fail to occur, the contingent asset is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

(k) Transactions involving foreign currencies

Transactions involving foreign currencies are translated into Canadian dollar equivalents using rates of exchange in effect at the time of those transactions. Gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions are reported on the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position according to the activities to which they relate.

(l) Measurement uncertainty

The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported and disclosed amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes at March 31. The estimates are based on facts and circumstances, historical experience, general economic conditions and reflect the Government's best estimate of the related amount at the end of the reporting period. The most significant items where estimates are used are the liability for employee future benefits and the useful life of tangible capital assets. Actual results could significantly differ from those estimated. Management's estimates are reviewed periodically and, as adjustments become necessary, they are recorded in the financial statements in the year they become known.

(m) Related party transactions

Inter-entity transactions are transactions between commonly controlled entities. Inter-entity transactions, other than restructuring transactions, are recorded on a gross basis and are measured at the carrying amount, except for the following:

1. Services provided on a recovery basis are recognized as revenues and expenses on a gross basis and measured at the exchange amount.
2. Certain services received on a without charge basis are recorded for departmental financial statement purposes at the carrying amount.

3. Parliamentary authorities

The agency receives most of its funding through annual parliamentary authorities. Items recognized in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and the Statement of Financial Position in one year may be funded through parliamentary authorities in prior, current, or future years. Accordingly, the agency has different net results of operations for the year on a government funding basis than on an accrual accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables:

(a) Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year authorities used

Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year authorities used

	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	635,502	566,004
Adjustments for items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities:
Amortization of tangible capital assets	(30,146)	(27,418)
Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets	(70)	(76)
Services provided without charge by other federal government departments	(83,756)	(74,507)
Increase in vacation pay and compensatory leave	(7,097)	(1,966)
Increase (decrease) in employee future benefits	(1,240)	3,572
Refund of prior years' expenditures	526	1,548
Increase in respendable revenues	1,878	0
Consumption of prepaid expenses	(8,831)	(9,261)
Bad debt expense	0	(80)
Consumption of supplies	0	(182)
Increase in accrued salary receivable	451	183
Total items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities	(128,285)	(108,187)
Adjustments for items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities:
Acquisition of tangible capital assets, excluding capital leases	28,447	36,046
Decrease in lease obligations for tangible capital assets	6	24
Decrease in respendable accounts receivable	0	(664)
Acquisition of prepaid expenses	10,507	8,081
Acquisition of consumable supplies	463	0
Increase in salary receivable	133	353
Decrease (increase) in salary advances	(9)	6
Payments for pay equity settlement	185	6,081
Total items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities	39,732	49,927
Current year authorities used	546,949	507,744

(b) Authorities provided and used

Authorities provided and used

	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Authorities provided:
Vote 1 - Operating expenditures	489,492	466,035
Statutory amounts	73,190	69,622
Total authorities provided	562,682	535,657
Less:
Lapsed: Operating expenditures	(15,733)	(27,913)
Current year authorities used	546,949	507,744

4. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

The following table presents details of the agency's accounts payable and accrued liabilities:

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accounts payable - Other federal government departments and agencies	6,624	9,323
Accounts payable - External parties	27,669	24,631
Accrued salaries and wages	40,738	45,403
Total accounts payables and accrued liabilities	75,031	79,357

5. Deferred revenue

The agency has the authority to expend revenue received during the fiscal year. Deferred revenue represents the balance at year-end of unearned revenues stemming from amounts received from external parties, which are restricted for specific statistical services. Revenue is recognized in the period in which these expenditures are incurred or in which the service is performed. Details of the transactions related to this account are as follows:

Deferred revenue

	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Opening balance	619	627
Amount received	143,215	143,874
Revenues recognized	(143,220)	(143,882)
Net closing balance	614	619

6. Lease obligation for tangible capital assets

The organization entered into agreements to lease photocopiers under capital leases with a cost of $110 thousand, which were fully amortized as at August 31, 2020. There are no obligations for the coming years.

