Table of contents

• Introduction
  • Administration of the Privacy Act
  • Organization and mandate of Statistics Canada
  • Delegation instrument
  • Resources
  • Statistical report
• Implementation: Privacy
  • Privacy requests
  • Other requests
  • Disposition of completed requests
  • Completion time and extensions
  • Exemptions invoked
  • Costs
• Training initiatives for privacy
• Policies, guidelines and procedures
• Complaints and investigations
• Monitoring of the requests
• Privacy breaches
• Privacy impact assessments
  • Public Sector Employee Survey
  • Administrative Data Pre-processing Project
  • Canadian Forces Military Police data to the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey
  • Canadian Health Measures Survey
  • Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth
  • Canadian Internet Use Survey
  • Canadian Survey on Disability
  • Disability Data Hub
  • Indigenous People Survey
  • Longitudinal Immigration Statistical Environment
  • Profiles of Victims of Gang Violence: Analysis of a BC Cohort
  • Survey of Advanced Technology (SAT) & Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy
  • Survey of Financial Security
  • Survey on Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces
  • University and College Academic Staff System Modernization
  • Automated Access Control System
  • Client Relationship Management System – Client Feedback
  • Employee Wellness Survey – Employment and Social Development Canada – Collection
  • Employee Wellness Survey – Employment and Social Development Canada – Data Sharing Amendment
  • Employee Wellness Survey – Hard to Reach Populations – Pilot
  • Microsoft 365
  • Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health Cycle 3
• Microdata Linkage
• 8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act
• Appendix A: Delegation Order
• Appendix B: Statistical Report
• Appendix C: Microdata Linkage
• Appendix D: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Introduction

The Privacy Act gives Canadian citizens and people living in Canada the right to access their personal information being held by federal government institutions. The Act also protects against unauthorized disclosure of that personal information, and it strictly controls how the government collects, uses, stores, discloses, and disposes of any personal information.

The Annual Report on the Administration of the Privacy Act is prepared and submitted, in accordance with section 72 of the Act, and it covers the period from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. The report is tabled in Parliament.

Administration of the Privacy Act

The Privacy Act, which concerns itself with personal information, stipulates that government institutions can collect personal information only if it relates to the operation of programs or activities of these institutions. In the case of Statistics Canada, the Statistics Act provides the authority to collect personal information. In addition, institutions are required to protect the collected information from disclosure.

The Director of the Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination administers the Access to Information and Privacy legislations within Statistics Canada and is also the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator and Chief Privacy Officer for the Agency.

Organization and mandate of Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada's mandate derives primarily from the Statistics Act. The Act requires that the Agency collect, compile, analyze and publish statistical information on the economic, social, and general conditions of the country and its citizens. The Act also requires that Statistics Canada coordinate the national statistical system, in particular, to avoid duplication in the information collected by government. To this end, the Chief Statistician may enter into joint data collection or sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies, as well as with federal, provincial and territorial government departments, pursuant to provisions of the Act.

The Statistics Act specifically requires Statistics Canada to conduct a Census of Population and a Census of Agriculture every five years as it did in 2021. The Act also gives the Agency substantial powers to request information through surveys of Canadian businesses and households. Under the Act, the Chief Statistician determines whether a survey will be mandatory or voluntary. Statistics Canada has generally made voluntary household data collection other than the Census of Population and the Labour Force Survey, as the latter produces key economic data. The Census of Agriculture and most other business surveys are mandatory. Refusal to participate in a mandatory survey is subject to legal penalties.

By law, Statistics Canada can also access administrative records, including personal and business tax data, credit information, customs declarations, and birth and death records. Such records are critical sources of statistical information that enable the Agency to reduce the reporting burden on businesses and individual respondents. Statistics Canada is considered a leader among the world's statistical agencies in reducing reporting burden by using administrative data.

Statistics Canada is ensuring that privacy protection methods and protocols continue to evolve as new data sources with varying levels of sensitivity emerge. The Necessity and Proportionality framework was implemented to ensure increasing transparency in the data acquisition process, to provide stronger justification (necessity) for data acquisition, and to be more explicit about the efforts used to gather data in a manner that is both efficient and proportional to its necessity and sensitivity. This includes ensuring that necessity (requirement for data or information) is well-defined; applying the scientific approach and a series of checkpoints on sensitivity, ethics and proportionality (quality, sample size, content and risk mitigation); considering alternative methods; and requiring a privacy impact assessment and communication throughout the process to ensure transparency.

Statistics Canada adopted a Responsible Privacy approach to honour the commitment made to Canadians to protect their personal information. These mechanisms help Statistics Canada to fulfill this commitment while ensuring that Canadians have all the key information on Canada's economy, society and environment that they require to function effectively as citizens and decision-makers in a rapidly evolving world.

Delegation instrument

The delegation instrument exercises the powers and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy Act. The current detailed list of authorities under the Privacy Act has been formally delegated by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development as of May 18, 2021, (Appendix A) and provides full delegated authority to the Director and Assistant Director of the Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination.

Resources

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office operates within an allocation of 5.35 persons/year. One ATIP Manager, three Senior ATIP analysts, and two ATIP analysts work full time on the processing of requests.

Statistical report

The statistical report provides aggregate data on the application of the Privacy Act. This information is made public annually and is included with the annual report (Appendix B).

Implementation: Privacy

The Privacy Act has a substantial impact on Statistics Canada, but the impact cannot be measured only by the number of requests processed. Although society seeks a broader range of detailed information, it also demands more accountability on the part of government about the collection of personal information and the purposes served by the information.

The Agency has a strong track record of respecting the privacy of Canadians and has taken a number of initiatives to address the privacy challenges this dichotomy raises.

Statistics Canada has internal directives that reflect the basic principles found in the Privacy Act. The Agency's Directive on Informing Survey Respondents requires that all respondents be informed of the expected use of the statistics produced from the survey results, the authority under which the survey is taken, their obligation to respond, the confidentiality protection given to all information collected under the Statistics Act, and any data-sharing arrangements pursuant to provisions of the Statistics Act.

Statistics Canada also developed the Directive on Microdata Linkage to respond to concerns of both respondents and privacy advocates on the potential of matching an individual's information gathered from a variety of sources.

These two directives not only support compliance with the letter and the spirit of the Privacy Act, but also demonstrate the Agency's commitment to the protection and appropriate use of the personal information under its control, while still meeting its mandate.

The Agency has also developed and implemented a Necessity and Proportionality framework that ensures that any collection of personal information for its statistical programs is duly justified.

As we chart new paths and methods of collecting data, respecting and protecting the rightful privacy of Canadians sit at the heart of everything we do. Statistics Canada's Trust Centre underlines how we meet Canadians' information needs while keeping their data safe and private.

Statistics Canada continues to work diligently to ensure that the confidentiality it has committed to in law and in principle, is upheld. This includes ensuring that privacy remains at the forefront of all our activities.

Statistics Canada's very mandate requires that it produce information that helps Canadians better understand their country – its population, resources, economy, environment, society and culture. To achieve this, the Agency must collect a considerable amount of personal information directly from Canadians through surveys, or indirectly from private and public organizations. Parliament has given Statistics Canada this mandate to better serve Canadians, but with such authority comes great responsibility. Statistics Canada continually adjusts to new realities and adapts existing mechanisms or develops new ones to protect Canadians' privacy and ensure that their data will not be misused. The Agency must demonstrate and provide assurances to Canadians that it can be trusted with their information.

As Statistics Canada continues to modernize, it is committing to Responsible Privacy. Responsible Privacy is instrumental in honouring our promise to diligently collect, use, disclose and protect Canadians' personal information. It ensures that we indefatigably strive to go beyond what is required and encompasses innovative privacy checks and balances that ensure due diligence when handling personal information. It requires that privacy be imprinted in all our activities.

To foster the Responsible Privacy approach and meet the demands of a digital world in the 21st century, senior management at Statistics Canada has committed to a formalized Privacy Management Program (PMP).

While many of its components were already part of the Agency's regular activities, the PMP instils a systematic and strategic approach that reinforces our commitment to Canadians regarding their personal information.

Privacy requests

Responding to privacy requests involved reviewing more than 34,685 pages, of which 10,451 pages were released. Eighty-seven (87) requestors received information electronically and eight (8) requestors received the information in paper format.

Other requests

During this period, Statistics Canada did not receive any Privacy Act consultation requests from other departments.

Disposition of completed requests

The disposition of the 178 requests completed in 2022-2023 was as follows:

• 24 were fully disclosed (14%)
• 63 were disclosed in part (35%)
• 6 were exempted/excluded (3%)
• 2 did not exist (1%)
• 83 were abandoned by applicants (47%)

Completion time and extensions

Of the forty-eight (48) requests received and completed in FY 2022-2023, 40 requests were processed and completed within the time period prescribed in the Privacy Act, and 3 requests were carried over to the next fiscal year. Several factors contributed to the timely response, including training sessions with senior leaders and liaison officers, as well as the reduction in the backlog of requests allowing analysts to focus on the new requests that were received in this timeframe. Extensions were taken for 8 requests.

The 45 requests completed in 2022-2023 were processed in the following time frames:

• 26 within 1 to 15 days (58%)
• 8 within 16 to 30 days (18%)
• 8 within 31 to 60 days (18%)
• 1 within 61 to 120 days (2%)
• 2 within 121 to 180 days (4%)

Exemptions and exclusions

As in previous reporting periods, section 26 was applied to files that were exempt from release in FY 2022-2023. This section of the Act protects the personal information of other individuals for whom the requester does not have consent.

