Final audit report
Confidentiality of Sensitive Statistical Information

Internal Audit Services
September 30, 2009

Executive Summary
Introduction

• Background
• Authority
• Audit Objectives
• Scope and Approach
• I – Physical access controls
• II – Electronic access controls
• III – Personnel controls
• IV – Operational controls

Appendix A - Audit Criteria
Appendix B - Acronyms

Executive summary

Statistics Canada is committed, and legally required, to protect the confidentiality of sensitive statistical information entrusted to the agency under the Statistics Act. It is crucial for the agency to develop and maintain a trust relationship with survey respondents in order to be able to deliver its mandate successfully, and provide Canadians with statistical information of high quality. Confidentiality is the affair of everyone in the organization.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether controls are in place and are effective to protect the confidentiality of sensitive statistical information including:

• physical access controls,
• electronic access controls,
• personnel controls, and
• operational controls

The controls were examined both at the departmental and selected survey levels.

The audit was conducted by Internal Audit Services in accordance with the Government of Canada’s Policy on Internal Audit.

The audit found that the controls protecting the confidentiality of sensitive statistical information are adequate. Opportunities exist to advance the risk management practices in two areas; however this does not affect the overall assessment. These areas include physical and electronic access controls. Additionally, a divisional best practice was identified.

Physical access controls are satisfactory, but some weaknesses have been identified. Opportunities exist to improve the risk management practices related to securing work areas beyond the baseline level. Also identified were: a postcard type questionnaire requiring confidential information from respondents that is mailed in an open fashion, creating confidentiality issues; the security practices of field interviewers need to be tightened; and divisional employees working in an environment, secured beyond the baseline level, do not lock up confidential information after work hours.

The audit found that electronic access controls contain some weaknesses, and that opportunities exist to strengthen the control framework. The required encryption program to protect the confidentiality of data is not installed on all portables. Managerial monitoring of access rights and permissions to workstations and servers should be improved.

A best practice was observed within the Labour Statistics Division and is worthy of consideration by other divisions. Electronic access rights in the division are closely monitored and reviewed continuously.

The audit found that personnel and operational controls are effective.

Introduction

Background

The confidentiality of sensitive statistical information is a key value and a legal necessity at Statistics Canada (StatCan)¹. In 2005, a middle management task force was created to recommend measures that would enhance and strengthen the culture of confidentiality within Statistics Canada. The task force made recommendations to increase awareness of risks and responsibilities, and to promote and improve good security practices.

Statistics Canada's mandate derives primarily from the Statistics Act. The Act requires that the Agency collect, compile, analyse and publish statistical information on the economic, social, and general conditions of the country and its citizens. Statistical information is crucial as it enables Canadians to make informed decisions and governments at all levels to develop appropriate policies. Survey respondents range from Canadian households to private and public organizations. Most business surveys require mandatory participation, whereas most of the agency’s household surveys are voluntary (exceptions are the Census of Population and the Labour Force Survey). It is crucial for the agency to develop and maintain a trust relationship with survey respondents in order to deliver its mandate successfully, and provide Canadians with statistical information of high quality. Safeguarding the information provided in confidence is vital, since it is the key factor for obtaining respondents’ cooperation.

Personal and business information is collected using various methods: paper questionnaires, in-person and telephone interviews conducted by agency personnel, electronic data reporting by respondents, and administrative sources. Information collected outside headquarters’ premises is transferred to Ottawa for centralized processing, analysis, and dissemination by different survey and service areas. In addition to agency employees, other external parties also have access to sensitive statistical information under strict conditions described in the Statistics Act. Examples are provincial statistical agencies, sponsoring federal departments, and university researchers. The confidentiality of sensitive statistical information must be protected throughout these various modes, locations, and processes.

The control framework is multi-layered. The first level is the Statistics Act which protects respondents’ information. To support the Act, the agency has put in place a number of policies and practices to manage risks of unauthorised access, loss, theft, disclosure, copying or use of sensitive information. Policies in place include: the Policy on the Security of Sensitive Statistical Information, the Policy on Microdata Release, the Discretionary Release Policy, the Policy on Record Linkage, the Policy on Informing Survey Respondents, the Policy on the Use of Deemed Employees, and the IT Security Policy. Furthermore, Statistics Canada’s Security Practices Manual provides more detailed and complementary information to agency policies and the Government Security Policy. A number of management committees with mandates related to security are also in place: the Confidentiality and Legislation Committee and its Microdata Release Sub - Committee, the Informatics Committee, and the Security Coordination Committee. Finally, the Data Access and Control Services Division provides advice to managers, and serves as the focal point for matters relating to the confidentiality of statistical information.

During the conduct of the audit, Statistics Canada hired a consulting firm to conduct a Threat and Risk Assessment of access to buildings, and to recommend options for the replacement of the existing technical access control system which had been in place since 2002. This assessment did not include the regional offices. The firm presented a report in July 2007 which included a number of recommendations. This document served as additional reference material for the audit.

Authority

The audit was undertaken by the Internal Audit Services, and the Terms of Reference were approved by the Internal Audit Committee on March 28, 2007. The audit was conducted in accordance with the Government of Canada’s Policy on Internal Audit.

Audit Objectives

The objective of this audit was to assess whether controls are in place and are effective to protect the confidentiality of sensitive statistical information including:

• physical access controls
• electronic access controls
• personnel controls, and
• operational controls

The controls were examined both at the departmental and selected survey levels.

The table found in Appendix A provides a summary of the audit criteria used. These were selected during a pre-planning review with StatCan management, based upon potential risks, and an understanding of the management control framework, Statistics Canada operational requirements, and previous reviews and/or audits.

Scope and Approach

There are three buildings at head office in Ottawa, and three regional offices with satellite offices attached to them. The scope of the audit included an assessment of the three buildings at head office, one regional office ( the Eastern Regional Office in Montreal), and one of its satellites (Sherbrooke).

When the Terms of Reference were approved in March 2007, the Government Security Policy referred to sensitive statistical information as "protected B". This included:

• data obtained directly from respondents or from third parties in identifiable mode under the authority of the Statistics Act;
• data holdings stripped of identifiers but held in a detail or geographical structure or format which could permit a direct relation to be established between such data holdings and identifiable units;
• official statistical information in the pre-release stage.

During the course of the audit, it was determined that paradata² was included in the above. This change was taken into account during this audit.

Due to operational reasons, official statistical information in the pre-release stage and statistical information in research data centres were not included in the scope. Some of these areas will be covered by other audits found in the 2008-2009 / 2010-2011 Risk-Based Audit Plan.

The audit was designed to gather data on the measures actually used to safeguard the confidentiality of sensitive statistical information, and employees’ awareness of the importance of that confidentiality. The audit was conducted at the departmental level, and at specific survey levels. Five surveys were selected, taking into consideration the collection method, collection period, survey periodicity, and survey type. They were the International Travel Survey, the Labour Force Survey, the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, the Survey of Environmental Protection Expenditures, and the Trucking Commodity Origin and Destination Survey.

The work included:

• Conducting personal interviews with all levels of employees in the various divisions at Head Office which were involved directly with the surveys selected, or that provided the agency with central services associated with the security of sensitive statistical information;
• Conducting personal interviews with all levels of employees at the Montreal Regional Office and the Sherbrooke Call Centre;
• Reviewing electronic and paper files, including testing of electronic data access and encrypted laptops;
• Conducting a sweep (physical inspection) of the Head Office locations most likely to have sensitive statistical information from the five surveys; and
• Analyzing the results of a questionnaire sent to a sample of 59 interviewers, representing all three regional offices.

Findings, Recommendations and Management Responses

I – Physical access controls

Physical access controls include: access to buildings is restricted; access to secured areas within the premises is restricted; information is physically transmitted to, within, and outside StatCan according to approved standards; information is stored, marked and disposed of according to approved standards; physical access to servers and mainframe is restricted; and repair of computer equipment is carried out on StatCan premises by StatCan employees.

The physical access controls were working as intended. Building entrances are secured and information is kept confidential; however, opportunities exist to advance the risk management practices relating to the confidentiality of statistical information. Improving the effectiveness of the confidentiality framework requires management to focus on secured work environments and the safety of information.

Buildings are secure but secured areas within require directives

Statistics Canada’s building access controls, including those at Head Office, the Montreal regional office, and the Sherbrooke location, are effective. The system of controls includes gates, guards and video cameras, including a new security and camera system installed at Head Office in 2008, to enhance monitoring in the buildings.

The audit found that the requirements of Statistics Canada’s policy on Security of Sensitive Statistical Information are met; however, the agency is not compliant to the criteria outlined in paragraph 10.7 of the Government Security Policy relating to safeguard beyond the baseline level³. This paragraph states that "Departments must conduct ongoing assessments of threats and risks to determine the necessity of safeguards beyond baseline levels. They must continuously monitor for any change in the threat environment and make any adjustment necessary to maintain an acceptable level of risk and a balance between operational needs and security". The audit team did not find any monitoring or assessments of threats and risks to support this requirement.

Instances of controls beyond the baseline level were identified, but they are random decisions rather than risk based. For example, secured areas in the Main building are the results of other tenants occupying the premise. Additionally, the decision to secure access to divisions in the other buildings is primarily made by the director, based on perceived risks and funds available. Some areas may be facing higher risks but may not have a secured access.

As an additional control to complement secured areas with baseline level secured entrances, employees are asked to challenge unknown people in their work areas. This control might be effective in small work areas; however, in a building such as the Jean Talon where floors are large and are shared by many divisions with no recognizable perimeter between them, this control has its limitations.

Two divisions handling surveys in our sample did not have secured entrances within the building. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) was in final processing mode during the sweep that we conducted. Additionally, the Survey of Environmental Protection Expenditures was not in production, therefore it was challenging to assess whether a secured work area was necessary. In both cases, a threat and risk assessment to determine the necessity of safeguards beyond the baseline levels would be helpful to advance the risk management practices.

The agency should determine the baseline level of security required in relation to the sensitivity of data holdings. A threat and risk analysis should then be conducted to determine zones exposed to greater risks and requiring enhanced security beyond the baseline level. Based on the threat and risk analysis, areas not at high risk would continue to be protected by baseline security.