7. Employee future benefits

a) Pension benefits

The agency's employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan ("the Plan"), which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2 percent per year of pensionable service, times the average of the best five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Québec Pension Plan benefits and they are indexed to inflation.

Both the employees and the agency contribute to the cost of the Plan. Due to the amendment of the Public Service Superannuation Act following the implementation of provisions related to Economic Action Plan 2012, employee contributors have been divided into two groups – Group 1 relates to existing plan members as of December 31, 2012, and Group 2 relates to members who joined the Plan as of January 1, 2013. Each group has a distinct contribution rate.

The 2019-2020 expense amounts to $50,686 thousand ($48,546 thousand in 2018-2019). For Group 1 members, the expense represents approximately 1.01 times (1.01 times in 2018-2019) the employee contributions and, for Group 2 members, approximately 1.00 times (1.00 times in 2018-2019) the employee contributions.

The agency's responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan's sponsor.

b) Severance benefits

Severance benefits provided to the agency's employees were previously based on an employee's eligibility, years of service and salary at termination of employment. However, since 2011 the accumulation of severance benefits for voluntary departures progressively ceased for substantially all employees. Employees subject to these changes were given the option to be paid the full or partial value of benefits earned to date or collect the full or remaining value of benefits upon departure from the public service. By March 31, 2020, substantially all settlements for immediate cash out were completed. Severance benefits are unfunded and, consequently, the outstanding obligation will be paid from future authorities.

The changes in the obligations during the year were as follows:

Severance benefits

	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accrued benefit obligation - Beginning of year	19,280	22,852
Expense or adjustment for the year	2,959	(1,308)
Benefits paid during the year	(1,721)	(2,264)
Accrued benefit obligation - End of year	20,520	19,280

8. Accounts receivable and advances

The following table presents details of the agency's accounts receivable and advances balances:

Accounts receivable and advances

	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Receivables - Other federal government departments and agencies	4,495	1,153
Receivables - External parties	7,598	5,987
Employees advances	185	178
Subtotal	12,278	7,318
Allowance for doubtful accounts on receivables from external parties	(2)	(2)
Net accounts receivable and advances	12,276	7,316

9. Tangible capital assets

Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows:

Amortization period of tangible capital assets

Asset class	Amortization period
Computer hardware	5 years
Computer software	5 years
Other equipment	5 years
Motor vehicles	7 years
Leasehold improvements	25 years
Assets under construction	Once available for use
Software under development	Once available for use
Assets under capital leases	Term of lease

Assets under construction and software assets under development are recorded in the applicable asset class in the year that they become available for use and are not amortized until they are available for use.

Tangible capital assets

Capital Asset Class	Cost					Accumulated Amortization					Net Book Value
	Opening Balance	Acquisitions	Disposals and Write-Offs	AdjustmentsFootnote 1	Closing Balance	Opening Balance	Amortization	Disposals and Write-Offs	AdjustmentsFootnote 1	Closing Balance	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Computer hardware	3,086	39	(205)	(210)	2,710	2,828	68	(205)	(210)	2,481	229	258
Computer software	329,695	155	(8,663)	16,595	337,782	229,722	28,403	(8,642)	0	249,483	88,299	99,973
Other equipment	4,511	53	(463)	37	4,138	2,801	441	(463)	15	2,794	1,344	1,710
Motor vehicles	2,812	32	(27)	0	2,817	2,185	271	(25)	0	2,431	386	627
Leasehold improvements	23,878	307	0	21	24,206	8,434	957	0	0	9,391	14,815	15,444
Assets under construction	54	514	0	(54)	514	0	0	0	0	0	514	54
Software under development	46,913	27,347	0	(16,610)	57,650	0	0	0	0	0	57,650	46,913
Assets under capital leases	110	0	(94)	0	16	104	6	(94)	0	16	0	6
Total	411,059	28,447	(9,452)	(221)	429,833	246,074	30,146	(9,429)	(195)	266,596	163,237	164,985
Footnote 1 Included in adjustments are the following: software assets under development of $16,610 thousand that were transferred to computer software upon completion of the assets; assets under construction of $21 thousand that were transferred to leasehold improvements upon completion of construction and $33 thousand that was expensed due to projects being cancelled; computer hardware with a net book value of $1 each for a total $11 that was transferred out to Public Services and Procurement Canada; and other equipment with a net book value of $21 thousand that was transferred in from the Public Health Agency of Canada. Return to the first footnote 1 referrer