Costs

During 2022-2023, the ATIP Office incurred an estimated $135,260 in salary costs and $1,890 in administrative costs to administer the Privacy Act.

Training initiatives for privacy

In 2022-2023, the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office expanded its formal training program for all staff across the Agency, which initially began in April 2020. Informal one-on-one training was made available, until such time as the formal training was implemented. The informal training assists staff in understanding their obligations under the Act, as well as informs them about policies and directives related to personal information at Statistics Canada.

Statistics Canada's Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination offers courses on a variety of subjects related to the Statistics Act and the Privacy Act as well as supporting policies and directives. These include sessions on "Privacy Impact Assessment" and "Privacy and Confidentiality", with a focus on personal information collected about employees of Statistics Canada, clients or the public, and appropriate use of such personal information.

Statistics Canada also requires employees to complete computer-based courses on confidentiality. A mandatory course for new employees offers a brief overview of confidentiality, illustrating its importance at the Agency.

Additionally, the Office of Privacy Management (OPM) sponsored a Data Privacy Day in January 2023, in which there were activities promoting the understanding of how to protect personal information from being accessed, used or disclosed without permission. The OPM noted that there was a high level of engagement with strong feedback received. Bilateral meetings between the OPC and StatCan are occurring on a regular basis, where StatCan programs and activities are discussed. OPC's information session on Privacy Impact Assessments were promoted internally within StatCan, resulting in multiple employees attending the sessions.

Policies, guidelines and procedures

The ATIP Office has a variety of tools in place to ensure that ATIP sector contacts are well informed about their roles and responsibilities for coordinating privacy requests. These tools include a concise checklist outlining steps to follow when providing responsive records for privacy requests, and a responsible contact from the ATIP team throughout the process. There are also a variety of directives and policies provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat, about the protection of personal information. Personal and confidential information is protected by the Privacy Act and the Statistics Actand will only be disclosed as permitted by these Acts.

Statistics Canada developed and published a privacy framework that identifies the full scope of privacy controls within the operations of Statistics Canada as a collection of approved practices, procedures and governance related to privacy. This includes the identification of the Director, Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination, as the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) for Statistics Canada, as designated by the Chief Statistician. The CPO provides leadership on matters related to privacy, develops business strategies and processes that ensure that privacy is considered and accounted for in business decision, and ensures the safeguarding of the information through administrative policy instruments and best practices.

As the functional authority on statistical methods within the Government of Canada, StatCan has provided extensive input to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) regarding the Privacy Implementation Notice on De-identification. TBS and StatCan have begun partnering on a multi-year initiative to develop a Framework on de-identification for the Government of Canada, which will include standards, guidance, and tools that will enable institutions to appropriately leverage de-identification as a privacy preserving technique.

Given its unique position in the federal government in collecting personal information solely for statistical and research purposes, Statistics Canada has determined that the privacy issues associated with its statistical activities undertaken under the authority of the Statistics Act could be addressed by means of a Generic Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA).

Although the Generic PIA is comprehensive and reflects most Statistics Canada's operations, in the instance of extraordinary activities, specific PIAs are conducted with input from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC). Statistics Canada prepares supplements to the Generic PIA for all new and significantly redesigned surveys and statistical programs involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal information that raise unique or additional privacy, confidentiality or security risks that have not been addressed in the Generic PIA.

Complaints and investigations

There were five complaints filed against Statistics Canada with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC):

• Two complaints were discontinued because the requester did not respond to queries from the OPC.
• One complaint pertained to a delay, and the investigation deemed this complaint to be Well-Founded.
• Two complaints were Refusal complaints for exemptions Statistics Canada applied. Statistics Canada has provided information to the OPC, and the Agency is waiting for the investigations' next steps.

Monitoring of the requests

At Statistics Canada, the ATIP Office processes and monitors requests by registering them in a comprehensive system known as Privasoft – Access Pro Case Management. An acknowledgement of the request is sent to the client and a retrieval form is forwarded to the relevant program area, Office of Primary Interest (OPI), for responsive records. If the OPI and/or the ATIP Office need to clarify the request, the ATIP Office contacts the client. Statistics Canada is currently exploring options to procure a new software solution that will assist in modernizing and improving the processing of requests received by the Agency. The procurement process is being led by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat on behalf of the Government of Canada.

The retrieval form was created by the ATIP Office at Statistics Canada and is based on the Policy on Privacy Protection and the Directive on Privacy Practices from the Treasury Board Secretariat. The form includes the text of the request, the name and phone number of the ATIP Officer, and the date by which records are required (normally 5 to 10 days). The form states that the ATIP Office is obligated to report annually on the administrative costs related to requests and thus information is needed on the group(s) and level(s) of those involved in the retrieval process, and the amount of time spent working on the request (including time for search, retrieval, internal review (relevant or not to the request) and photocopying). The individuals providing the records are asked to identify any areas which may be sensitive in nature (e.g., personal information, legal issues), and the Director General or responsible delegate of the program area signs the form.

The ATIP Office assists the program areas with the retrieval of records from day one. As 5 to 10 days are allowed for the retrieval, a follow-up is made on the fifth day. If additional time is required for the retrieval, this is when the program area is to notify the ATIP Office. An additional 1 to 5 days may be granted depending on the amount of work remaining. Once the documents are received from the OPI, the ATIP Office ensures the form is duly completed and that it has been signed by the appropriate manager. The ATIP Office takes 5 to 10 days to review and process the records. Once the work from the ATIP Office is completed, the final version is released to the client. The OPI and management are very aware of the importance of ATIP requests.

Privacy Breaches

The Privacy and Information Breach Protocol provides clear identification of the various roles and responsibilities in the event of a breach. It includes the requirement to complete an enhanced process which incorporates the elements in the Treasury Board Secretariat's guidelines on how to respond to a privacy breach. The template has been approved by the Agency's senior management. At a minimum, the incident report will contain the following information:

• a description of the incident (who, what, when, where, why, how)
• the actions already taken and planned for the future
• a description of the risks/impacts
• any other information that might be helpful in locating any lost item(s) or in assessing the consequences of loss or compromise
• recommendations for mitigating or eliminating the risk of the event recurring in future
• information on whether the individuals or organizations whose information was breached were informed of the incident
• indication if the individuals, Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) and Treasury Board Secretariat will be informed of the incident and if not, a rationale for not informing them.

Best practices to eliminate or reduce future recurrences that are identified during an investigation must be communicated to other employees to prevent a recurrence of the breach.

Breaches are coordinated by a centralized group in the Privacy Management team to ensure that all programs impacted by the breach provide input.

There were 10 privacy breaches at Statistics Canada during the reporting period, of which one was material in nature. A total of 404 people were affected by these 10 breaches.

One material breach was reported to the OPC, which affected one StatCan employee:

A Statistics Canada employee's bank information for direct deposit was changed by a Compensation Advisor and the employee's pay for a few pay periods was deposited into an unknown account. The employee's PRI was also communicated to the unknown person who initiated the change.

The individual impacted was informed of the breach and their ability to submit a complaint to the OPC, and the situation was corrected.

Additional measures, specific to the areas that experienced the breach were implemented, including:

All Compensation Advisors were reminded and retrained on the proper process when StatCan employees use the pay system to change their personal banking information. Only former employees, or employees on Leave Without Pay, may request a change by Compensation Advisors directly, and the established identity confirmation process must be followed. All pay actions must also go through the established peer verification process unless automatically generated through Statistics Canada's Time Management System (TMS). If a transaction needs to be done directly in the pay system, the action must be verified by a peer.

Privacy Impact Assessments

The Statistics Canada Directive on Conducting Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) specifies the roles and responsibilities of its senior managers and privacy specialists regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. This directive applies to all statistical and non-statistical programs that engage in the collection, use or disclosure of personal information.

Statistics Canada's Generic PIA covers all aspects of the Agency's statistical programs that collect, use and disseminate information in support of the mandate under the Statistics Act. The Generic PIA addresses the ten privacy principles and includes a threat and risk assessment for various collection and access modes.

Supplements to the Generic PIA are produced for new and significantly redesigned collections, uses or disclosures of personal information that raise unique or additional privacy, confidentiality, or security risks. The Generic PIA and its supplements are posted on the Statistics Canada website: Generic privacy impact assessment.

When it relates to the administration of the institution other PIAs are conducted for new or redesigned administrative programs and services that involve the collection, use and disclosure of personal information that are not addressed in the Generic PIA. Summaries of completed privacy impact assessments can be found on the Statistics Canada website: Privacy impact assessments.