The agency faces a situation where an incident could have a significant impact. With the absence of agency guidelines on what areas should be secured beyond the baseline level, and the lack of an integrated approach to managing risks emerging from visitors, employees, other tenants, and potentially contractors, the agency exposes itself to greater confidentiality risks that could lead to loss of reputation. Considering the very high number of people working within the complex, there is a risk that someone could have unauthorised access to an area secured at the baseline level, and to sensitive statistical information.

Recommendation #1

The Assistant Chief Statistician, Corporate Services Field, should ensure that Data Access and Control Services Division (DACS) develop corporate guidelines to ensure a common approach across the agency, and assist the Policy Committee⁴ through the Security Coordination Committee, in determining the high risk zones by performing threat and risk assessments periodically.

Management Response and Action Plan

Management accepts the recommendation.

DACS proposes a corporate approach to establishing a standard for access control using the "progressive security zones", as per the Policy on Government Security. The standard would be used to approve additional access control devices.

This proposal will be presented to the Security Coordination Committee in the fall.

Deliverable and timeline:
Presentation of directives to the Security Coordination Committee
Results will then be presented to the Policy Committee
Director, Data Access and Control Services – Fall 2009

Safety of information

Sensitive information is physically transmitted inside and outside Statistics Canada according to approved standards, but the audit team found two issues requiring specific attention.

A "postcard" type questionnaire used by the International Travel Survey (ITS), which respondents are asked to mail once completed, is a confidentiality risk. ITS divisional employees ask respondents to complete and mail the postcard. On the postcard, it says "Confidential once completed". This process is ambiguous at best, and does not project an image of discipline and rigour when transmitting information deemed confidential. If this peculiar situation is noticed by the Canadian public, and specifically by the press/media, Statistics Canada’s reputation may be tarnished. The risk is that our respondents may perceive that we do not treat confidentiality with the attention it requires.

It is also expected that sensitive statistical information should be locked up after working hours. An audit test consisting of a sweep of selected areas was conducted after hours on January 28 and 31, 2009. The intent was to determine whether confidential material was locked up using approved containers and locks, and to ensure that keys to containers and locks were properly secured. Usage of A/B switches, and of personal digital assistants, was also verified to ensure compliance with policies.

The sweep results demonstrated that the Operations and Integration Division, which is a secured area with restricted access, was not in compliance with the expectation of adequate storage of sensitive statistical information at the end of the work day.

Management indicated that the area is secured with restricted access, and that storing all sensitive statistical information at the end of each day would be time consuming and counterproductive. Should access to the secured area be breached, there would be no mitigating controls to secure the information. In addition, within the secured area, information should only be made available on a "needs to know" basis. Management of the area is working on an implementation plan that would see the paper questionnaires scanned, with only the electronic version circulating afterwards.

Field interviewers receive strict written directives from Statistics Canada regarding the handling of confidential material such as questionnaires, laptops, and address lists, when working outside the home, and regarding the securing of this material at home. To assess the directives, the audit team conducted a survey of field interviewers. The survey results indicated that field interviewers, when outside the home, ensured the confidentiality and security of material effectively; however, the survey results also indicated that 50% of field interviewers do not lock up their material at home when completing their work day.

Re-enforcement of directives and enhanced attention is required with regards to the storage of confidential material in the home of field interviewers. Loss of sensitive statistical information by field interviewers would affect the confidence of respondents in Statistics Canada, and could prevent the department from attaining its objective.

Recommendation #2

The Assistant Chief Statistician, Social, Health and Labour Statistics Field, should ensure that the Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics Division, in conjunction with Data Access and Control Services Division, find a solution to the visible discrepancy found on the International Travel Survey postcard.

Management Response and Action Plan

Management accepts the recommendation.

TCESD agrees that "confidential once completed" on the postcard questionnaire is illogical. Since there is no identifiable information on the completed questionnaire, we agree to drop this wording. Furthermore, the issue will disappear with the current redesign of the survey, as we will get rid of the postcard questionnaires.

Deliverable and Timeline:
Revised questionnaire
Assistant Director, Tourism and Centre for Education Statistics Division – August 2010

Recommendation #3

The Assistant Chief Statistician, Census and Operations Field, should ensure that regional office management increase the awareness of field interviewers regarding the importance of the confidential material in their possession as well as their accountability and consequences.

Management Response and Action Plan

Management accepts the recommendation.

We will revise our documentation and interviewer training materials concerning the importance of protecting documents/confidential information, and the various mechanisms to be introduced for this purpose. Accordingly, we will adjust the content of the training manual to reflect what is set out in the Code of Conduct.

When new employees receive basic training, supervisors or managers will ensure that everyone has a good understanding of his/her roles and responsibilities, as an interviewer or senior interviewer, in Statistical Survey Operations relating to confidentiality, protection of information, and security.

Using various means of communication (pamphlets, meeting with employees, etc.), we will further emphasize the importance of confidentiality and data security to employees, and reinforce their accountability with respect to managing information in the collection process.

Deliverable and Timeline:
Reinforcement of confidentiality of information
Revision of our guidelines and preparation of an action plan
Director, Regional Management Services Division - Fall 2009

Implementation
Regional Directors - Winter 2010

Recommendation #4

The Assistant Chief Statistician, Census and Operations Field , should ensure that Operations and Integration Division store the confidential material at the end of the day.

Management Response and Action Plan

Management accepts the recommendation.

OID is in the process of removing the risk for paper questionnaires by moving our imaging equipment to a secured room, with the plan to image all questionnaires at this entry location. Paper questionnaires would then be moved to secure storage until they can be disposed of appropriately. The equipment is to be moved the fall of 2009, and a schedule for converting all paper surveys to digital images will be prepared. This process should be completed within 1 year. All access to questionnaires will be via digital images in the content management system FileNet where access is tightly controlled.

Deliverable and Timeline:
Digital images of all questionnaires
Director, Operations and Integration Division - September 2010

II – Electronic access controls

Electronic access controls include: workstations and servers are configured with access controls; information is transmitted electronically within and outside Statistics Canada according to approved standards; storage of information on removable storage media follows ITSD approved security procedures; information is processed, stored, accessed or transmitted only on Network A; all portable computers have full storage encryption approved by ITSD; and computers are sanitized before disposal using ITSD approved methods.

The audit team observed that workstations and servers have electronic access controls maintained by the Informatics Technology Services Division (ITSD); however, monitoring performed by the divisions to grant or remove permissions is performed sporadically. Furthermore, the audit found that only 75% of non-interviewer laptops had the approved encryption program installed.

Workstations and servers have access controls

ITSD electronically maintains access to workstations and servers; however, the authority to grant and/or remove accesses is the responsibility of the divisional directors. The audit team observed that the managerial monitoring to grant or remove access permissions to workstations and servers vary from one division to the next. Consequently, the monitoring of electronic access to workstations and servers is performed sporadically.

The process for granting permissions is efficient, and runs well. Improvements are required in the removal of permissions when access is no longer required. In most cases, those responsible for removing access rely on the employees who originally asked for access to inform them of changes. Controls are effective for employees leaving their division, but the controls become ineffective for service area users, and other users from outside the division. Management monitoring, consistent with processes in place for the Labour Force Survey (LFS – identified further in this section), would improve the monitoring and risk management of confidential files.

The audit team identified a best practice within the LFS management of access rights. LFS managers assess the electronic files according to risks and confidentiality. Very few employees have access to the most confidential files. To gain access, a request must be submitted through the case management system, and an authorization form signed by the director is required. Upon submitting the request, a password to access the files is issued. Permissions to access the LFS confidential files are given for a three month period, and monitoring of access rights to servers is performed continuously.

Recommendation #5

The Assistant Chief Statisticians, Corporate Services Field and Informatics and Methodology Field should ensure that:

• Data Access and Control Division, in conjunction with Informatics Technology Services Division, issue clear guidelines relating to the sensitivity of data and the management of permissions to access servers/shared folders;
• Informatics Technology Services Division will continue to grant and remove access when requested to do so, and to develop tools to further automate this process.

All the Assistant Chief Statisticians must ensure that the guidelines are implemented.

Management Response and Action Plan

Management accepts the recommendation.

Divisional directors are responsible for the implementation of the need to know principle regarding file access. DACS, in collaboration with ITSD, will develop a set of guidelines regarding file access management. DACS will communicate these guidelines to divisional directors. This should be completed by the end of December 2009.

ITSD will continue to grant and remove access to servers and shared folders as per the divisional requests.

ITSD will automatically reset permissions and group access when an employee changes division.

Deliverable and timeline:
Guidelines sent to divisional directors – December 2009
Director, Data Access and Control Division
Director, Informatics Technology Services Division

Installation of Encryption Programs on Portables

Statistics Canada has a directive to have an encryption program installed on all portables. The audit team expected to find the ITSD approved encryption program (Pointsec technology) installed on all portables.

During the conduct of interviews with the LAN administrators and departmental IT security, the auditors were informed that most portables had the encryption program installed. A further audit test was conducted on a judgmental sample of portables. The test results indicated that the majority of portables in the sample had the encryption program installed. Further interviews were conducted with representatives of the departmental IT security; additionally, a comparison of the departmental portable key file with AMMIS (the inventory system) was performed. The results indicated that only 75% of non-interviewer portables have the program correctly installed. It should be noted that all interviewer portables have the encryption program installed. The auditors verified if the encryption program could be deactivated by the employees. The test results demonstrate that the encryption program cannot be deactivated or removed by the employees. IT security has sent an e-mail to directors asking for their support in this matter.

A breach of confidentiality may occur should a portable without an encryption program and containing confidential information be lost.

Recommendation #6

The Assistant Chief Statistician, Informatics and Methodology Field, should ensure that Informatics Technology Services Division security monitor the progression of the installation of the Pointsec technology on laptops, and report the results to the Security Coordination Committee on a quarterly basis until full compliance is achieved.

Management Response and Action Plan

Management accepts the recommendation.