10. Contractual obligations and contractual rights

a) Contractual obligations

The nature of the agency's activities may result in some large multi-year contracts and obligations whereby the agency will be obligated to make future payments when the services/goods are received. Significant contractual obligations that can be reasonably estimated are summarized as follows:

Contractual obligations

	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025 and subsequent	Total
	(in thousands of dollars)
Acquisition of goods and services	10,177	5,720	162	0	0	16,059
Total	10,177	5,720	162	0	0	16,059

b) Contractual rights

The activities of the agency sometimes involve the negotiation of contracts or agreements with outside parties that result in the agency having rights to both assets and revenues in the future. They involve sales of goods and services. Major contractual rights that will generate revenues in future years and that can be reasonably estimated are summarized as follows:

Contractual rights

	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025 and subsequent	Total
	(in thousands of dollars)
Sales of goods and services	501	0	0	0	0	501
Total	501	0	0	0	0	501

11. Contingent liabilities and contingent assets

a) Contingent liabilities

Contingent liabilities arise in the normal course of operations and their ultimate disposition is unknown.

Claims and litigations

The agency records an allowance for claims and litigations where it is likely that there will be a future payment and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made. In 2019-2020, the agency did not have any contingent liabilities.

b) Contingent assets

The agency discloses contingent assets that are likely to be realized. In 2019-2020, the agency did not have any contingent assets.

12. Related party transactions

The agency is related as a result of common ownership to all government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. Related parties also include individuals who are members of key management personnel or close family members of those individuals, and entities controlled by, or under shared control of, a member of key management personnel or a close family member of that individual.

The agency enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms.

a) Common services provided without charge by other federal government departments

During the year, the agency received services without charge from certain common service organizations related to accommodation, the employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans and workers' compensation coverage. These services provided without charge have been recorded at the carrying value in the agency's Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position as follows:

Common services provided without charge by other federal government departments

	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accommodation	37,017	35,973
Employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans	46,667	38,458
Worker's compensation	72	76
Total	83,756	74,507

The Government has centralized some of its administrative activities for efficiency, cost-effectiveness purposes and economic delivery of programs to the public. As a result, the Government uses central agencies and common service organizations so that one department performs services for all other departments and agencies without charge. The costs of these services, such as the payroll and cheque issuance services provided by Public Services and Procurement Canada and audit services provided by the Office of the Auditor General are not included in the agency's Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position.

b) Other transactions with other federal government departments and agencies

Other transactions with other federal government departments and agencies

	2020	2019
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accounts receivable	4,495	1,153
Accounts payable	6,624	9,323
Expenses	15,513	16,189
Revenues	103,971	102,004

Expenses and revenues disclosed in (b) exclude common services provided without charge, which are already disclosed in (a).

13. Segmented information

Presentation by segment is based on the agency's core responsibilities. The presentation by segment is based on the same accounting policies as described in the Summary of significant accounting policies in note 2. The following table presents the expenses incurred and revenues generated for the main core responsibilities, by major object of expense and by major type of revenue. The segment results for the period are as follows:

Segmented information

	Statistical Information	Internal services	2020 Total	2019 Total
	(in thousands of dollars)
Transfer payments
Grant to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development	64	0	64	100
Total transfer payments	64	0	64	100
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits	546,952	62,563	609,515	554,466
Accommodation	27,333	9,685	37,018	35,973
Professional and special services	24,756	8,416	33,172	33,916
Transportation and postage	15,765	721	16,486	18,794
Amortization	29,380	766	30,146	27,418
Repairs and maintenance	240	509	749	499
Materials and supplies	4,577	8,694	13,271	4,492
Rentals	12,373	2,456	14,829	12,705
Communication and printing	2,109	17	2,126	1,013
Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets	23	0	23	0
Loss on write-offs of assets	0	0	0	76
Bad debts	1	0	1	80
Other	26	12	38	16
Total operating expenses	663,535	93,839	757,374	689,448
Total expenses	663,599	93,839	757,438	689,548
Revenues
Special statistical services	143,220	0	143,220	143,882
Other revenues	72	0	72	80
Revenues earned on behalf of Government	(21,356)	0	(21,356)	(20,418)
Total revenues	121,936	0	121,936	123,544
Net cost from continuing operations	541,663	93,839	635,502	566,004

Annex to the Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control over Financial Reporting of Statistics Canada for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 (Unaudited)

1. Introduction

This document provides summary information on the measures taken by Statistics Canada to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), including information on internal control management, assessment results and related action plans.

Detailed information on the agency's authority, mandate and core responsibilities can be found in the Departmental Plan for the 2020-2021 fiscal year and the Departmental Results Report for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

2. Departmental system of internal control over financial reporting

2.1 Internal control management

Statistics Canada has a well-established governance and accountability structure to support departmental assessment efforts and oversight of its system of internal control. A departmental internal control management framework, approved by the Chief Statistician and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), is in place and includes:

• organizational accountability structures as they relate to internal control management to support sound financial management, including roles and responsibilities of senior managers for control management in their areas of responsibility;
• values and ethics considerations;
• ongoing communication and training on statutory requirements, and policies and procedures for sound financial management and control; and
• regular updates to, and monitoring at least on a semi-annual basis, of internal control management as well as the provision of related assessment results and action plans to the Chief Statistician, senior departmental management and the Departmental Audit Committee (DAC).

The DAC provides advice to the Chief Statistician on the adequacy and effectiveness of the agency's risk management, control and governance frameworks and processes.

2.2 Service arrangements relevant to financial statements

Statistics Canada relies on other organizations for the processing of certain transactions that are recorded in its financial statements, as follows:

2.2.1 Common arrangements

• Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), which administers the payment of salaries and the procurement of goods and services, and provides accommodation services;
• Shared Services Canada (SSC), which provides information technology (IT) infrastructure services;
• The Department of Justice Canada, which provides legal services; and
• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, which provides information on public service insurance and centrally administers payment of the employer's share of contribution toward statutory employee benefit plans.

2.2.2 Specific arrangements

• Public Services and Procurement Canada provides Statistics Canada with the Common Departmental Financial System (CDFS) platform to capture and report financial and materiel management transactions.

Readers of this annex may refer to the annexes of the above-noted departments for a greater understanding of the systems of internal control over financial reporting related to these specific services.

3. Departmental assessment results for the 2019-2020 fiscal year

The following table summarizes the status of the ongoing monitoring activities according to the previous fiscal year's rotational plan.

Progress during the 2019 to 2020 fiscal year

Previous fiscal year's rotational ongoing monitoring plan for current fiscal year	Status
Direct and precise monitoring capital assets, census payroll, financial close and reporting, interviewers payroll, and payroll and benefits	Completed as planned; no remedial actions required
IT general controls under agency management controls, and revenue	Completed as planned; remedial actions started

In the 2019- 2020 fiscal year, in addition to the progress made in ongoing monitoring, Statistics Canada conducted risk assessments for new financial management business processes: Planning and Budgeting, Forecasting, Investment planning, Costing, and Chief Financial Officer Attestation.

The key findings and significant adjustments required from the current fiscal year's assessment activities are summarized in subsection 3.1.

3.1 New or significantly amended key controls

In the current year, there were no new or significantly amended key controls in existing processes which required a reassessment.

3.2 Ongoing monitoring program

As part of its rotational ongoing monitoring plan, the agency completed its reassessment of direct and precise monitoring controls, IT general controls (ITGCs), and the financial controls within the business processes of capital assets, census payroll, financial close and reporting, Interviewers' payroll, payroll and benefits, and revenue. For the most part, the key controls that were tested performed as intended.