In the current reporting period, 22 privacy assessments, of which one (1) PIA, fourteen (14) supplements, and seven (7) amendments or addendums were approved and submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the Treasury Board Secretariat. The following are brief descriptions:

Public Sector Employee Survey

A PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Public Sector Employee Survey (PSES). The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and Statistics Canada (StatCan) partnered to administer the 2022/2023 cycle of the PSES. The PSES Supports the development of action plans and strategies to meet the needs of public servants and address any issues identified. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Administrative Data Pre-processing Project

A Supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Administrative Data Pre-processing Project (ADP). The ADP supports Statistics Canada's mandate by centralizing and automating reception and pre-processing activities related to administrative data at Statistics Canada. The ADP reduces privacy risks and overhead of the Agency by redistributing traditional manual processes such as de-identification across an automated and secure ecosystem of enterprise and statistical infrastructure. It allows the Agency to reduce existing gaps in the circulation of data by ensuring a timely, consistent, and coordinated approach to the availability of deidentified administrative data. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Canadian Forces Military Police data to the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the addition of Canadian Forces Military Police (CFMP) data to the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR). The UCR Survey collects data on criminal incidents that come to the attention of, and have been substantiated by, police. Information collected from police services through the UCR Survey includes personal information such as name, data of birth, gender, and characteristics of victims and accused persons involved in criminal incidents. Starting in 2022, the CFMP became an active respondent to the UCR Survey and provides the same information already provided by other police services. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Canadian Health Measures Survey

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with Cycle 7 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). Information collected through the CHMS helps improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of illnesses and promote the health and wellness of Canadians. Cycle 7 also sheds light on illnesses and reveals the extent to which many diseases may be undiagnosed among Canadians, enabling health professionals and researchers to face public health challenges. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth (CHSCY). This voluntary household survey is a follow-up to the 2019 CHSCY, but uses two sampling methods (longitudinal with 2019 CHSCY respondents that provided contact information for follow-up, and cross-sectional with new respondents) to collect information about individuals aged 1 to 22 who live in Canadian provinces, as well as some information about their parents or legal guardians and the parent or legal guardian's spouse that may be a factor affecting the well-being of children and youth. The information collected provides new data to analyze the overall physical and mental health of children and youth in Canada as well as guide decision-making around the development and funding of targeted programs. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Canadian Internet Use Survey

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Canadian Internet Use Survey (CIUS). The CIUS is a voluntary survey of non-institutionalized persons 15 years of age or older living in the ten provinces. The CIUS gathers data on how digital technologies and the Internet are transforming society, the economy, and the everyday lives of Canadians. It informs government programs and policies related to digital technology adoption, specifically policies and programs aimed at providing Canadians with more reliable and affordable high-speed Internet. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Canadian Survey on Disability

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the addition of new content to the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD). The CSD collects information on the type of severity of disability from Canadians whose daily activities are limited because of a condition or health-related problem, as well as information on use of aids and assistive devices, help received or required, educational attainment, experiences and accommodations, labour force status, and ability to get around the community. New content was added to help evaluate the impact of the new Accessible Canada Act, as well as analyze the results in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Disability Data Hub

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Disability Data Hub which monitors the hiring progress of new Persons with Disabilities in the Public Service. As part of the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada, the federal government committed to hiring 5,000 persons with disabilities by 2025 and committed to putting efforts in capturing and managing data to allow for ongoing measurement of progress and results. Statistics Canada collects, on behalf of the Office of Public Service Accessibility (OPSA), quarterly information on hires, departures, and self-identification, and generates de-identified progress reports. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using safeguards established for this pilot project.

Indigenous People Survey

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Indigenous Peoples Survey (IPS). This voluntary targeted survey is a national survey of First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit. Each cycle of the IPS focusses on a high-priority theme based on new and emerging data priorities for Indigenous peoples, in addition to collecting a consistent set of core variables that can be tracked over time. The 2022 IPS focussed on Indigenous children and families while continuing to provide other essential socioeconomic, demographic, and cultural information, as well as a robust health module. The survey supports Indigenous Services Canada's mandate "to support and empower Indigenous peoples" and aims to provide current and relevant data to inform policy and programming activities in education, employment, and health. It is a valuable source of information for Indigenous organizations, communities, service providers, researchers, and governments to improve the well-being of Indigenous peoples. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Longitudinal Immigration Statistical Environment

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Longitudinal Immigration Statistical Environment (LISE). The LISE is a new, secure linkage environment containing anonymous linkage keys allowing for the connection of on of a subset of six secondary databases with one of two primary databases. The databases do not contain direct personal identifiers, and only aggregated and non-confidential statistical information are made publicly available and as such, individuals are not identifiable in any product disseminated to the public. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Profiles of Victims of Gang Violence: Analysis of a BC Cohort

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Profiles of Victims of Gang Violence" Analysis of a BC Cohort project. This project was requested by British Columbia's integrated anti-gang police force, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) who maintain a gang-related victim repository that includes data for individuals across the province who are the victims of a suspected or confirmed gang-related homicide or attempt homicide. The project seeks to further understand the profiles of the victims and their trajectories through the justice and other social systems. This data will enhance CFSEU-BC's ability to develop informed, community-based programs which, if successful, could be applied across the country. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Survey of Advanced Technology (SAT) & Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the addition of variables to the Survey of Advanced Technology (SAT) and the Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy (SIBS). The data collected on a mandatory basis covers the adoption, use, development, and barriers to the adoption of various advanced technologies as well as business innovation and strategy. Due to the need for information regarding what types of companies are falling behind and require support in technology adoption and innovation, a voluntary section was added to the 2022 surveys on the characteristics of the primary decision-maker of the business. Characteristics include gender, sexual and gender diversity, Indigenous identity, visible minority, persons with a disability, new Canadian, highest level of education and age group (10-year bracket). This information will shed light on the gaps in the adoption and use of advanced technologies as well as gaps in business innovation for a variety of minority groups and will allow government to develop funding and support for specific groups of businesses. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Survey of Financial Security

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Survey of Financial Security (SFS) and with the addition of one new question that measures any changes to the financial situation of Canadian families since the COVID-19 pandemic was first reported. This voluntary survey was established in 1999 to provide a comprehensive picture of the net worth of Canadians and includes information on the value of their major financial and non-financial assets and on the money owing on mortgages, vehicles, credit cards, student loans and other debts. Information from the survey supports evaluating the asset resilience of Canadians and may help identify groups that may be more likely to be financially insecure. It also provides policymakers and academics with indicators to learn more about highly indebted Canadians, the financial well-being of seniors, the prevalence of wealth inequality and the impact of these issues on our society. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.   

Survey on Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Survey on Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces (SSMCAF). This voluntary survey includes questions on witnessing and experiencing inappropriate sexual behaviours, discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and sexual assault, and the characteristics, impact, and reporting of these experiences. It also includes questions on the age, sex at birth, gender identity, visible minority, Indigenous status, and disability. The survey provides insights on sexual assault, sexualized and discriminatory behaviours, and knowledge and perceptions of policies and response to sexual misconduct. It supports the Department of National Defence's continued efforts to address and prevent sexual misconduct in its workplace and amongst its workforce. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

University and College Academic Staff System Modernization

A supplement to the Generic PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the addition of new variables to the University and College Academic Staff Survey (UCASS). Statistics Canada has conducted the annual survey since 1937 that collects national comparable information on the number and socio-economic characteristics of full-time teaching staff at Canadian universities. The survey collects 27 data elements on each full-time academic staff member in each reporting institution such as unique ID per institutions, gender, year of birth, department, salary information, principal subject taught, rank, previous employment, year of appointment to present rank, type of appointment, year of appointment to institution, first and highest degree, country of birth, and highest degree. New variables are being added to the survey to close known data gaps that include a lack of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) data on full-time academics, other than gender, as well as information on part time or contract staff. Ultimately, the collection of more robust disaggregated data on under-represented groups within the academic community can be used to identify and eliminate obstacles and inequalities and encourage participation of designated underrepresented groups within the academic community and contribute to a more equitable employment environment in Canadian universities. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Automated Access Control System

An addendum to the Automated Access Control System PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the use of personal information from identification cards use at the security terminals at the entrances of Statistics Canada (StatCan) National Capital Region (NCR) facilities to generate occupancy counts. Summary reports are generated with aggregated numbers of on-site visits by day, week, and month. The scope of the assessment is limited to report to senior management on aggregated counts of employees working from StatCan offices in the National Capital Region. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Client Relationship Management System – Client Feedback

An amendment to the Client Relationship Management System PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with adding Client Feedback to the pre-existing Client Relationship Management System (CRMS). In order to make the Agency more responsive and adaptable to client needs, following the provision of a product or service, clients will receive an email with a unique link to a questionnaire that will gather feedback on client satisfaction with service delivery and the quality and usefulness of the products and services received. Information will be used to produce confidential aggregate reporting to the Agency and high-level satisfaction indicators are reported to the Treasury Board Secretariat. Reports do not include any client contact information. The assessment did not identify any additional privacy risks that are not already identified in the CRMS PIA that cannot be managed using the safeguards in place.