The Statistics Canada laptop inventory can be divided into two broad categories: Those for use by interviewers in the field, and non-interviewer laptops. The interviewer laptops are managed and maintained by Collection and Planning Management Division (CPMD); and as part of their deployment process, all the laptops are encrypted.

Non-interviewer laptops are maintained by the ITSD Enterprise Desktop Support Section (EDSS). As of July 2009, 84% of these laptops were reported compliant and had their encryption recovery file recorded in ITSD. As for the remainder of the laptops, they are either not encrypted, or they are encrypted and their encryption recovery file simply had not been reported. The following action plan is proposed to address those.

The general tasks include locating each of the laptops, making sure they are encrypted, and copying over the recovery file. The AMMIS system will be used to identify the active laptops. The ITSD EDSS group will work with each Field, and identify a Field representative that will be responsible for ensuring compliance. Reports will be provided to Field representatives to monitor progress.

The Director of ITSD will report to the Security Coordination Committee on a quarterly basis on the progress made on compliancy.

Deliverables and timeline:
Monitoring reports for Field representatives – December 2009
Quarterly report to Security Coordination Committee - Ongoing
Director, Informatics Technology Services Division

III – Personnel controls

Information on confidentiality is regularly communicated to all employees.

Statistics Canada uses a variety of methods to promote security and confidentiality of statistical information. These include training, manuals, e-mails, articles in the @statcan, special events, and posters. The audit team found that the methods used to communicate to departmental and Regional Operations Branch employees in order to promote security and confidentiality are effective. Interviews conducted with employees located in Ottawa, and in the Regions, indicated that security and confidentiality is understood by employees.

The evidence collected indicated that personnel controls are in place and are effective. Accordingly, recommendations are not necessary.

IV – Operational controls

Personal identifiers are removed from statistical master files as soon as no longer required, and breaches of confidentiality are reported to the Chief Statistician.

The audit team expected to find that personal identifiers are removed from statistical master files. The audit test conducted indicated that social surveys identifiers are removed early in the process, while economic surveys personal identifiers are removed much later. Auditors were concerned with this issue and probed further. It was established that economic surveys’ personal identifiers are required throughout the analysis stage, but they are removed when no longer necessary.

There are many sources of information instructing employees to report potential breaches of confidentiality. This includes the 2007 Policy on the Security of Sensitive Statistical Information, the Security Practice Manual, chapter 2 (revised in summer of 2007), and the Confidentiality Awareness Web Site.

Regionally, the risk of having a breach of security is much higher during the collection phase. The audit team found evidence that clear procedures exist to report a breach of security. Interviewers and senior interviewers receive written instructions on how to report any lost confidential material, including reporting the loss or theft of laptops immediately. Ultimately, the regional director is informed, and corrective measures are taken. The audit team observed documented corporate files relating to confidentiality breaches. The procedures in place were followed, and appropriate correctives measures were implemented.

The evidence collected indicated that operational controls are in place and are effective. Accordingly, recommendations are not necessary.

Appendix A

Audit Criteria

Objectives	Audit criteria
Physical access controls	1. access to buildings is restricted 2. access to secured areas within premises is restricted 3. information is physically transmitted within and outside StatCan according to approved standards 4. information is stored, marked and disposed of according to approved standards 5. physical access to servers is restricted 6. repair of computer equipment is carried out on StatCan premises by StatCan employees
Electronic access controls	7. workstations and servers are configured with access controls 8. information is transmitted electronically, within and outside Statistics Canada, according to approved standards 9. storage of information on removable storage media follows ITSD approved security procedures 10. information is processed, stored, accessed or transmitted only on Network A to prevent unauthorised access from the public 11. all portable computers have full storage encryption approved by ITSD 12. computers are sanitized before disposal using ITSD approved methods
Personnel controls	13. information on confidentiality is communicated regularly to all employees
Operational controls	14. personal identifiers are removed from statistical master files and stored separately from master files as soon as they are no longer required for data processing 15. breaches of confidentiality, should they occur, are reported formally to the Departmental Security Officer who informs the Chief Statistician

 

Appendix B

 

Acronyms

AMMIS	Automated Materiel Management Information System
CAPI	Computer Assisted Personal Interview
CATI	Computer Assisted Telephone Interview
DACS	Data Access and Control Division
DARS	Data Access Request System
EDSS	Enterprise Desktop Support Services
ITS	International Travel Survey
ITSD	Informatics Technology Services Division
LFS	Labour Force Survey
NLSCY	National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth
OID	Operations and Integration Division
PAPI	Paper and Pencil Interview
RO	Regional Office
SEPE	Survey of Environmental Protection Expenditures
StatCan	Statistics Canada
TCOD	Trucking Commodity Origin and Destination Survey

 

Note

 

1. Acronyms are defined in Appendix B
2. Paradata is information related to a statistical data collection or production process that is linked to an identifiable person, business or organization. Usually this is the type of information that is useful to interviewers (i.e. best time to call, type of respondent, etc.)
3. The baseline level for Statistics Canada consists of the perimeter security, which includes cameras, guards and gates.
4. Committee structure is a critical aspect of governance at Statistics Canada. Issues are first discussed at a management committee such as the Security Coordination Committee. The Security Coordination Committee Chairperson(s) will then present the results of the deliberations to the Policy Committee which will render a decision if required. The Policy Committee is chaired by the Chief Statistician and oversees all the committees.

Final report
Original Report Approved by Internal Audit Committee on August 30, 2006
Addendum Approved January 18, 2008

Internal Audit Division
December 2005

• Auditor's statement
• Background
• Objective
• Scope
• Approach
• Results
• Findings and recommendations
• Accounts payable and procurement
• Inventories
• Interviewer pay
• Physical security
• Staffing under the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA)
• Staffing under the Statistics Act for Statistical Survey Operations (SSO) (criteria 9.1 and 9.2 in Appendix A)
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Addendum - September 2007

Auditor's statement

We have completed the Audit of Central Regional Office (Toronto) Administrative Processes. The objective was to assess the degree of compliance of financial and human resources processes and practices and other general administrative processes and practices with relevant Government of Canada and departmental regulations, policies and directives. We examined the following areas: accounts payable; interviewer pay; travel, including the use of individual travel cards; procurement; inventory control, namely compliance with the Automated Material Management Information System (AMMIS); selected physical security elements, for example, access controls and the application of basic security measures; human resources (HR) staffing including file documentation; HR modernization training; and information technology (IT) access control. As the same management team is responsible for administrative practices and procedures in both Toronto and Sturgeon Falls, the audit was conducted in Toronto only. This audit concentrated on regular regional office activities and excluded the 2006 Census operations.

This internal audit was carried out in accordance with the Internal Auditing Standards for the Government of Canada. Key activities during the conduct of the audit carried out from November 21 to December 2 in Toronto, focussed on the regional office’s financial, human resources and other administrative operations. The auditors interviewed approximately 30 Statistics Canada employees, 11 interviewers and one security guard, observed practices and reviewed documents.

In examining selected regional office’s financial and human resources processes and practices and other general administrative processes and practices with relevant central agency and departmental regulations, policies and directives, we are satisfied that the areas examined are mainly in compliance. In a few areas, however, the findings indicate that there is a moderate level of risk to the organisation. These include: the lack of evidence that a best price was sought when using Local Purchase Orders (LPO) (page 8); the storage of Protected B information (page 11), and; the management of A/B switches (page 12). The audit report presents recommendations for all the findings identified by the auditors. Managers of the Central Regional Office prepared an action plan to address all recommendations (Appendix B). An audit team will monitor the progress of this plan and report back to the Internal Audit Committee.

These conclusions are based on the assessment of findings against pre-established criteria agreed to by the Internal Audit Committee in October 2005 and reflect the audit work conducted principally between November 21 and December 2, 2005.

The audit team was comprised of Mylène Belzile, Maria Escobar Rivera, Johanne Grégoire, Bev Prentice, Fadi Hélou and Jacques Lepage, who was the principal auditor.

In our opinion, sufficient and appropriate audit work has been performed and evidence gathered to support the conclusions contained in this audit report.

Background

Regional office audits have been conducted in Statistics Canada on a rotating basis since the mid-nineties. Regional offices, like our Head Office, process financial, human resources and administrative activities. The delegation of signing authority chart reflects the unique nature of the regional offices.

From a data collection perspective, the regions (Eastern Region, Central Region and Western Region and Northwest Territories) are responsible for the management of survey operations in eight centres: Halifax; Montreal, Sherbrooke; Toronto, Sturgeon Falls; Winnipeg, Edmonton; and Vancouver. This is done through the hiring, maintaining, training and scheduling of a workforce capable of handling a wide range of continuing and ad hoc surveys; providing cost estimates; providing advice and guidance on local situations; providing and maintaining respondent relations; managing the day-to-day collection operations including expanding and contracting the interviewer workforce as required; keeping within cost, quality, and timeliness objectives; maintaining samples; maintaining local offices; monitoring data quality; and collaborating with Survey Operations Division (SOD) in identifying ways and means to improve survey data collection.

The regions are one of the two main collection arms of the Agency. As such the regions provide a service vital to Statistics Canada's mandate which is to provide Canadians with objective and non-partisan statistics and statistical products, services and analyses on Canada’s economy and society which are relevant, responsive to emerging issues, fulfilling legal requirements and are of high quality. The regions provide data collection services to several divisions responsible for economic and socio-economic surveys.

The Central Regional Office is comprised of the Toronto centre, which also provides administration services for this region, and the Sturgeon Falls centre.

Before initiating the Central Regional Office (Toronto) audit, items audited in previous regional office audits were assessed in consultation with managers from the Communications and Operations Field as well as financial management and human ressources management in terms of threats and risks to the organization. Most financial items included in previous audits have been maintained. New items added to the list cover HR issues.

Objective

The objective of this audit was to assess the degree of compliance of selected financial and human resources management and other general administrative processes and practices with relevant central agency and departmental regulations, policies and directives.