4. Departmental action plan for the next fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years

Statistics Canada's rotational ongoing monitoring plan over the next four fiscal years, based on an annual validation of the high-risk processes and controls and related adjustments to the ongoing monitoring plan as required, is shown in the following table.

Rotational ongoing monitoring plan

Key control areas	2020–2021 fiscal year	2021–2022 fiscal year	2022–2023 fiscal year	2023–2024 fiscal year
Entity-level controls	X
IT general controls under agency management	X	X	X	X
Capital assets				X
Census payroll	X
Financial close and reporting	X		X
Interviewers' payroll			X
Operating expenditures				X
Revenues		X
Payroll and benefits	X		X

In addition to the ongoing monitoring plan for ICFR, in 2020-2021 Statistics Canada plans to conduct environmental scans of its ICFR business processes as well as design effectiveness testing on the following new financial management business processes, in line with the Policy on Financial Management: Forecasting, Planning and Budgeting, and Costing.

Management is assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the internal control environment and this may result in changes to the ongoing monitoring plan as currently stated.

Due to COVID-19, management will review the key controls of the Financial Close and Reporting business process to determine if there is a significant change, or new risk, within this process that would impact the validity, accuracy and completeness of the Financial Statements, including Notes.

October 2020

Program manager: Director, Mining, Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade Division

Reference to Personal Information Bank (PIB)

Not applicable as there are no direct personal identifiers being collected and retained.

Description of statistical activity

Statistics Canada will be automating web-scraping and other web-based collection activities in order to more expediently and efficiently gather web-based, public information required to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian economic activity.

This initiative will automate three methods for collecting web-based, public information that are currently performed manually:

• Scraping of Canadian companies' websites and of provincial and territorial government websites that provide information on COVID-19 -specific essential services
• Collecting information posted by these companies on their social media accounts (LinkedIn and Twitter)
• Collecting company-specific information from news aggregator services (Government of Canada NewsDesk and Google News).

The information to be retrieved includes company name, date of access or date of publication, information source and “snippets” (paragraphs of text) that contain COVID-19 -related keywords of interest. This would provide information on pandemic-related closures, changes in products or production processes, lay-offs, etc.

Web-Scraping

Web-scraping is carried out by using automated programs, or "bots", to access specific parts of company websites containing news on current activities.

Statistics Canada will scrape on a daily basis the websites of the Canadian manufacturers with the largest sales for mentions of COVID-19 -related events such as closures, changes in products or production processes, lay-offs, etc. Provincial and territorial government websites that post information about essential services will also be scraped on a daily basis.

All scraping will be done in compliance with the site owners' terms and conditions.

Social Media

Relevant announcements by manufacturing companies on their LinkedIn and Twitter accounts will also be retrieved, either directly using an interface with the data (Application Programming Interface - API), or indirectly through NewsDesk (which provides this service in addition to news aggregation).

News Service

NewsDesk and Google News will also be accessed, using company names together with keywords as search terms.

While the company and provincial / territorial websites will be scraped on a daily basis, information from the social media accounts and news aggregators will be retrieved monthly.

The information collected from all three sources (web-scraping, social media and news services) will be processed, combined and stored in a database for access by Statistics Canada employees only, to assist with analysis of the economic impacts of COVID-19.

These activities are not meant to collect, create or use personal information. Should any personal information or personal identifiers – such as account name, handle, or any other piece of personal information relating to an individual – be inadvertently collected, this personal information will be stripped from the data and deleted.

Reason for supplement

The Generic Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) addresses most of the privacy and security risks related to statistical activities conducted by Statistics Canada.

The purpose of this supplement is to address any privacy risks associated with the inadvertent collection of personal information, such as social media account names or handles relating to an individual, during the web-scraping and other web-based collection activities. If applicable, any personal information inadvertently collected will be stripped from the data and deleted.