Employee Wellness Survey – Employment and Social Development Canada – Collection

An amendment to the Employee Wellness Survey and Pulse Check Surveys Privacy Impact Assessment & Supplement to the Generic Privacy Impact Assessment for the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) Employee Wellness Survey (EWS) was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the ESDC EWS. The original EWS was collected for Statistics Canada under the authority of the Financial Administration Act as it was an internal human resources-related survey. This ESDC EWS is not being collected under the Statistics Act as it is a collection for ESDC on a cost-recovery basis. The statistical information collected will be used to improve employee experience and help create an environment conducive to well-being, psychological safety, growth, respect, diversity, and inclusivity. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Employee Wellness Survey – Employment and Social Development Canada – Data Sharing Amendment

An amendment to the Amendment to the Employee Wellness Surveys and Pulse Check Surveys PIA & Supplement to the Generic Privacy Impact Assessment for the ESDC Employee Wellness Survey (EWS) was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with adding the "class of worker" variable, and sharing microdata of consenting respondents with ESDC, under a Memorandum of Understanding as per Section 12 of the Statistics Act. The share file includes de-identified data of only the respondents that provided informed consent to share their information with ESDC, for statistical and research purposes. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Employee Wellness Survey – Hard to Reach Populations – Pilot

An amendment to the Employee Wellness Surveys (EWS) and Pulse Check Surveys PIA was conducted to determine fi there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the Hard-to-Reach Populations Internal Pilot, which aims to gain insights into the factors that contributed to nonresponse by employees. The internal pilot will follow-up with a small sample of the EWS nonrespondents using a respondent-driven sampling methodology to reach employees who are reluctant, or who do not tend, to respond to more-traditional survey approaches. The goal is to inform and advance a Methodological framework that could be adapted and applied to other hard-to-reach populations whose information could inform decision makers and help develop policy. Only aggregate statistical outputs conforming to the confidentiality provisions equivalent to those applied to information collected under the Statistical Act are considered for release. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Microsoft 365

An amendment to the Microsoft 365 PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with updates being made to Statistics Canada's implementation of Microsoft 365 across the organization, including implementation of Voice Over Internet Protocol functionality for use by statistical survey operations interviewers instead of traditional telephones, and policy changes around the use of sensitive statistical information, including personal information, on Microsoft 365 products to align with its capacity to interact with Protected B information. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health Cycle 3

An addendum to the Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health Cycle 3 PIA was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues associated with the addition of topics to the Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health. Topics to be added in the 2023 survey iteration include: additional measures of happiness, psychological well-being, loneliness, intimate partner violence, sexual orientation, sex at birth, and disability status. As well, some questions related to specific impacts of COVID-19 were modified (e.g., having been diagnosed with COVID-19) or removed (e.g., knowing someone who had been diagnosed with COVID-19) to better reflect the 2023 context. The assessment did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Microdata Linkage

As outlined in Statistics Canada's Directive on Microdata Linkage (the Directive), linkages of different records pertaining to the same individual are carried out only for statistical purposes and only in cases where the public good is clearly evident. One of the primary objectives of these linkages is to produce statistical information that facilitates a better understanding of Canadian society, the economy and the environment.

All microdata linkage proposals must satisfy a prescribed review process as outlined in the Directive. In addition to demonstrating the public benefit, each submission must provide details of the output. The public dissemination of any information resulting from microdata linkage, like all other statistical information, is only at an aggregate level which protects the confidentiality of the information of individuals.

In 2022-2023, there were 20 approved microdata linkages that involved personal information. A summary of these record linkages is found in Appendix C.

8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act

No disclosures were made under paragraph 8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act during the reporting period.

Appendix A: Delegation Order

Access to Information and Privacy Acts Delegation Order

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and section 73 of the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers and functions of the Minister as the head of Statistics Canada, under the section of the Act set out in the schedule opposite each position. This Delegation Order supersedes all previous Delegation Orders.

Schedule

The original version was signed by
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Dated, at the City of Ottawa
May 18, 2021

Appendix B: Statistical Report

Name of institution: Statistics Canada

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Privacy Act

1.1 Number of requests recevied

1.2 Channels of requests

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of requests received

2.2 Channels of informal requests

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

2.4 Pages released informally

Section 3: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

3.2 Exemptions

3.3 Exclusions

3.4 Format of information released

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed by request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of requests

3.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

3.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests

3.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

3.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests

3.5.7 Other complexities

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

3.7.2 Request closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

3.8 Requests for translation

Section 4: Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Section 5: Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Section 6: Extensions

6.1 Reasons for extensions

6.2 Length of extensions

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

7.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations

7.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 9: Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Section 10: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Personal Information Banks (PIBs)

10.1 Privacy Impact Assessments

10.2 Institution-specific and Central Personal Information Banks

Section 11: Privacy Breaches

11.1 Material Privacy Breaches reported

11.2 Non-Material Privacy Breaches

Section 12: Resources Related to the Privacy Act

12.1 Allocated Costs

12.2 Human Resources

Appendix C: Microdata Linkage 2022-2023

Approved microdata linkages containing personal information

Addition of the Canadian Census of Population to the Linkable File Environment (LFE) of Statistics Canada (007-2022)

Purpose: The proposed activity would link the enterprises in the Linkable File Environment (LFE) of the Centre for Special Business Projects (CSBP) to the Census of Population.

The initial usage of the linkage of the Census and the LFE is a part of the Business Innovation and Growth Support (BIGS) project between the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada (TBS) and Statistics Canada. BIGS requires the linkage of the Census to the LFE so that TBS can evaluate whether the federal government support programs to businesses are efficient, equitable, diversified and inclusive for specific population groups, such as women, Indigenous peoples, racialized populations, people with disabilities, single parents and members of official language minority communities.

Output: Only non-confidential aggregate statistical outputs and analyses that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside Statistics Canada. Access to the linked microdata will be restricted to Statistics Canada employees and Statistics Canada deemed employees whose assigned work duties require such access. Deemed employees may access the microdata in short-term projects following the standard approval process for access via Statistics Canada's Federal Research Data Centre (FRDC).

Outputs will include data tables which provide more detailed descriptive statistics regarding the types of entrepreneurs and workforce of Canadian enterprises for specific population groups benefiting from federal government support. TBS, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and other government bodies and researchers will utilize these outputs to build and enhance policies, programs and tools that promote fairness, equity and inclusion across the diversity of entrepreneurs and employees, with the ultimate goal of boosting Canada's economic health, sustainability and productivity.

Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and financial support programs on social inequalities in mental health in Canada (008-2022)

Purpose: The purpose of the project is to establish a national database of Canadian adults experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, containing detailed information on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and their pre- and post-pandemic mental health, and receipt of the pandemic related financial programs.

The objective of this proposal is to examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated policy responses on mental health and substance use in the Canadian population. More specifically, using linkages of the annual Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) data to administrative health databases, we will assemble a pan-Canadian open cohort of roughly 306,000 adults followed for mental health and substance use outcomes over the study period from 2015-2021, as well as receipt of COVID-19 financial benefits from tax files. External data on burden of the COVID-19 infection (e.g., number of cases, hospitalizations) and response measures (e.g., social distancing rules) at local level will be linked in order to assess their impacts on mental health and substance use in the cohort.

Output: Only aggregate data that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. Analytical datasets will be placed in the Research Data Centres (RDCs) and access will be granted following the standard RDC approval process. The source datasets will be anonymized and will respect variable restrictions in effect for the source datasets (e.g., hospital, vital statistics, and tax files). Major findings will be used to create research papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at workshops and conferences.

Evaluation of the Future Skills Cohort Pilots in Canada (010-2022)

Purpose: This research is conducted by Blueprint organisation for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).  The purpose of this linkage project is to better identify which pilots best prepare Canadians for the future of work. The pilots, which vary in design and target population, began in 2019 across the country and many additional pilots will begin at different times until 2024. Some programs will have multiple cohorts that begin programming at different times.

Output: The final product will be comprised of a series of linked outcome files which will reside within Statistics Canada secured access points. The linked data will later become available to Statistics Canada deemed employees with approved projects to use in a Research Data Center (RDC). Only non-confidential aggregate statistics that adhere to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act and any applicable requirements of the Privacy Act will be released outside of the RDC, following pre-defined confidentiality vetting rules.

Custom data request: University of Waterloo Bachelor Student Database linked to the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) and T1 Family Files (T1FF ) (011-2022)

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to create an integrated analytical dataset consisting of undergraduate student administrative data from the University of Waterloo (UoW) from 2005 to 2021, tax data (using the T1 Family File) of the corresponding years and the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB).

Using the University of Waterloo as a case study, this data linkage aims to reveal the roles that international students' pre-landing experiences play in their status change to permanent residents (PRs) and their subsequent labour market earnings, particularly in comparison with their domestic counterparts graduating from similar academic programs. By doing so, this activity will be of great policy significance, as it will provide direct and robust evidence on how successful immigration policy changes have been over the past years. Such evidence is crucial for evaluating how effective recent immigration policy changes, such as the implementation of the Express Entry System, have been.

Output: Access to the integrated analytical dataset will be made available only to the Univeristy of Waterloo, the client for this project, in the Statistics Canada Research Data Centre (RDC) located within the University of Waterloo campus.

Only non-confidential aggregate statistical outputs and analyses that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside Statistics Canada.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will receive an analytical report focusing on the impacts of recent immigration policies changes on international students' transition into the permanent residency and their subsequent labour market performances from the University of Waterloo.

Elections Canada Data Quality Confirmation Study of the National Register of Electors (012-2022)

Purpose: The purpose of the project is to evaluate the coverage, accuracy and currency of the National Register of Electors (the Register) maintained by Elections Canada. Certain data elements from the Register will be linked to Canadian Vital Statistics – Death records, Immigration records, Visitors records, Labour Force Survey and Census of population 2021 respondent records to conduct the evaluation and produce estimates at a variety of geographic levels (Canada, province/territory, electoral district). The results of the study will inform Elections Canada on the quality of the Register.

Output: Only non-confidential aggregated data and an analytical report that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act and any applicable requirements of the Privacy Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada to Elections Canada.