Scope

The audit examined processes and practices followed by the Central Regional Office to ensure that selected financial, human resources and administrative activities comply with Government of Canada regulations, policies and directives as well as with Statistics Canada policies and directives. Areas examined include: accounts payable; interviewer pay; travel, including the use of individual travel cards; procurement; inventory control, namely compliance with the Automated Material Management Information System (AMMIS); selected physical security elements, for example, access controls and the application of basic security measures; HR staffing including file documentation ; HR modernization training; and IT access control. As the same management team is responsible for administrative practices and procedures in both Toronto and Sturgeon Falls, the audit was conducted in Toronto only. This audit concentrated on regular regional office activities and excluded the 2006 Census operations.

Approach

This audit was guided by criteria and review frameworks based on Treasury Board audit guides and analysis. An audit plan was developed and included detailed activities for all components identified within scope.

The auditors made use of administrative databases (e.g. Common Departmental Financial System (CDFS), Automated Material Management Information System (AMMIS), Survey Operations Pay System (SOPS)). The auditors interviewed financial, human resources and administrative staff in the Central Regional Office (Toronto). The test of compliance, in some cases, involved selecting and reworking adequate samples (e.g. travel claims, accounts payable, acquisitions) and recording results on the corresponding data collection tools. The work also involved inspecting files (mainly paper) to ensure that the proper documentation was maintained. Various visual inspections (e.g. work area, procedures, bulletin boards) were also conducted. With respect to security, the auditors conducted interviews with a sample of employees and on-site inspections of the physical security arrangements. Upon their return, personnel screening was conducted in the Head office security office and a review of travel card holders was conducted with the help of administrative files.

Before leaving the Toronto office, the auditors discussed the preliminary findings with the Regional Director and the Management Services and Informatics (MSI) Manager (also acting Assistant Regional Director, Operations).

To ensure that the scope of the audit was properly covered, the audit plan was comprised of a number of sub-objectives. These were:

• To ensure that accounts for payment and settlements are verified in a cost effective and efficient manner while maintaining adequate controls
• To ensure that procurements of goods or services are made in the most cost efficient manner while maintaining proper financial controls
• To ensure that travel is effectively managed and controlled
• To ensure the economical and efficient use of individual travel card (ITC)
• To ensure that inventories are properly managed
• To ensure that interviewer pay is properly managed
• To ensure the security of regional employees, information and assets
• To ensure that staffing for open and closed competitions are in accordance with Section 10 of the Public Service Employment Act, that acting appointments and extensions are in accordance with Section 7 of the Public Service Employment Regulations and that term extensions were made pursuant to Section 7 of the 2003 Term Employment Policy
• To ensure that key STC Staffing Guidelines for Statistical Survey Operations have been applied for hiring interviewers from outside, for promotions from interviewer to senior interviewer and for acting assignments and extensions of Statistical Survey Operations (SSO) employees.
• To ensure that managers and HR personnel are being prepared for the introduction of HR Modernization

The sub-objectives, their accompanying criteria and results are listed in Appendix A.

Results

Overall, the audit confirmed within the defined scope that the Central Regional Office (Toronto) financial and human resources processes and practices and other general administrative processes and practices are mainly in compliance with relevant central agency and departmental regulations, policies and directives. In a few areas, however, the findings indicate that the organisation could be at risk. The findings include:

• The auditors found no physical evidence that the best prices were obtained when using LPOs. We expected to find at least two quotes in the files. There were none, so it was impossible to know if the best price was sought (page 8).
• The users of A/B switches had not signed the declaration. We did not find an A/B switch on machines that would normally contain confidential information but there were no signed declarations by the users (page 12).
• Protected B information must be stored carefully after working hours and according to proper practices. We noticed survey and personnel-type information not stored securily after working hours (page 11).

All the findings are discussed in greater detail in the findings and recommendations section of this report.

Some of the sub-objectives examined for travel, the use of individual travel cards, and HR modernization training were found to be fully compliant.

Findings and recommendations

The criteria used for the audit are listed by sub-objective in Appendix A. In this section of the report, findings and recommendations are presented by groupings of sub-objectives. The report only presents findings that are accompanied by recommendations.

Accounts payable and procurement

Many criteria in these two sub-objectives were analyzed with the help of samples of transactions that were run through templates. The samples were selected at random within stratified lists.

Results of the samples run through the template are presented in the following tables. Please note that only the criteria that were verified with the template and that were not 100 percent compliant are shown (a complete list of the criteria can be found in Appendix A). Recommendations often group more than one criterion and are presented after the description of findings.

Accounts payable

A number of criteria measured with the help of the template were found to be 100 percent compliant. These include:

• The documentation shows compliance with section 34 (signed by officer with delegated authority)
• Financial coding is correct (FRC, authority, line object, and project code match the section 34 stamp)
• Invoices for payment received in the mailroom are date stamped and promptly forwarded to finance where they are stamped again.
• Invoices are matched to purchase order forms to verify that prices match those quoted in the purchase order.
• PST exemptions are taken and GST calculation is correct.
• Requests for payment are signed off by Financial Officer under sect 33 of the Financial Administration Act (FAA). No person shall exercise signing authority pursuant to both section 33 and 34 of the FAA with respect to a particular payment.
• Payments are promptly processed through CDFS by Finance. Cheques should be sent to the employee's home address or company's direct address.
• Transactions must follow a logical flow (i.e. purchase order, application & appraisal forms dated before invoice date).

Other criteria, not measured with the help of the template, were also met. These include:

• Signature forms showing delegated authorities are maintained and kept in a locked cabinet. The new forms must be filled and signed by October 31, 2005.
• Access to supplier files is restricted and files are kept under lock and key
• Acquisition cards monthly statements are reconciled with individual purchases and paid promptly to avoid payment of interests.
• There is a separate file maintained for the acquisition card.

Criteria in the following table were not compliant

Criteria (criteria number in Appendix A)	Compliant (N)	Total (N)	Percent compliant
Acquisitions are signed off by officer with delegated authority1. (1.2)	23	33	70
The release date of the payment should be 30 days after the receipt of the invoice (right away for employees), or acceptance of the goods/service, whichever is later. The invoice should be date stamped upon receipt and when payment is processed. The invoice receipt date should match CDFS receipt date. (1.10)	6	40	15
Files of all suppliers are maintained and contain all supporting documents for all acquisitions (Order form (including Local Purchase Order (LPO)), Invoice, Bill of Lading, Packing Slip with evidence that it was verified). (1.11)	23	33	70
Invoice date and number are entered correctly on CDFS. (1.16)	6	40	15

These findings and associated recommendations are discussed after the procurement sub-section.

Procurement

A number of criteria measured with the help of the template were found to be 100 percent compliant. These include:

• Standing offers or contracts if amount exceeds $5K for goods and $25K for services have been negotiated with principal suppliers
• Invoices or packing slips when separate are verified for accuracy of quantities and quoted prices
• Managers sign off under sect. 34 confirming receipt of goods or services
• Stamped invoices and packing slips are promptly forwarded to Finance for payment

Other criteria, not measured with the help of the template, were also met. These include:

• There is a designated officer responsible for all acquisitions
• Procedures exist for the receipt and verification of goods or services received
• Refer to payables criteria for Finance responsibilities prior to payment
• There is designated co-ordinator for the use of acquisition cards (Master Card) who is not the purchasing officer. The cards are in the name of current employees within the administration unit and must be used by the cardholder only for official government purchases only and must be kept in a secure location with controlled access when being used.
• The co-ordinator is fully responsible for all acquisitions using the card and there is a signed agreement to that effect. Each cardholder must sign a written acknowledgement.
• A separate log or inventory exists for all acquisitions made by LPO, standing offer and acquisition card.
• The card is not used for certain type of acquisitions specified by TB Policy e.g. travel related expenses, repairs, cash advances or interdepartmental transactions (this was verified with Sub-Objective 1 Accounts payable).
• Payments to the credit card company are made promptly to avoid interest payments.

Criteria in the following table were not compliant

Criteria (criteria number in Appendix A)	Compliant (N)	Total (N)	Percent compliant
When Local Purchase Orders (LPOs) are used, there is evidence that the best prices were obtained (4.3)	0	15	0
Internal request forms and LPOs are signed by officer with delegated authority2 (4.4)	23	33	70

Acquisitions (including with Local Purchase Orders (LPO)) not always signed by officer with delegated authority (criteria 1.2, 1.11 and 4.4 in Appendix A)

The MSI and the financial officer stated during their respective general interview that internal request forms and LPOs were signed by an officer with delegated authority or that an e-mail was sent to the purchasing officer. The purchasing officer stated the same thing but admitted that he did not keep a copy of the e-mail in his files (either electronic or paper). This was confirmed by the sample analysis (see template results above).

In 10 cases (30%), there is no evidence on file of an internal requisition form, a Local Purchase Order (LPO) signed by an employee with delegated authority under section 32 of the FAA or an e-mail sent to the purchasing officer. In the case of the print shop, the current procedures are not congruent with requirements. Currently, print jobs are ordered on an ongoing basis, often more than once a day and records are not kept of the quoted prices or of the approval by an officer with delegated authority.

Recommendation 1: The MSI manager should establish proper acquisition procedures to ensure that an officer with delegated authority signs an acquisition form or sends an e-mail before any acquisition is made.

Invoices almost always paid before 30 days (criteria 1.10 and 1.16 in Appendix A)

We found that there was no problem with payments due to employees or with the application of stamps on the invoices. All invoices contained the proper stamps. The travel sample indicated that the employees travel claims are processed when received in the finance section of the regional office as they should be. Other employee claims, such as petty cash, were also handled in a timely fashion by the financial section.

However, invoices from suppliers are almost always paid before the required 30 days (85%). The invoice receipt date seldom matched the CDFS receipt date. Suppliers are paid before the required 30 days, contrary to the Policy on Payment Requisitioning and Payment on Due Date. In order for this to happen, the invoice date must be incorrectly entered in CDFS. This is done deliberately. Originally, this procedure was applied so that suppliers, especially small ones, get paid before 30 days. However, the evidence shows that now this practice extends to all suppliers (small and large).