Necessity and Proportionality

The automated web-scraping and web-based collection activities for the study of the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian economic activity are not meant to collect, create or use personal information. Any personal information inadvertently collected during these activities will be stripped from the data and deleted.

Furthermore, this project has been assessed against Statistics Canada's Necessity and Proportionality Framework:

1. Necessity: This information is needed to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the manufacturing sector and to generate flash estimates of monthly GDP, a new statistical product put out by Statistics Canada.

   This activity will augment coverage and allow for high quality information on the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian economic activity for the benefit of Statistics Canada stakeholders, including the public, and will inform government policy and decision-making.

   This information will help provide more accurate data that will enable Canadians to have a much better understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting various industries across Canada. For example the impacts of lock-down measures and plant closures on employment; how certain manufacturers modified their production line to produce personal protection equipment, respirators or hand sanitizer; others where employment is on the rise, etc.

   This type of web-based information is used by economic programs to validate, augment and analyze the information collected by other instruments: surveys or administrative data. Analysts use this information to ensure the quality of statistical products and to gain an understanding of the economic phenomena being measured.

2. Effectiveness (Working assumptions): In the current pandemic context where economic activity is impacted and quickly evolving, the automation of this web-scraping activity provides the means of obtaining information on emerging or current issues regarding economic activity in a systematic, efficient and timely manner.

   When deployed in an interactive environment where information can be collected and presented on a daily basis, these tools will support the agency in meeting one of its stated objectives: the near real-time release of statistical information.

   Automating the data collection process is expected to result in measurable time and resource savings. In addition, automation makes it easier to share information across programs, which will ensure coherence of analysis across the agency.

   As a proof of concept, this initiative provides a test case of IT environments, machine learning, programming applications, and processes for the acquisition of information, all of which will allow the agency to modernize its processes for information collection, processing, reporting, and visualization.

3. Proportionality: Measuring the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian economic activity does not require any personal information or personal identifiers. Only the necessary information about Canadian manufacturers will be collected. The data will be used only to enhance the agency's analysis and to replace what is currently collected manually. There is no intent to release this information to other departments or agencies, or to the public.

   The personal information that might be collected inadvertently is already in the public domain. Furthermore, since the privacy settings of the social media platforms being used (Twitter and LinkedIn) are well understood by users, especially when compared to the privacy settings of Facebook, the information being disclosed by users is being done so with their knowledge.

4. Alternatives: The aim of this project is to automate processes and present the information in a usable format.

   The alternative is to collect social media information (the only source under consideration that may contain personal identifiers) on a manual and intermittent basis, which is the current process. In comparison to current methods, this project has the potential to generate considerable time savings and automatically track company-related developments in real time. As well, conducting a survey has also been considered, but it would not achieve the main goal which is to produce real-time information.

   Finally, in terms of privacy, this project is not accessing any information that isn't currently available to analysts using manual processes. Just as analysts don't currently retain personal identifiers contained in social media, this project will remove any such identifiers before further processing.

Mitigation factors

Any personal information that is inadvertently collected will be identified, removed and destroyed immediately. An application will be set up to automatically identify and remove user account IDs and similar identifiers that are not associated with the companies whose information is being sought.

Using Twitter as an example, tweets and the re-tweets that they include are presented as separate database records. These individual records contain fields with personal identifies such as the user ID and handle. As the data are being captured, the contents of these fields can be deleted for all users other than the companies whose information is being sought.

Conclusion

This assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Formal approval

This Supplementary Privacy Impact Assessment has been reviewed and recommended for approval by Statistics Canada's Chief Privacy Officer, Director General for Modern Statistical Methods and Data Science, and Assistant Chief Statistician for Social, Health and Labour Statistics.

The Chief Statistician of Canada has the authority for section 10 of the Privacy Act for Statistics Canada, and is responsible for the Agency's operations, including the program area mentioned in this Supplementary Privacy Impact Assessment.

This Privacy Impact Assessment has been approved by the Chief Statistician of Canada.