Edmonton Psychoactive Substance Use Initiative: Linking Edmonton Police Service data with census, health, income, tax, immigration, criminal courts and corrections data. (013-2022)

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to identify common characteristics among individuals accused of psychoactive drug offences, as well as investigate the intersection between those involved in drug-related crime and those who use illicit substances. It will create a better understanding of the characteristics of those individuals at the heart of the illicit drug crisis, to determine possible points of prevention and/or intervention. This work is being conducted for the Edmonton Police Service to assist them to develop a set of concrete recommendations that will improve effectiveness and efficiency in creating a coordinated response to the drug crisis with respect to drug offences and overdoses, as well as deriving a typology for the classification of incidents and individuals at risk of substance overdose. These insights will help inform the development of evidence-based intervention and prevention measures, as well as supports, aimed at reducing future drug overdoses and potentially saving lives.

Output: Only non-confidential aggregate statistics and analyses that will not result in the identification of an individual person, business or organization will be released outside of Statistics Canada. Exact outputs and products are still to be determined, but will be based on the partner's needs to address key research questions. It is anticipated that high-level findings may be shared with the Edmonton Police Service in the form of reports, presentations, data tables, and data visualization dashboards. It is possible that high-level findings may also be published for public use through reports, web tables, data dashboards or other means. In addition, an analytical file without identifiers will be accessed by the Edmonton Police Service, and its research affiliates, via Statistics Canada secure access points.

Building a Canadian cohort file to examine the pathways to first contact with the criminal justice system (014-2022)

Purpose: The purpose of the microdata linkage is to build a national pre-Criminal Justice System (CJS) cohort file to examine the trajectory of a young general population leading up to the first CJS contact. This cohort will be used in the development of a simulation model to estimate the potential impact of justice and social sector interventions (e.g., employment, education, housing, child care, health care, etc.) on the overrepresentation of Indigenous and racialized people in the CJS, by examining multiple "what if" scenarios. The findings will help to reveal cost-effective approaches to preventing first contacts through social infrastructure development and building on individual and community strengths rather than focusing exclusively on remediation following involvement in the CJS.

Output: As part of the larger initiative, Statistics Canada will produce a technical report on the development and application of the prototype simulation, which will be released to the Department of Justice and published on the Statistics Canada website.

Intellectual Property Indicators to Measure Innovation (015-2022)

Purpose: The proposed activity would link enterprises in the Linkable File Environment (LFE) of the Centre for Special Business Projects (CSBP) to Canadian businesses from the Australian Bureau of Statistics' TM-Link open database of trademarks, as part of the Business Innovation and Growth Support (BIGS) project between the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada (TBS) and Statistics Canada. BIGS requires descriptive statistics and data models to better understand determinants of intellectual property development in order to evaluate government programs and expenditures, with the goals of optimizing Canadian innovation, trademarks, patents, inventions, research and development, and employment in research and development.

Output: Only non-confidential aggregate statistical outputs and analyses that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside Statistics Canada. Access to the linked microdata will be restricted to Statistics Canada employees and Statistics Canada deemed employees whose assigned work duties require such access. The linked microdata file will not contain identifiers. Deemed employees will access the linked microdata files in Statistics Canada's secure password-protected server located at the head office using their Statistics Canada laptops from their secure remote work location.

Outputs will include data tables providing descriptive statistics of enterprises related to intellectual property, and potentially data models to better understand determinants of intellectual property development. TBS will utilize these data products to tailor policies, programs and tools to help Canadian enterprises innovate and improve their intellectual property and R&D, with the ultimate goal of boosting Canada's innovation economy and productivity.

2021 Census of Agriculture to 2021 Census of Population Data (018-2022 )

Purpose:Linking selected 2021 Census of Population variables to the 2021 Census of Agriculture will provide a great depth of socio-economic information on farm operators, their families and their households, without increasing respondent burden.

Output: The linkage of 2021 Census of Agriculture to the 2021 Census of Population will be used to produce estimates for dissemination as part of the product line from the 2021 Census of Agriculture. Only aggregate statistical estimates that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. Outputs will include Common Output Database Repository (CODR) tabulations to be released on the Statistics Canada website, ad-hoc data requests from clients on demand, as well as other analytical, research or technical articles that may be released.

The Canadian Agricultural Financial Statistics Section of the Agriculture Division will use the aggregated data from this linkage to calculate the income-in-kind estimate for the Net Farm Income as part of the requirements for the Statistics Canada's System of National Accounts.

Addition of the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) to the Linkable File Environment (LFE) (019-2022)

Purpose: This linkage will support governmental and societal efforts to address inequities and promote fairness and inclusion in decision making, through the comparison of enterprises that have received government support to those that have not. Enterprise-level derived indicators will be developed to generate statistics on the characteristics and success of enterprises over time, that have received government supports versus those that have not, assessing the extent to which government support programs have aided immigrant employees and immigrant enterprise owners integrate into the Canadian economy.

Output: Only non-confidential aggregate statistical outputs and analysis that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside Statistics Canada. The linked analysis file will be made available for access by Statistics Canada deemed employees via the standard approved process of Statistics Canada's Business Data Access Centre.

The Business-Employee Analytical Microdata (BEAM) Initiative (020-2022)

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to create a standard extraction of matched employer-employee data and make it available in Statistics Canada's Research Data Centres (RDCs) across Canada. The new extraction, built from the Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamics Database (CEEDD), can reduce costs and barriers to data access and make such data available to a much wider research community; improve efficiency in StatsCan's service delivery; and accommodate standard research needs, supporting more research using disaggregated data on the Canadian economy and labour market to help Canadians make evidence-based and informed decisions. 

Output: The outputs of the BEAM extraction include a set of files at the individual and business-enterprise level that covers the population of individual and business tax filers. The full coverage of individual and business tax filers, instead of being a random sample, is necessary to generate sufficiently large sample in order to produce information for finely disaggregated groups. Having information on the characteristics of individuals and businesses, the BEAM can support Statcan's Disaggregated Data Action Plan by allowing more researchers greater access to disaggregated data and more opportunities to conduct research using disaggregated data so as to shed more light on inequality and inclusion in Canadian society and economy.

The data linkage and extraction will be preformed by Statistics Canada employees only. All personal and business identifiers will be removed and replaced by synthetic identifiers. Other direct identifiable information of individuals and businesses such as names, addresses etc. will be removed. The final outputs will be made available in the RDC secured access points. Data access, for researchers as Statistics Canada deemed employees, will need to have an approved research proposal that justifies why they need to use the data in the BEAM, following the standard data access approval process. Only non-confidential aggregate statistics and analysis conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of RDCs.

The Impact of Export Development Canada Client Services on Firm Performance (022-2022)

Purpose: Export Development Canada (EDC) offers insurance and financing services to help Canadian exporters grow and compete. This study will provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of the EDC's services in helping Canadian businesses increase exports, employment, profits and other measures of economic performance.

Output: Only non-confidential aggregate statistical outputs and analyses that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. The information will be presented in the form of tables of regression results and summary statistics related to the project's goal of evaluation EDC's client services. Summary reports on the quality of the record linkage and on the results of the analysis will also be produced for EDC. A researcher employed at EDC will access the anonymized linked data at a Federal Research Data Centre (FRDA), as a Statistics Canada deemed employee under the Statistics Act, and following the required approval procedures for accessing Statistics Canada's secure access points.

Canadian Advanced Technology Sector Dynamics Database (CATSDD) (024-2022)

Purpose: The purpose of the project is to map, profile and evaluate the contribution and performance of technological innovation ecosystems in Canada and monitor how the high-tech sector is growing and affecting non-high-tech sector and employment structure in Canada.

In the initial usage of this linkage Statistics Canada's Investment, Science and Technology Division will analyze the concentration-in-enterprise of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workers, venture capital investment and intellectual property assets and establish thresholds differentiating between high-tech and non-high-tech enterprises. This will allow Statistics Canada to analyse the structural changes to Canadian industries and labour skills resulting from technological changes, inform about the rural-urban divide, the labour participation of employment equity groups and improve Science, Technology and Innovation surveys precision and quality, therefore, reducing respondent burden and related costs for Canadians. 

Output: Only non-confidential aggregate statistical outputs and analysis that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside Statistics Canada.

These outputs will include aggregate statistical tabulations showing aggregates of revenue and employment, research and development, employment of STEM and non-STEM, share of employment equity group in total employment, venture capital investment, and patents for high-tech and non-high-tech sectors.

Pilot project: National Housing Strategy linkage to administrative tax and immigration, Census and Canadian Housing Survey (025-2022)

Purpose: CMHC has developed a research plan to better understand the characteristics of persons and households living in housing receiving support from the National Housing Strategy (NHS) initiatives, as well as the impact(s) that these initiatives have on the inhabitants.

As part of this plan, a linkage between the NHS program files to multiple data sources held by Statistics Canada will be performed. Combining information from several sources (tax, employment, immigration, housing and the Census), a resulting linkable dataset will enable analyses of the characteristics, housing needs and outcomes of households and persons living in housing constructed or renovated under NHS initiatives. This is a pilot project which will inform the feasibility of using similar methodology for NHS program evaluation in future years, as well as the extent to which the output dataset supports other analytical projects related to social and affordable housing. Analytical work in this domain is expected to help researchers, the general public and government to understand and to improve housing policies or programs.