Recommendation 2: The Director should take immediate steps to stop the early payment practice. He should ensure that clear procedures are in place that respect the 30 day release date for payments required under the Policy on Payment Requisitioning and Payment on Due Date and he should monitor the situation to ensure that this has been corrected.

No evidence that the best prices were obtained when using LPOs. (criterion 4.3 in Appendix A)

We expected to find at least two quotes per purchase in the files. The files did not show any quotes. LPO transactions did not have any bid documentation or any evidence that the best price was researched. Both the MSI and the financial officer stated during their respective general interview that bids were being sought when using LPOs. The purchasing officer stated the same thing, but he admitted that he did not keep this information in his files (either electronic or paper). This was confirmed by the sample analysis (see template results above). 

Recommendation 3: The MSI manager should establish a set of procedures that would ensure that the best prices are obtained when using an LPO. The results of this process must be kept on file. Such procedures could include the pursuit of bids for each LPO. The MSI manager must also monitor the situation regularly to ensure that these new procedures are followed and that the problem has been corrected.

Inventories

A number of criteria were fully met. These include:

• An officer is identified as being responsible for the safe custody of the inventory of high value items and there is formal acceptance of that responsibility.
• Periodic stocktaking is performed
• Inventories are properly safeguarded

Accurate records not maintained for all items in the inventory and written procedures lacking (criteria 5.2 and 5.6 in Appendix A)

Inventory for which there are screen charges (PC) or which are important to manage from an operational point of view (laptops) are accurately recorded, as are monitors which generally work in conjunction with PCs. Inventory for A/B switches is not maintained and this represents a security concern which will be discussed with security findings below. The printer inventory is not accurate.

AMMIS is the only inventory used for non-computer items and locally-acquired items are not reliably entered. Accurate records are not maintained for this part of the inventory as a number of items do not have a C number. The persons responsible for maintaining inventory items do not have access to AMMIS.

Recommendation 4: We recommend that the MSI manager provide the individuals responsible for inventory items (both computer and non-computer) with written procedures and Read-only access to AMMIS should also be provided. In the case of non-computer inventory, the procedures should include a step that requires obtaining a C number before any equipment is deployed. The MSI manager should regularly monitor and provide feedback as required to the persons responsible for inventory items.

Interviewer pay

A number of criteria were fully met. These include:

• Managers conduct a verification of pay and expense claims (section 34 of FAA) before forwarding to finance
• Financial officer is exercising its responsibility to ensure that a system of account verification exists
• There is a process to follow up on overpayments (to do so requires an accurate records system and capacity to identify errors)
• Expense elements of interviewer pay correspond to the appropriate line items in CDFS

Tighten interviewer pay procedures for data collection managers (DCM) (criterion 6.1 in Appendix A)

We found written procedures and directives related to the method to process an interviewer pay claim. For example, there is a draft SOPS (Survey Operations Pay System) User Guide, dated December 2004 that explains the technical steps. It is not however designed to address section 34 responsibilities. There is also an ROB procedure for the payment of overtime. We were shown the PWGSC on-line pay site used by regional HR compensation advisors as a key tool.

One cannot write a standard recipe for all DCM to follow—there isn’t a mechanical set of steps that will apply generally. However, there should be procedures to remind DCM of their responsibilities. As a minimum, it should contain basic checks to perform when verifying pay claims. 

Different levels of authorization exist in SOPS (recommendation by senior interviewer, approval by DCM, review by project managers (PM4)) and various edits are built in the process. There seems to be enough checks to satisfy the requirements and assure the financial officer that section 34 is being handled properly. However, there are no written directives covering this issue.

Recommendation 5: Regional Office Branch (ROB) should prepare guidelines for data collection managers (DCM) on their section 34 responsibilities and for the financial officer regarding section 33 and interviewer pay.

Physical security

A number of criteria were fully met. These include:

• Emergency numbers are posted in central locations where staff can easily find them
• Strangers are challenged
• Staff members wear their ID according to security directives
• Procedures are in place to ensure that employees do not receive a user ID granting access to Network A or confidential information until personnel screening is completed
• A Committee on Occupational Safety and Health is established and is operational Meetings are conducted on a regular basis
• There are trained personnel on first aid and their names are posted
• Fire extinguishers are in place and there are signs clearly indicating their locations
• Employees have been trained on the procedures to follow when the alarms go off
• Signs are posted indicating the location of emergency doors which are easily accessible

Storage of protected B information (criterion 7.4 in Appendix A)

Security measures described in the Security Practices Manual are not always applied when it comes to storing protected B files after hours. While the risk of outsiders seeing protected information is low because of perimeter security, access to information is on the basis of a "need to know", which is respected when documents are properly stored. Confidentiality is a key value for all Statistics Canada employees who have to protect information received from respondents as well as any other protected information.

We noticed that protected B files (e.g. survey data, personnel-type) were left on desks after employees had left for the day. Some cabinets were unlocked overnight and some employees with offices with doors choose not to lock them, even though protected information is kept in the office and not stored in cabinets. Regarding personnel-related information, the Human Resources section is located in the MSI area which has controlled access, but personnel files should not be left unlocked overnight. This type of information should be treated with the same care as survey data.

We also noticed that all the filing cabinets used to store protected B information are not meeting the standards described in the Security Practices Manual.

Recommendation 6: The Regional Director takes action to ensure that employees appropriately secure protected B data after hours, whether this is information provided in confidence, sensitive statistical information or other types of protected information such as personnel files. We also recommend that the RO either purchase a number of filing cabinets suitable for storing protected B information or consult with HO security to see how the present cabinets can be retro-fitted to meet security requirements.

Personnel screening falls short (criterion 7.7 in Appendix A)

As part of the physical security sub-objective, personnel screening was reviewed. The criterion is taken directly from the Government Security Policy. This can be considered as a follow-up to the 2002 Personnel Screening audit that covered the entire department.

During the current audit, on the employee side, we concentrated on new hires over the past year (November 2004 to November 2005) excluding Census employees. There were 18 names on our list and our findings indicate that 3 of these employees started to work without a valid security clearance. In addition, only one of the three signed the security clearance form before starting to work. The two others signed their forms after their first day of work (one and ten days).

For interviewers, the same time period was used and is summarized:

The results indicate that 44 (6+38) out of 93 interviewers, or 47%, did not comply with the Government Security Policy at the time of the audit. This can be considered as an improvement over the results of the 2002 Personnel Screening Audit, but requires some specific action to rectify the situation.

The risk to the agency is that someone without proper security clearance is hired. The degree of risk is not high, but could become a problem in the long run if rules are not adhered to. Should an event occur, the impact on the reputation of Statistics Canada could be significant.

Recommendation 7: The director should introduce procedures to ensure that employees and interviewers be security cleared before they start working for the RO. This should be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure full compliance.

Conditions for A/B switch use should be improved (criterion 7.9 in Appendix A)

The MSI manager noted that all requests for A/B switches must be approved by a senior manager and that the distribution was very limited. During inventory work, we did not find an A/B switch on machines that would normally contain confidential information.

We were told that employees who use A/B switches are not required to sign a declaration in advance. This declaration is required as described in the EDP Security Policy, Appendix A section 11 ii. There is no list of who has an A/B switch within the RO.

Having signed declarations shows that employees understand their obligations and a complete list of who has switches helps ensure that they are not left inadvertently where they do not belong.

Recommendation 8: The IT manager should maintain a list of A/B switch users and declarations should be filled out in accordance with the EDP Security Policy, Appendix A section 11 ii. This practice should be monitored on an ongoing basis.

Staffing under the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA)

The following was met but documentation can be improved (see below):

• Open and closed competition files contain all the key documents listed in the PSC Staffing Manual, Chapter 8. Key documents are duly completed and signed and show evidence that a process took place to apply relative merit, pursuant to the PSEA, section 10 (1). Gate-keeping and Senior Personnel Review Committee (SPRC) approvals have been obtained when necessary.

Documentation can be improved for open and closed competitions (criterion 8.1 in Appendix A) and files on actings, actings extensions and term extensions are hard to locate (criteria 8.2 and 8.3 in Appendix A)

For closed and open competitions, we found most of the evidence required to demonstrate that processes have been carried out properly.

However, steps that managers are to carry out are not always done; for example, signing board member statements and screening selection forms, and in one case, documenting that a candidate met qualifications even though that person was the only candidate.

Recommendation 9: The HR function should not issue competition results before all required documents are received from managers.

For other forms of PSEA staffing - term extensions, acting appointments and acting extensions - we are not able to draw a conclusion since an insufficient number of staffing files in our sample could be located. We found that the filing system is not in good order due to moves and scarce resources being placed on priorities such as current staffing actions, including census staffing.

Recommendation 10: The HR manager should ensure that the filing system is put into proper order and maintained.

Staffing under the Statistics Act for Statistical Survey Operations (SSO) (criteria 9.1 and 9.2 in Appendix A)

We expected to find that competitive processes in keeping with the merit principle are being used for employees hired under the Statistics Act, and that interviewers hired had passed a selection test. We found that the interviewer selection test is administered and that qualified candidates obtained at least 65%. However, we were unable to locate enough of the information required to draw a conclusion on the extent to which SSO competitive processes have taken place to establish merit. What we were told indicates that the merit principle is being applied, but there is insufficient evidence on which to base a conclusion.

Our difficulties stem from the fact that there are no centralized staffing files and standards about information to be kept on file for employees hired under the Statistics Act, similar to those that exist for public servants hired under the Public Service Employment Act.

Recommendation 11:  The Assistant Director, Operations should create and maintain a central filing system and associated procedures for SSO staffing actions. Doing this in conjunction with Regional Office Branch headquarters would foster consistent standards across regional offices.

There have been changes in the HR employee complement and responsibilities since many of these staffing actions were completed. This, coupled with file location problems and the desire of the director to ensure that staffing is carried out according to standards, as well as an invitation by the director to return, suggests that Internal Audit Division should consider more audit work in this area in its next multi-year audit plan.