Output: The analytical file, once personal identifiers removed, along with anonymized linkage keys will be placed in the Research Data Centres for access by Statistics Canada personnel and deemed employees whose work activities require access. Only non-confidential, aggregated data tables and model outputs, conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act and any applicable requirements of the Privacy Act, will be released.

Profiles of Victims of Gang Violence: Analysis of a BC Cohort (026-2022)

Purpose: The objective of the project is to identify key risk factors associated with the likelihood of becoming a victim of gang-related violence by linking records found in administrative data sources. Analysis of data that spans the life course of the victims will allow for a better understanding of the characteristics of those individuals who become involved with gangs, and in identifying these, key intervention points along the life calendar might be identified.

Output: The findings of this project will be delivered to the CFSEU-BC in the form of an analytical report. This report may also be published in a publicly available academic article in Statistics Canada's Juristat publication. Analytical datasets will be placed in Statistics Canada's Research Data Centres (RDCs) and access will be granted following the standard RDC approval process.  No analytical datafile will be released. Only non-confidential aggregate statistics and analyses that will not result in the identification of an individual person, business or organization will be released outside of Statistics Canada.

Linkage of the Canadian Employer Employee Dynamics Database to the Canadian Survey on Disability (027-2022)

Purpose: The project will fill data gaps related to the economic outcomes of persons with disabilities. Specifically, it will allow the production of novel nationally-representative statistics that can be used to measure and monitor the economic outcomes of persons with disabilities.

Output: The anonymized analytical file will only be available to Statistics Canada employees whose work duties require access. Only non-confidential aggregate statistical outputs and analyses that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. All information will be presented in the forms of tables or figures of regression results or summary statistics related to the project's goal.

Firm technology adoption, its determinants, and impacts (003-2023))

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to better understand what causes firms to adopt new technology and the consequences it has on firms and workers. To do so, a microdata linkage will be established between firm-level surveys on technology adoption (Survey of Business Innovation and Strategy, Survey of Advanced Technology, and Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use) and employer-employee database (Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamics Database) as well as other databases (Census of Population and data on union representation votes for Canadian firms).

This project can help better inform Canadians on technology adoption and its impacts on the economy and labour market. In addition, it will provide relevant evidence and information to the academic community and policy-makers, which helps support the development of policies and programs to promote equal technology adoption and diffusion among businesses so as to increase Canada's competitiveness and the benefit of people living in Canada.

Output: The output of this project will include several analytical reports that address the following questions:

1. What are the main factors that drive a firm's decision to adopt technology?
2. How different are the patterns of technology adoption by businesses owned by subpopulation groups such as women and immigrants? Do they experience additional hurdles for technology adoption?
3. What is the relationship between unionization and technology adoption? Do unions act as facilitator or inhibitor of technology adoption?
4. What are the impacts of technology adoption on firm performance?
5. What are the outcomes of technology adoption on workers such as job displacement, changes in wages and inequality etc.?

The analytical file, without identifiers, will be made available via Statistics Canada Secure Access Points (such as Research Data Centres), and access will be granted to Statistics Canada deemed employees following the standard approval process.

Linking the Level of Supervision and Official Language Variables to the ESDC Employee Wellness Survey (ESDC EWS) (004-2023)

Purpose: The overall objective of the ESDC Employee Wellness Survey is to assess conditions in the work environment at ESDC and inform strategies that meet the needs of employees and optimize their well-being.

The purpose of the linkage is to add two variables to the ESDC EWS share file, which would be used to subset the data by Level of supervision and by official language. This would allow for analysis of principal survey results that would provide for a more in-depth analysis of these subgroups of respondents' potentially different experiences to be understood and addressed in the form of improved people management practices.

Output: The planned outputs are a ESDC EWS Share file, and non-confidential aggregate statistics in the form of Excel tables and a Power BI dashboard, for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Statistics Canada will enter into a data sharing agreement with ESDC who in signing the agreement, agrees to keep the information shared confidential, and only use it for statistical and research purposes. Respondents to the ESDC EWS were informed of the sharing with ESDC at the time of collection, and only those respondents that agreed to share their information will be included in the ESDC EWS Share file. No direct identifiers, including personal identifiers, will be included on the ESDC EWS Share file. The ESDC EWS Master file placed in the Research Data Centres (RDCs) will not include the two linked variables. Only non-confidential aggregate statistics will be released outside of Statistics Canada.

Surrey Opioid Data Collection and Community Response Project: Linking Surrey Opioids data with Census, income, health and immigration data to generate privacy-enhancing synthetic data (005-2023)

Purpose: Building on the purpose of the 008-2018 linkage project, which was to build the capacity for identifying the primary risk factors and the sub-populations at greatest risk of an overdose. To create a better understanding of the characteristics of those individuals at the heart of the opioid crisis-particularly for those individuals using and dying in their residence. To aid in the effort to understand the roots of the illicit drug epidemic and the individuals most at risk of overdose. In addition to the policy perspective, if successful, synthetically generated opioid data can be used by researchers, health-care developers and clinical scientists to develop innovative health-care solutions and use it for teaching and training purposes.

This new project will utilize the same referenced cohort (008-2018 linkage project) to produce a generative Machine-Learning model for generation of privacy-enhancing synthetic datasets. Several Machine Learning models will be assessed to identify one which optimally balances privacy risks disclosures with data utility. Development and assessments of models and synthetic datasets will be a collaborative work between Statistics Canada and UQAM University researchers.

In addition, should the proof-of-concept be successful in balancing privacy and confidentiality risks against the data utility, it will allow useable privacy-enhancing granular-level synthetic data and study outcomes to a wider group of researchers and policymakers could encourage innovation through active collaboration and facilitate a broader and faster advancement of solutions to the opioid crisis. Synthetic patient data that preserves the relationship among study variables but contains no records that represents or identifies an actual individual in the cohort would be a viable solution to this problem.

Output: A comprehensive technical report summarizing the methodology, assessment of the generative algorithms, key findings, lessons learned and recommendations for next steps (if any). High-level findings may be reported in the form of presentations to various Public Safety Canada partners. Deemed employees of Statistics Canada will only have access to the data with an anonymized linkage ID, but NOT the direct identifiers, and use only authorised devices from Statistics Canada secure access points during this project.

A well-documented code repository for the project under Statistics Canada's existing and future policies. As part of Open Science initiative, free access to the open-source tool and libraires will be rendered to public. Code will not contain sensitive information and will undergo appropriate assessments before release.

A pre-trained generative model that can produce a high-quality data in a differentially private setting. Such an approach in production could guide the development of targeted approaches for prevention, treatment, and identification of possible intervention points for the high-risk population in opioid-toxicity studies. This model will be capable of generating novel synthetic data instances not found in the original dataset which maintains the privacy of the members of the original dataset, while maintaining key properties that respect the data distribution.

No confidential Statistics Canada micro-data will be made publicly available during or after the completion of the research collaboration under this agreement. This term also extends to Machine Learning (pre-trained) models and prototypes that may in turn divulge confidential information.

Linkage of the Survey of Before and After School Care in Canada, 2022 to the 2020 T1 Family File, 2021-2022 Canadian Child Benefit File, the Longitudinal Immigration Database. (007-2023)

Purpose: The purpose of this linkage is to respond to the data needs of the Government of Canada's Multilateral Framework for Early Learning and Child Care. This framework identifies key priorities for child care, including child care that is inclusive and flexible.

This microdata linkage will augment the 2022 Survey of Before and After School Care in Canada with information on income and employment characteristics, family structure and immigrant status in order to explore more fully characteristics associated with the use of child care in Canada.

Outputs: A linked microdata file will be available within Statistics Canada and will be placed in the Research Data Centres (RDCs) where access will be granted following the standard RDC approval process. Aggregate findings will be reported in research papers, internal and external reporting documents, presentations at workshops and conferences, as well as external publications (e.g., academic manuscripts).

Appendix D: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Statistics Canada

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

1.1 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to receive ATIP requests through different channels.

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

2.1 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels.

2.2 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels.

Section 3: Open Requests and Complaints under the Access to Information Act

3.1 Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

3.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Section 4: Open Requests and Complaints under the Privacy Act

4.1 Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

4.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Section 5: Social Insurance Number

Section 6: Universal Access under the Privacy Act

Resources

• Calgary-based Crescent Point Energy Corp. announced it had entered into an arrangement agreement to acquire Hammerhead Energy Inc., also of Calgary, for total consideration of approximately $2.55 billion. The company said the transaction is expected to close in December 2023, subject to court, Toronto Stock Exchange and other stock exchange and regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions.
• Vancouver-based Teck Resources Limited announced it had agreed to sell its entire interest in its steelmaking coal business, Elk Valley Resources, through a sale of a majority stake to Glencore plc of Switzerland for an implied enterprise value of USD $9.0 billion, and a sale of a minority stake to Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) of Japan. Teck said the closing of the Glencore transaction is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2024, subject to customary conditions, including receipt of approvals under the Investment Canada Act and competition approvals in several jurisdictions. Teck also said the NSC transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024 and is also subject to customary conditions, including receipt of certain competition approvals.