Appendix A

Criteria by sub-objective and result

Sub-objective 1: To ensure that accounts for payment and settlements are verified in a cost effective and efficient manner while maintaining adequate controls

Criteria	Summary result
1.1 Signature forms showing delegated authorities are maintained and kept in a locked cabinet. The new forms must be filled and signed by October 31, 2005.	Yes
1.2 Acquisitions are signed off by officer with delegated authority.	Not met. (see recommendation (rec 1)
1.3 The documentation shows compliance with section 34 (signed by officer with delegated authority)	Yes.
1.4 Financial coding is correct (FRC, authority, line object, and project code match the section 34 stamp)	Yes.
1.5 Invoices for payment received in the mailroom are date stamped and promptly forwarded to Finance where they are stamped again.	Yes.
1.6 Invoices are matched to purchase order forms to verify that prices match those quoted in the purchase order.	Yes, when a purchase order is present. (see criterion 1.11)
1.7 PST exemptions are taken and GST calculation correct.	Yes.
1.8 Requests for payment are signed off by Financial Officer under sect 33 of the FAA. No person shall exercise signing authority pursuant to both section 33 and 34 of the FAA with respect to a particular payment.	Yes.
1.9 Payments are promptly processed through CDFS by Finance. Cheques should be sent to the employee’s home address or company’s direct address.	Yes.
1.10 The release date of the payment should be 30 days after the receipt of the invoice (right away for employees), or acceptance of the goods/service, whichever is later. The invoice should be date stamped upon receipt and when payment is processed. The invoice receipt date should match CDFS receipt date.	Not met. (see rec 2)
1.11 Files of all suppliers are maintained and contain all supporting documents for all acquisitions (Order form (including LPO), Invoice, Bill of Lading, Packing Slip with evidence that it was verified). A unique CDFS ID must be recorded on the invoice.	Not met. (see rec 1)
1.12 Transactions must follow a logical flow (i.e. purchase order, application & appraisal forms dated before invoice date).	Yes.
1.13 Access to supplier files is restricted and files are kept under lock and key	Yes.
1.14 Acquisition cards monthly statements are reconciled with individual purchases and paid promptly to avoid payment of interests.	Yes.
1.15 There is a separate file maintained for the acquisition card	Yes.
1.16 Invoice date and number are entered correctly on CDFS.	No, date entered to effect early payment. (see rec 2)

 

Sub-objective 2: To ensure that travel is effectively managed and controlled

Criteria	Summary result
2.1 All travel is approved in advance and signed by officer with delegated authority or a current Blanket Travel Authority form exists.	Yes
2.2 Travel Advance and Approval forms are completed and include purpose of travel	Yes
2.3 Amounts requested are reasonable and given to the traveller within a reasonable timeframe (2 days before trip).	Yes
2.4 Expenses identified are within those described and allotted in TB Directive	Yes
2.5 A Blanket Travel Authority to travel if used is included in the employee file	Yes
2.6 Emergency travel situations are post approved and include an explanation on the expense claim	Did not occur in sample 3
2.7 Expense claim forms are completed within an acceptable timeframe and signed by an officer with delegated authority	Yes
2.8 Claims include required receipts and there is evidence that Finance as reviewed the claim (red tick marks)	Yes
2.9 It is the responsibility of supervisors to authorize taxi use for employees travelling on official government business. Vouchers cannot be used when travelling to or from an airport, bus terminal or train station for trip related purposes, or while at the duty travel location. The use is to be monitored.	Yes.
2.10 Consultants and other persons performing work on behalf of the government are not to be supplied with taxi vouchers	Yes
2.11 When taxi vouchers are made available instead of cash, departments and agencies are to use the standardized government-wide voucher (GC 89).	Yes
2.12 All air fare and rail bookings should be completed through AcXess Voyage.	Yes
2.13 Travellers’ cheques must be used for authorized travel on an exceptional basis only.	Yes
2.14 A travellers cheques custodian and a backup have been appointed	Yes
2.15 Travellers cheques are stored in a safe or locked cabinet with restricted access	Yes
2.16 The custodian is responsible for processing transactions and for procuring, protecting, controlling and handling the cheques.	Yes
2.17 The custodian signs off replenishments after verifying amounts received	Yes
2.18 A log is maintained and includes the name of the travellers and amounts provided in the denominations given	Yes
2.19 There is sign-off by the traveller confirming the amounts received with a copy on file and another for the traveller	Yes
2.20 The custodian has reconciled the inventory	Yes
2.21 The inventory matches the amounts on hand	Yes
2.22 American Express invoices are paid promptly	Yes
2.23 Amounts received by the travellers are supported by Travel Advance and Approval and Travel Expense Claim Forms duly signed by officer with delegated authority	Yes
2.24 Travellers cheques are not used for salary advances or loans	Yes

 

 

Sub-objective 3: To ensure the economical and efficient use of individual travel card (ITC)

Criteria	Summary result
3.1 The cards are assigned by an officer with delegated authority who is identified as the regional co-ordinator	Yes
3.2 The ITCs are used for government business only and for approved expenses i.e. accommodation, car rental	Yes
3.3 Travellers have prior approval using the Travel Advance and Approval form or have a blanket travel authority on file	Yes
3.4 Non standard type of expenses have been approved by an officer with delegated authority e.g. rental of meeting rooms, hospitality	Did not occur in sample.
3.5 Procedures are in place for authorising and issuing the card	Yes
3.6 Procedures are in place for retrieving and cancelling the cards when an employee leaves the department or assumes a new position	Yes but improvement possible (memo4)

 

 

Sub-objective 4: To ensure that procurements of goods or services are made in the most cost efficient manner while maintaining proper financial controls

Criteria	Summary result
4.1 There is a designated officer responsible for all acquisitions	Yes
4.2 Standing offers or contracts if amount exceeds $5K for goods and $25K for services have been negotiated with principal suppliers	Yes
4.3 When Local Purchase Orders (LPOs) are used, there is evidence that the best prices were obtained	Not met (see rec 3)
4.4 Internal request forms and LPOs are signed by officer with delegated authority	Not met. (see rec 1)
4.5 Procedures exist for the receipt and verification of goods or services received	Yes
4.6 Invoices or packing slips when separate are verified for accuracy of quantities and quoted prices	Yes
4.7 Managers sign off under sect. 34 confirming receipt of goods or services	Yes
4.8 Stamped invoices and packing slips are promptly forwarded to Finance for payment	Yes
4.9 Refer to payables criteria for Finance responsibilities prior to payment	Yes
4.10 There is designated co-ordinator for the use of acquisition cards (Master Card) who is not the purchasing officer. The cards are in the name of current employees within the administration unit and must be used by the cardholder only for official government purchases only and must be kept in a secure location with controlled access when being used.	Yes
4.11 The co-ordinator is fully responsible for all acquisitions using the card and there is a signed agreement to that effect. Each cardholder must sign a written acknowledgement.	Yes
4.12 A separate log or inventory exists for all acquisitions made by LPO, standing offer and acquisition card.	Yes but improvements possible (memo)
4.13 The card is not used for certain type of acquisitions specified by TB Policy e.g. travel related expenses, repairs, cash advances or interdepartmental transactions (this will be verified with SO 1 payables).	Yes
4.14 Payments to the credit card company are made promptly to avoid interest payments.	Yes

 

 

Sub-objective 5: To ensure that inventories are properly managed

Criteria	Summary of results
5.1 There is an officer identified as being responsible for the safe custody of the inventory of high value items and there is formal acceptance of that responsibility.	Yes
5.2 Accurate records are maintained of all items in the inventory	Not met. (see rec 4)
5.3 Periodic stocktaking is performed	Yes
5.4 There are procedures in place to account for and report losses or damages for write-off	Not met. (memo)
5.5 Inventories are properly safeguarded	Yes
5.6 There are documented departmental and regional instructions for the maintenance of inventory records and these are known.	Not met. No documented regional instructions. (see rec 4)

 

 

Sub-objective 6: To ensure that verification of interviewer pay is properly managed, a process exists to follow up on overpayments, and expense elements are accurately coded

Criteria	Summary result
6.1 There are up-to-date procedures outlining the responsibilities of managers and finance for the verification of interviewer pay claims	Partial, some procedures exist (see rec 5)
6.2 Managers conduct a verification of pay and expense claims (section 34 of FAA) before forwarding to finance	Yes
6.3 Financial officer is exercising its responsibility to ensure that a system of account verification exists	Yes
6.4 There is a process to follow up on overpayments (to do so requires an accurate records system and capacity to identify errors)	Yes
6.5 Expense elements of interviewer pay correspond to the appropriate line items in CDFS	Yes

 

 

Sub-objective 7: To ensure the security of regional employees, information and assets

Criteria	Summary result
7.1 A security officer is appointed and staff know who and where person is located	Not met (memo)
7.2 Procedures are in place for granting access to employees and visitors during and after regular hours	Met, with reservations. The issue was that the new magnetic doors were not functioning properly. This was addressed and resolved.
7.3 Emergency numbers are posted in central locations where staff can easily find them	Yes
7.4 Staff has been trained on security measures and know what procedures to follow under different circumstances e.g. gas smell, stranger in area	Not met (see rec 6)
7.5 Strangers are challenged	Yes
7.6 Staff members wear their ID according to security directives	Yes
7.7 Personnel screening procedures are in place to ensure that new hire employees are cleared in advance of beginning work (checked using tool for HR staffing)	Not met (see rec 7)
7.8 Procedures are in place to ensure that employees do not receive a user ID granting access to Network A or confidential information until personnel screening is completed.	Yes
7.9 Management controls are in place to ensure that A/B switches are not in use by those accessing information provided in confidence	Not met. (see rec 8)
7.10 A Committee on Occupational Safety and Health is established and is operational	Yes
7.11 Meetings are conducted on a regular basis	Yes
7.12 Minutes and decision records are posted in key areas and or E-Mailed to all staff	Not met. Not posted and not all staff has access to e-mail. (memo)
7.13 There are trained personnel on first aid and their names are posted	Yes
7.14 Fire extinguishers are in place and there are signs clearly indicating their locations	Yes
7.15 Employees have been trained on the procedures to follow when the alarms go off	Yes
7.16 Signs are posted indicating the location of emergency doors which are easily accessible	Yes