Manufacturing

• On November 6th, Unifor announced that auto members at Stellantis had voted to ratify the Master Collective Agreement (covering the Windsor Assembly Plant, Brampton Assembly Plant and Etobicoke Casting Plant), along with agreements covering Unifor members working in the office, clerical and engineering unit, fire and security unit, and PDC units in Mississauga and Red Deer. Unifor said the three-year collective agreements cover approximately 8,200 Unifor members.
• On November 22nd, Unifor announced that members at the Magna Integram plant in Windsor had ratified a new tentative agreement after a five-day strike that began on November 9th. Unifor said the agreement covers 800 members.
• The Government of Canada announced support of up to $204.5 million for a $1 billion lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility in Maple Ridge, British Columbia to be constructed by E-One Moli of Taiwan. The Government said the new facility will create up to 350 new jobs.

Other news

• The Government of Canada released its 2023 Fall Economic Statement on November 21st, which included measures to help increase housing supply, improve affordability, and fight climate change. The Government forecasts a $40.0 billion deficit in 2023-2024 and real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.1% in 2023 and 0.4% in 2024.
• The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador released its 2023 Economic Update on October 31st. The Government forecasts a $154 million deficit in 2023-2024 and a 0.7% contraction in real GDP in 2023.
• The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced a new, three-year phased poverty reduction plan that focusses on four key areas: reducing childhood poverty, creating meaningful and sustainable employment, improving income, and supporting seniors. The Government said the plan adds to other work currently underway and is supported by an investment that will grow to $85 million after three years.
• The Government of Ontario released its 2023 Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review on November 2nd, which included launching the Ontario Infrastructure Bank, taking steps to remove the provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax on new purpose-built rental housing, providing an additional $100 million to the Invest Ontario Fund, and extending the current gas and fuel tax rate cuts through to June 30, 2024. The Government forecasts a $5.6 billion deficit in 2023-2024 and real GDP growth of 1.1% in 2023 and 0.5% in 2024.
• The Government of Quebec released its economic and financial update on November 7th, which included additional investments totalling $4.3 billion over the next five years to provide better access to housing, combat homelessness, enhance food aid, support training in specific fields, adapt to climate change, and foster business investment. The Government forecasts a $4.0 billion deficit in 2023-2024 and real GDP growth of 0.6% in 2023 and 0.7% in 2024.
• Toronto-based Canadian Tire Corporation announced that it expects a decrease of 3% in full-time equivalent (FTE) employees as a result of targeted headcount reductions in Q4 and that, in addition, the elimination of the majority of current vacancies will result in a further FTE reduction of 3%. The company said it expects to take a charge of between $20.0 million and $25.0 million in Q4 2023 in relation to these actions.
• On November 2nd, Unifor announced that members at the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) had ratified new collective agreements covering 360 workers. Unifor said the ratification follows a strike that halted transit along the Seaway from October 22nd to October 30th.
• Montreal-based TVA Group announced a reorganization plan that will result in the elimination of 547 positions, or 31% of TVA Group's current workforce.

United States and other international news

• The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.50%. The last change in the target range was a 25 basis points increase in July 2023. The Committee also said it will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities.
• The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain the Bank Rate at 5.25%. The last change in the Bank Rate was a 25 basis points increase in August 2023.
• The Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee of Norway's Norges Bank left the policy rate unchanged at 4.25%. The last change in the policy rate was a 25 basis points increase in August 2023.
• The Executive Board of Sweden's Riksbank left the repo rate unchanged at 4.0%. The last change in the repo rate was a 25 basis points increase in September 2023.
• The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced it will apply a negative interest rate of -0.1% to the Policy-Rate Balances in current accounts held by financial institutions at the BoJ and that it will purchase a necessary amount of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) without setting an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields will remain at around zero percent.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised the target for the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.35%. The last change in the target for the cash rate was a 25 basis points increase in June 2023.
• New York-based WeWork Inc. announced that it and certain of its entities had filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and intended to file recognition proceedings in Canada under Part IV of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.
• The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) announced on November 20th that members at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis had voted to ratify their new contracts.

Financial market news

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at USD $76.41 per barrel on November 28th, down from a closing value of USD $81.02 at the end of October. Western Canadian Select crude oil traded in the USD $47 to $58 per barrel range throughout November. The Canadian dollar closed at 73.63 cents U.S. on November 28th, up from 72.09 cents U.S. at the end of October. The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 20,036.77 on November 28th, up from 18,873.47 at the end of October.

Table of contents

• Introduction
  • Administration of the Access to Information Act
  • Administration of the Service Fees Act
  • Organizational structure and mandate
  • Delegation order
  • Resources
  • Statistical report
• Implementation: Access to Information
  • Access to information requests
  • Types of records requested
  • Other requests
  • Trends in the disposition of completed requests
  • Public Interest
  • Completion time and extensions
  • Exemptions and exclusions invoked
  • Fees
  • Costs
• Training initiatives for Access to Information
• Policies, guidelines and procedures
• Complaints and investigations
• Monitoring of the requests
• Appendix A: Delegation order
• Appendix B: Statistical report
• Appendix C: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Introduction

The Access to Information Act establishes the principle that the general public has the right to access information controlled by federal government institutions, and that exceptions should be limited and specific.

The Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act is prepared and submitted, in accordance with section 94(1) of this Act and covers the period from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. The report is tabled in Parliament.

Administration of the Access to Information Act

By virtue of section 24 of the Access to Information Act, which is a mandatory provision, information collected under the Statistics Act, and protected by section 17 of that Act, cannot be made available to anyone attempting to obtain it using the Access to Information Act. This exception enables the Agency to continue giving a clear and unqualified assurance to its respondents that the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act are preserved by the Access to Information Act.

The administration of the access to information legislation within Statistics Canada is the responsibility of the Director of the Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination, who is also the ATIP Coordinator and the Chief Privacy Officer for the Agency.

Administration of the Service Fees Act

The Statistics Canada Annual Report is prepared and tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 20 of the Service Fees Act, as listed in Schedules I, I.1 and II of the Financial Administration Act (FAA).

Organizational Structure and Mandate

Statistics Canada's mandate derives primarily from the Statistics Act. The Act requires that the Agency collect, compile, analyze and publish statistical information on the economic, social, and general conditions of the country and its citizens. The Act also requires that Statistics Canada co-ordinate the national statistical system, specifically to avoid duplication in the information collected by government. To this end, the Chief Statistician may enter into joint data-collection or data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies, as well as with federal, provincial, and territorial government departments pursuant to provisions of the Act.

Statistics Canada is also working with Canadians to help educate the population on existing procedures for access to government information such as the differences between requests for datasets, data tables and custom data tabulations and requests for Access to Information for existing records under the control of the institution. An existing procedure through a cost recovery process exists and is available to the general public. These data requests are handled by the Statistics Canada InfoStats program specifically.

The Statistics Act specifically requires Statistics Canada to conduct a Census of Population and a Census of Agriculture every five years as it did in 2021. The Act also gives the Agency substantial powers to request information for statistical purposes through surveys of Canadian businesses and households. Under the Act, the Chief Statistician determines whether a survey will be mandatory or voluntary. Statistics Canada has generally made voluntary household data collection other than the Census of Population and the Labour Force Survey, as the latter produces key economic data. The Census of Agriculture and most other business surveys are mandatory. Refusal to participate in a mandatory survey is subject to legal penalties.

By law, Statistics Canada can also access administrative records, including personal and business tax data, credit information, customs declarations, and birth and death records. Such records are critical sources of statistical information that enable the Agency to reduce reporting burden on businesses and individual respondents. Statistics Canada is considered a leader among the world's statistical agencies in reducing reporting burden by using administrative data.

These mechanisms help Statistics Canada fulfill its commitment to ensuring that Canadians have all of the key information on Canada's economy, society, and environment that they require to function effectively as citizens and decision makers in a rapidly evolving world. Information is important to Canadians and the Statistics Canada's Trust Centre is committed to protecting it. For more than 100 years, Statistics Canada has collected, analyzed and reported the data obtained from the public, respecting and protecting the rightful privacy of Canadians.

Delegation Order

The delegation order exercises the powers and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, pursuant to section 95(1) of the Access to Information Act. The current detailed list of authorities under the Access to Information Act was formally delegated by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development as of May 2021 (Appendix A), provides full delegated authority to the Director and Assistant Director of the Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination.

Resources

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office operates within an allocation of 5.35 persons/year. One ATIP Manager, three Senior ATIP analysts, and two ATIP analysts work full time on the processing of requests. There were no service agreements under section 73.1 of the Privacy Act to which Statistics Canada was party during the reporting period.

Statistical report

The statistical report provides aggregate data on the application of the Access to Information Act (Appendix B). This information is made public annually and is included with the annual report.

Implementation: Access to Information

Access to Information requests

The following table shows the latest five-year trend of the Agency's processing of access to information requests.

Types of records requested

The substance of the requests covered the entire range of matters pertaining to Statistics Canada's role and included the following types of records relating to:

• Census and various other statistical information;
• data breaches;
• professional service contracts;
• Briefing notes to the Chief Statistician.

Other requests

From April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, Statistics Canada also received 89 Access to Information Act consultation requests from other departments and organizations. The Agency was asked to review 4,543 pages of information. Forty-nine (49) consultations were completed within 1-15 days, twenty-two (22) consultations were completed within 16-30 days, ten (10) consultations were completed within 31-60 days, two (2) were completed within 61-120 days, and one (1) was completed after more than 365 days.