 

 

Sub-objective 8: Staffing under the Public Service Employment Act

Criteria	Summary result
8.1 Open and closed competition files contain all the key documents listed in the PSC Staffing Manual, Chapter 8. Key documents are duly completed and signed and show evidence that a process took place to apply relative merit, pursuant to the PSEA, section 10 (1). Gate-keeping and Senior Personnel Review Committee (SPRC) approvals have been obtained when necessary.	Yes but items coming from managers could be improved (see rec 9)
8.2 Staffing files for acting appointments and extensions of acting appointments (more than 4 months) contain key documents signed by delegated authorities, and show evidence that a process took place to apply relative merit, pursuant to the PSEA, section 10 (1) and PSER, section 7. Gate-keeping and SPRC approvals have been obtained when necessary.	Cannot conclude due to insufficient information. (see rec 10)
8.3 Term extensions files contain key documents signed by delegated authorities and show evidence that a right of appeal has been issued and that the 3-year cumulative period policy requirement has been applied, pursuant to section 10 (2) of the PSEA and section 7 of the 2003 Term Employment Policy. Gate-keeping and SPRC approvals have been obtained when necessary.	Cannot conclude due to insufficient information. (see rec 10)

 

 

Sub-obje ctive 9: Staffing for Statistical Survey Operations (SSO)

Criteria	Summary result
9.1 Staffing files show evidence that a competitive process to establish merit took place for all external appointments, internal promotions, and long-term acting assignments, pursuant to the Staffing Guidelines, sections 2 and 5.	For the records examined, there is evidence that key elements of a competitive process are used but cannot conclude due to insufficient information. (see rec 11)
9.2 The interviewer selection test has been administered during new hires staffing and all qualified candidates have obtained at least 65% on the test, pursuant to the Staffing Guidelines, section 5.2.4.	For the records examined, a selection test is administered but cannot conclude due to insufficient information. (see rec 11)

 

 

Sub-objective 10: To ensure that managers and HR personnel are being prepared for the introduction of HR Modernization

Criteria	Summary result
10.1 The HR manager is aware of the new accreditation requirements.	Yes
10.2 Training requirements are identified.	Yes
10.3 An HR learning plan is in place for HR personnel and managers.	Yes
10.4 HR personnel have received basic training. This could include Accountabilities & Responsibilities (P101), Enabling Skills for PSMA (P102), Preparation for PSMA Trainers (P103), PSEA – online (P106), Staffing for experienced staffing specialist ((P110) PSC ready in Sep) and Integrated HR & Business Planning (P100) (PSC ready in Oct).	Yes
10.5 Managers have or will receive basic training before the new policy.	Yes

 

Appendix B

Management Action Plan

Recommendations	Action Plan or Explanation of No action on the Recommendations	Responsible for Action	Estimated Completion Date	Status
The MSI manager should establish proper acqusition procedures to ensure that an officer with delegated authority signs before any acquisition is made:	MSI Manager has prepared proper procedures. The Finance Officer will perform periodic Audits to ensure compliance and will report these to the Director	Gary Dillon		Completed
The Director should take immediate steps to stop the early payment practice. He should ensure that clear procedures are in place that respect the 30 day release date for payments required under the Policy on Payment Requisitioning and Payment on Due Date and he should monitor the situation to ensure that this has been corrected:	The Director has taken action to ensure that existing PDD procedures are followed where possible. We maintain that there continues to be an issue with the larger companies (e.g. Bell Canada) that charge us interest when we apply PDD for their invoices. In light of our responsibility to manage Public Funds in the most cost efficient manner, we believe we should continue to pay some invoices as soon as they are received.	Doug Newson		Completed
The MSI manager should establish a set of procedures that would ensure that the best prices are obtained when using an LPO. The results of this process must be kept on file. Such procedures could include the pursuit of bids for each LPO. The MSI manager must also monitor the situation regularly to ensure that these new procedures are followed and that the problem has been corrected:	The MSI Manager has prepared a set of procedures outlining the process to be taken when acquisitioning goods through an LPO process and reflect the PWGSC guidelines that the “use of Standing Offers is Mandatory”. To ensure that these procedures are followed, all LPO must be signed under section 33 of the FAA by the Assistant Directors or the Regional Director. The Finance Officer will review files periodically to ensure compliance	Gary Dillon		Completed
We recommend that the MSI manager provide the individuals responsible for inventory items (both computer and non-computer) with written procedures and Read-only access to AMMIS should also be provided. In the case of non-computer inventory, the procedures should include a step that requires obtaining a C number before any equipment is deployed. The MSI manager should regularly monitor and provide feedback as required to the persons responsible for inventory items:	The responsibility of computer Inventories and A/B switches has been negotiated with ITSD. A signed SLA effective April 1st, 2006 establishes their responsibility. The MSI Manager has advised the ITSD representative of these findings and had them prepare procedures. As of April 24th, 2006, all persons responsible for Computer Inventories have access to AMMIS. As to non-computer equipment, the MSI Manager has prepared written procedures for purchasing and inventory control. The MSI Manager will monitor on a quarterly basis and access to AMMIS has been obtained for the Purchasing Clerk.	Gary Dillon		Completed
Regional Office Branch (ROB) should prepare guidelines for data collection managers (DCM) on their section 34 responsibilities and for the financial officer regarding section 33 and interviewer pay:	This has been referred to ROB for a national approach.	Manager, MS	Summer 2006
The Regional Director takes action to ensure that employees appropriately secure protected B data after hours, whether this is information provided in confidence, sensitive statistical information or other types of protected information such as personnel files. We also recommend that the RO either purchase a number of filing cabinets suitable for storing protected B information or consult with HO security to see how the present cabinets can be retro-fitted to meet security requirements:	All filing cabinets will be retro-fitted to meet security requirements May 5th, 2006. The Director has sent a note reminding all staff of their responsibility to ensure that protected B data is secured appropriately after hours. The Security Officer will carry out periodic inspections to ensure compliance.	Doug Newson		Completed
The director should introduce procedures to ensure that employees and interviewers be security cleared before they start working for the RO. This should be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure full compliance:	Staffing Guidelines dated October 2005 had been distributed to all staff. Part of the Guidelines dealt with Security Clearances (in bold lettering) emphasizing that no one was to be hired without an Enhanced Reliability Check. These will be re-distributed under the Director’s Signature with an emphasis on Security Clearances. The HR Consultant will audit a sample of files to ensure compliance	Doug Newson		Completed
The IT manager should maintain a list of A/B switch users and declarations should be filled out in accordance with the EDP Security Policy, Appendix A section 11 ii. This practice should be monitored on an ongoing basis:	This responsibility for issuing and maintaining an inventory has been moved to ITSD through the SLA. The MSI Manager has ensured that all existing users of A/B switches sign the declaration.	Gary Dillon		Completed
The HR function should not issue competition results before all required documents are received from managers:	Discussion on this procedure has taken place with the employees who are responsible for staffing. Reminder has been sent to Managers, and will continue to communicate on an on-going basis as new competitions are undertaken	Heather Jefferys		Completed
The HR manager should ensure that the filing system is put into proper order and maintained:	System has been established. HR employees are in the process of implementation. Student is being hired to complete this project	Heather Jefferys	Fall 2006	Partially Completed
The Assistant Director, Operations should create and maintain a central filing system and associated procedures for SSO staffing actions. Doing this in conjunction with Regional Office Branch headquarters would foster consistent standards across regional offices:	Our position is that this responsibility belongs to the HR unit. The HR Consultant will create and maintain a central filling system, prepare a “check List” for staffing files in conjunction with HO and the other Regions to develop procedures and offer guidance to the Operations staff to ensure compliance	Heather Jefferys	Fall 2006	Partially Completed

Addendum – September 2007

HR staffing

Following the approval of the original report and subject to a paragraph ⁵ found on page 15 of the report, internal audit revisited the two HR staffing sub-objectives. These sub-objectives are: Staffing under the Public Service Employment Act, and Staffing for Statistical Survey Operations (SSO). These are listed as sub-objectives 8 and 9 respectively in the report.

The criteria have changed slightly to reflect the new Public Service Employment Act and accompanying Regulations.

Criteria

Staffing under the Public Service Employment Act

1. Key documents are duly completed and signed and show evidence that a process took place to apply merit, pursuant to the PSEA, section 30. Gate-keeping and Senior Personnel Review Committee (SPRC) approvals have been obtained when necessary.
2. Staffing files for acting appointments and extensions of acting appointments (more than 4 months) contain key documents signed by delegated authorities, and show evidence that a process took place to apply relative merit, pursuant to the PSEA, section 30 and PSER, section 12 to 16 inclusively. Gate-keeping and SPRC approvals have been obtained when necessary.
3. Term extensions files contain key documents signed by delegated authorities and show evidence that a right of appeal has been issued (the 3-year cumulative period policy requirement, pursuant to section 7 of the 2003 Term Employment Policy, does not apply here). Gate-keeping and SPRC approvals have been obtained when necessary.

Staffing for Statistical Survey Operations (SSO)

1. Staffing files show evidence that a competitive process to establish merit took place for all external appointments, internal promotions, and long-term acting assignments, pursuant to the Staffing Guidelines, sections 2 and 5. Key documents are duly completed and signed.
2. The interviewer selection test has been administered during new hires staffing and all qualified candidates have obtained at least 65% on the test, pursuant to the Staffing Guidelines, section 5.2.4.

Scope and approach

The scope and approach for the HR staffing portion were unchanged from the original report. Please see page 4 of the original report for a description.

Findings

In this section only findings that are accompanied by recommendations are presented. Findings and recommendations that are minor or technical have been dealt with in a management memorandum.

Staffing under the Public Service Employment Act

We found that the regional office was mainly compliant with this sub-objective. The few items that require attention have been dealt with in a management memorandum.

Staffing for Statistical Survey Operations (SSO)

The present filing system for the SSO staffing process has recently been put in place in the Toronto regional office. This is in response to recommendation 11 of the original report which read "The Assistant Director, Operations should create and maintain a central filing system and associated procedures for SSO staffing actions. Doing this in conjunction with Regional Office Branch headquarters would foster consistent standards across regional offices."