Summaries of completed Access to Information Act requests are available on the "Open Government Portal". Requests for copies of these completed requests, as well as requests not processed under the Act, are classified as informal requests. This fiscal year, two hundred and twelve (212) requests were processed informally. No requests were carried over to the next fiscal year.

The ATIP Office acted as a resource for Statistics Canada officials, offering advice and guidance on the provisions under the legislation. The office was consulted on the disclosure and collection of data on a wide range of matters, including:

• proactive publications to be posted on the open government portal;
• proactive disclosures on travel and hospitality;
• Management Accountability Framework assessments;
• security of information;
• reviews of audits to be posted on the internet;
• reviews of parliamentary questions and responses;
• updates to the ATIP internet and intranet sites;
• reviews of and updates to ATIP business practices and procedures.
• Support to raise awareness on information management.

Trends in the disposition of completed requests

The disposition of the 85 requests completed in 2022-2023 was as follows:

• 9 were fully disclosed (10.6%)
• 44 were partially disclosed (51.8%)
• 3 were exempt/excluded in entirety (3.5%)
• 4 were abandoned by applicants (4.7%)
• 25 information did not exist (29.4%)
• 0 were transferred to another department (0%)

Public Interest Disclosure

No disclosures were made under paragraph 8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act during the reporting period.

Completion time and extensions

Of the forty-seven (47) requests received and completed in FY 2022-2023, 45 were closed within the prescribed timeframe of the Act, for a compliance rate of 96%. A concerted effort was made to address the backlog of ATI files that dated between 2018 and 2021 (38 files, with 77,906 pages reviewed, and 34,521 pages released). Completing this backlog has resulted in the ATIP Office's ability to review and complete new requests received within the timeline set out in the Act. Factors that contributed to Statistics Canada's timely response rate over the past year are the training and information sessions held with senior leaders.

The compliancy rate for completed requests is as follows:

• 30 within 1 to 15 days (35%)
• 12 within 16 to 30 days (14%)
• 4 within 31 to 60 days (5%)
• 5 within 61 to 120 days (6%)
• 2 within 121 to 180 days (2%)
• 10 within 181 to 365 days (12%)
• 22 more than 365 days (26%)

Out of the 85 requests processed, an extension was taken in 38 cases for interference with operations of the department, and to consult with other federal institutions and third parties.

Exemptions and exclusions invoked

The Access to Information Act allows and, in some case, requires that certain data not be released. In 2022-2023 the following sections of the Act were invoked:

• Section 13(1) – Information obtained in confidence (3)
• Section 14 – Federal-provincial affairs (4)
• Section 15 – International affairs and defence (3)
• Section 16 – Law enforcement and investigations (58)
• Section 18 – Economic interest of Canada (2)
• Section 19(1) – Personal information (40)
• Section 20(1) – Third party information (39)
• Section 21(1) – Operations of government, advice, etc. (24)
• Section 22 – Testing procedures, tests and audits (2)
• Section 23 – Protected Information (3)
• Section 24(1) – Statutory prohibition against disclosure (18)

Fees

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by Statistics Canada.

With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act

In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, and the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, Statistics Canada waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations. During the 2022-2023 reporting period, $235 was collected in application fees.

Costs

During 2022-2023, the ATIP Office incurred an estimated $315,608 in salary costs, $28,140 in non-salary costs, and $4,412 in administrative costs to administer the Access to Information Act.

Training initiatives for Access to Information

In 2021-2022, the ATIP Office began developing a formal training program for all staff across the Agency, which began in April 2020.This included training to senior executives on ATIP processes and procedures in order to streamline records retrieval and approvals. ATIP also provided advice and expertise to the executive cadre on their responsibilities under the Act and the related delegated authorities for proper records management, document retrieval and approval procedures. Key to this year's training was ensuring all Assistant Chief Statistician's offices were reminded of their role as tasking liaison officers in ensuring that requests are appropriately sent to appropriate program areas, including own functional teams.

Information management awareness was also at the forefront of these discussions at the senior management tables, focusing heavily on best practices and the differences between transitory and information of business value. We also had targeted discussions and training towards the proper use of safeguarding of sensitive information in GCDOCS, including limited access rights, types of information and security classifications ensuring clearer record classification guidelines for program managers and ensuring that information is classified at the proper level. Informal one-on-one and formal group training was made available to all staff within the Agency. The informal training assists staff in understanding their obligations under the Act, as well as informing them about policies and directives related to information at Statistics Canada.

ATIP training, both formal and informal, was provided to approximately 20 employees, including one-on-one training with the liaison officers. This type of training has proven to be effective in generating better conversations with staff, who in turn have a stronger understanding of the Acts, and their roles and responsibilities when responding to requests. Previous large-scale training sessions resulted in reducing the amount of training needed this year (2022-2023). ATIP training through the Canada School of Public Service continues to be recommended to all employees at Statistics Canada.

Policies, guidelines and procedures

The ATIP Office has a variety of tools in place to ensure that ATIP contacts are well informed about their roles and responsibilities for coordinating ATIP requests. These tools include a checklist outlining proper protocol when providing responsive records to the ATIP office for access to information requests, and the appropriate contact from the ATIP team to seek clarification and guidance from throughout the process.

In 2021-2022, more concise and streamlined procedures were implemented in order to improve efficiencies with the retrieval of information and protocol for the overall ATIP process. This included modifying, updating and creating new templates, procedures, weekly workplans and achievable targets with key metrics that increased overall pages reviewed and processed as time went on. A monthly dashboard for requests to be fulfilled are circulated to Assistant Chief Statisticians and other senior executives to ensure requests are processed in a timely manner and are comprehensive.

Complaints and investigations

There were seven (7) complaints lodged against Statistics Canada with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) during the reporting period. There were four (4) complaints related to the improper application of exemptions or exclusions, and three (3) complaints alleged a failure to conduct a reasonable search. The OIC deemed two (2) complaints pertaining to a reasonable search as Not Well-Founded, and one (1) complaint alleging improper application of exemptions to be Well-Founded. There are currently four (4) ongoing complaints (one (1) complaint regarding a reasonable search and three (3) complaints regarding exemptions or exclusions invoked). In order to address some of these issues, training and awareness has been offered to both employees and ATIP staff at Statistics Canada.

Monitoring of the requests

At Statistics Canada, the ATIP Office processes and monitors requests by registering them in a comprehensive system known as Privasoft – Access Pro Case Management. An acknowledgment of the request and of the application fee of $5.00 is sent to the client and a retrieval form is forwarded to the relevant program area (Office of Primary Interest (OPI)). If the OPI and/or the ATIP Office need to clarify the request, only the ATIP Office contacts the client, unless prior approval is provided by the client. Client names are always kept confidential.

The retrieval form provided to the OPI was created by the ATIP Office at Statistics Canada and is based upon the Policy on Access to Information and the Directive on the Administration of Access to Information from the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. The form includes the text of the request, the name and phone number of the ATIP Officer, and the date by which records are required (normally 5 to 10 days). It is noted on the form that the ATIP Office is required to report annually on the administrative costs related to requests and thus information is needed on the group(s) and level(s) of those involved in the retrieval, the amount of time spent working on the request (this includes time for search, retrieval, internal review (relevant or not to the request) and photocopying). The individuals providing the records are asked to identify any records which may be sensitive in nature (e.g., legal issues, Cabinet confidences, personal information, company information, advice to the Minister), which may require consultations, and/or which may generate media interest. The Director General, or appropriate delegate, of the program area sign-off the form.

The ATIP Office assists the program areas with the retrieval of records from day one. As 5 to 10 days are allowed for the retrieval, a follow-up is made on the fifth day. If additional time is required for the retrieval, this is when the program area is to notify the ATIP Office. An additional 1 to 5 days may be granted depending on the amount of work remaining. Once the documents are received from the OPI, the ATIP Office ensures the form is duly completed and that it has been signed by the appropriate manager. The ATIP Office then takes 5 to 10 days to review and process the records. If sensitive issues are identified in the submitted materials, 1-3 days prior to the release of the final version to the client, an e-mail is sent to Strategic Communications and Outreach Branchand to any other relevant programs to inform them of the release. The OPI and management are continually reminded of the importance of responding to ATIP requests in a timely and comprehensive manner.

Appendix A: Delegation order

Access to Information and Privacy Acts Delegation Order

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and section 73 of the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers and functions of the Minister as the head of Statistics Canada, under the section of the Act set out in the schedule opposite each position. This Delegation Order supersedes all previous Delegation Orders.

Schedule

The original version was signed by
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Dated, at the City of Ottawa
May 18, 2021

Appendix B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Statistics Canada

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

1.2 Sources of requests

1.3 Channels of requests

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of requests received

2.2 Channels of informal requests

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

2.4 Pages released informally

2.5 Pages re-released informally

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests

Section 4: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.1 Disposition and completion time

4.2 Exemptions

4.3 Exclusions

4.4 Format of information released

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats

4.5.2 Relevant pages processed by request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of requests

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

4.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests

4.5.7 Other complexities

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

4.7.2 Request closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

4.8 Requests for translation

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

5.2 Length of extensions

Section 6: Fees

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

7.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

7.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Section 8: Requests with Legal Services

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

9.1 Investigations

9.2 Investigations and Reports of finding

Section 10: Court Action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

10.2 Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)

Section 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated Costs

11.2 Human Resources