We found that the files had been centralized. There was evidence of competitive processes and that merit was applied. There was also evidence that qualified candidates had obtained 65% on the test. We also found that the staffing file for the latest senior interviewer process was complete.

We expected to find that key documents for each staffing process would be duly completed and signed. We found that many documents listed in the PSC Staffing Manual, Chapter 8 ⁶, were not in the staffing files that we looked at (except for the latest senior interviewer process as noted above). These include:

• There was no documented request to initiate a staffing action (initialization). The manager determines how many new interviewers are required when a new contract comes in and an analysis of interviewers on hand is done. The requirements are then forwarded to the project managers and senior interviewers informally. A record of how many can be hired is not kept on file.
• A copy of the letters of offer is not kept in the central staffing files key documents. The offers are kept in the personnel files (in the pay unit).
• Personnel screening and verification of security status are not well documented.
• The merit criteria are not in the staffing files.
• The personnel screening consent form is not in the staffing files (at the present time some (about 50%) can be found in the personnel files)
• The qualifying lists are not signed by the manager or board members depending on the process.

It is our understanding that a working committee has been tasked with developing and identifying the key staffing documents that will be required when conducting each SSO staffing process. We were also told that a focal point has been assigned to ensure that staffing is conducted consistently across the region and that SSO staffing files are in order.

We also found that the competitive processes were not advertised.

The causes are various but the main one is, as noted above, the central filing system which is fairly new. It has been introduced in the last few months in response to a recommendation found in the original report. It is still a work in progress and the HR personnel trying to maintain and improve the files are at the mercy of the operation supervisors running the SSO competitions.

The request to initiate a staffing action (initialization) is absent because this is how the operations people have been working for a long time. Very often the exact number of new interviewers required can only be determined late in the process.

The competitive processes are not advertised because the regional office receives unsolicited résumés all the time.

The impact of incomplete documents in the staffing files is fairly minor. In the case of SSOs there is very little chance that the department could lose its delegation authority since it is a separate employer. Incomplete files, however, tend to make the staffing process riskier. It could also be perceived that we are not as transparent as we should be.

The fact that the competitive processes to hire new interviewers are not advertised could be perceived as if the organisation is showing favoritism. However, a recently activated electronic application system that forms part of the public service recruitment site allows job seekers to apply on-line for SSO positions. We were also told that, when required, vacancies are advertised through local media as well as posted in public locations (e.g. post office, library). This new process resolves the potential perception of favoritism.

Recommendation

The focal point must pursue the file centralizing work started just a few months ago. The newly formed working committee must determine the key staffing documents required when conducting each SSO staffing process. Educating and persuading operations managers on the file requirements and the benefits that will result must be pursued. Monitoring the implementation of the improved SSO staffing process should be conducted regularly to provide managers with an assurance that it is proper.

Management Action Plan (addendum)

Recommendation	Action Plan or Explanation of No action on the Recommendations	Responsible for Action	Estimated Completion Date	Status
The focal point must pursue the file centralizing work started just a few months ago. The newly formed working committee must determine the key staffing documents required when conducting each SSO staffing process. Educating and persuading operations managers on the file requirements and the benefits that will result must be pursued. Monitoring the implementation of the improved SSO staffing process should be conducted regularly to provide managers with an assurance that it is properly implemented.	The Central Region assigned the responsibility of SSO staffing to a single focal point who works with both the Human Resources function and Operations. This individual is responsible to ensure that staffing is conducted consistently across the region. She ensures that all the staffing files and paperwork for hiring SSO staff (CATI & CAPI) are in order. A national working committee headed by Connie Graziadei has been tasked with developing and identifying the key staffing documents that will be required when conducting each SSO staffing process. This will represent a consistent national approach. It is anticipated that the committee will soon be able to finalize their recommendations and guidelines which will be implemented nationally. The next step in this process will be to educate operational managers and supervisors on the new requirements. Human Resources will be responsible for the provision of training, and coordination of these staffing actions.	Connie Graziadei Heather Jefferys	June 2008

 

Notes

 

1. Purolator, Canada Post and Bell Canada were left out of the analysis for this criterion because one would not expect to find a signed form at the regional level for these contracts.
2. Purolator, Canada Post and Bell Canada were left out of the analysis for this criterion because one would not expect to find a signed form at the regional level for these contracts.
3. Due to the wide usage of blanket travel authorities, emergency travel situations seldom occur.
4. A number of findings, due to their minor nature, were discussed in a management memo. These findings are associated to the following criteria: 3.6, 4.12, 5.4, 6.2, 7.1 and 7.12.
5. "There have been changes in the HR employee complement and responsibilities since many of these staffing actions were completed. This, coupled with file location problems and the desire of the director to ensure that staffing is carried out according to standards, as well as an invitation by the director to return, suggests that Internal Audit Division should consider more audit work in this area in its next multi-year audit plan."
6. There is no legal obligation to apply the PSC Staffing Manual here but it was used as a proxy since no document stating the required documents was available at the time of the audit.

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• Objectives, uses and users
• Concepts, variables and classifications
• Coverage and frames
• Sampling
• Questionnaire design
• Response and non-response
• Data collection and capture operations
• Editing
• Imputation
• Estimation
• Revisions and seasonal adjustment
• Data quality evaluation
• Disclosure control

1. Objectives, uses and users

1.1. Objective

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) provides information on the performance of the retail trade sector on a monthly basis, and when combined with other statistics, represents an important indicator of the state of the Canadian economy.

1.2. Uses

The estimates provide a measure of the health and performance of the retail trade sector. Information collected is used to estimate level and monthly trend for retail sales. At the end of each year, the estimates provide a preliminary look at annual retail sales and performance.

1.3. Users

A variety of organizations, sector associations, and levels of government make use of the information. Retailers rely on the survey results to compare their performance against similar types of businesses, as well as for marketing purposes. Retail associations are able to monitor industry performance and promote their retail industries. Investors can monitor industry growth, which can result in better access to investment capital by retailers. Governments are able to understand the role of retailers in the economy, which aids in the development of policies and tax incentives. As an important industry in the Canadian economy, governments are able to better determine the overall health of the economy through the use of the estimates in the calculation of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

2. Concepts, variables and classifications

2.1. Concepts

The retail trade sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in retailing merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise.

The retailing process is the final step in the distribution of merchandise; retailers are therefore organized to sell merchandise in small quantities to the general public. This sector comprises two main types of retailers, that is, store and non-store retailers. The MRTS covers only store retailers. Their main characteristics are described below. Store retailers operate fixed point-of-sale locations, located and designed to attract a high volume of walk-in customers. In general, retail stores have extensive displays of merchandise and use mass-media advertising to attract customers. They typically sell merchandise to the general public for personal or household consumption, but some also serve business and institutional clients. These include establishments such as office supplies stores, computer and software stores, gasoline stations, building material dealers, plumbing supplies stores and electrical supplies stores.

In addition to selling merchandise, some types of store retailers are also engaged in the provision of after-sales services, such as repair and installation. For example, new automobile dealers, electronic and appliance stores and musical instrument and supplies stores often provide repair services, while floor covering stores and window treatment stores often provide installation services. As a general rule, establishments engaged in retailing merchandise and providing after sales services are classified in this sector. Catalogue sales showrooms, gasoline service stations, and mobile home dealers are treated as store retailers.

2.2. Variables

Sales are defined as the sales of all goods purchased for resale, net of returns and discounts. This includes commission revenue and fees earned from selling goods and services on account of others, such as selling lottery tickets, bus tickets, and phone cards. It also includes parts and labour revenue from repair and maintenance; revenue from rental and leasing of goods and equipment; revenues from services, including food services; sales of goods manufactured as a secondary activity; and the proprietor's withdrawals, at retail, of goods for personal use. Other revenue from rental of real estate, placement fees, operating subsidies, grants, royalties and franchise fees are excluded.

Trading Location is the physical location(s) in which business activity is conducted in each province and territory, and for which sales are credited or recognized in the financial records of the company. For retailers, this would normally be a store.

Constant Dollars: The value of retail trade is measured in two ways; including the effects of price change on sales and net of the effects of price change. The first measure is referred to as retail trade in current dollars and the latter as retail trade in constant dollars. The method of calculating the current dollar estimate is to aggregate the weighted value of sales for all retail outlets. The method of calculating the constant dollar estimate is to first adjust the sales values to a base year, using the Consumer Price Index, and then sum up the resulting values.

2.3. Classification

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey is based on the definition of retail trade under the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). NAICS is the agreed upon common framework for the production of comparable statistics by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. The agreement defines the boundaries of twenty sectors. NAICS is based on a production-oriented, or supply based conceptual framework in that establishments are groups into industries according to similarity in production processes used to produce goods and services.

Estimates appear for 21 industries based on special aggregations of the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industries. The 21 industries are further aggregated to 11 sub-sectors.

Geographically, sales estimates are produced for Canada and each province and territory.

3. Coverage and frames

Statistics Canada's Business Register (BR) provides the frame for the Monthly Retail Trade Survey. The BR is a structured list of businesses engaged in the production of goods and services in Canada. It is a centrally maintained database containing detailed descriptions of most business entities operating within Canada. The BR includes all incorporated businesses, with or without employees. For unincorporated businesses, the BR includes all employers with businesses, and businesses with no employees with annual sales that have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) or annual revenue that declares individual taxes. Annual sales greater than $30,000 that have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) account (the BR does not include unincorporated businesses with no employees and with annual sales less than $30,000).

The businesses on the BR are represented by a hierarchical structure with four levels, with the statistical enterprise at the top, followed by the statistical company, the statistical establishment and the statistical location. An enterprise can be linked to one or more statistical companies, a statistical company can be linked to one or more statistical establishments, and a statistical establishment to one or more statistical locations.

The target population for the MRTS consists of all statistical establishments on the BR that are classified to the retail sector using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) (approximately 200,000 establishments). The NAICS code range for the retail sector is 441100 to 453999. A statistical establishment is the production entity or the smallest grouping of production entities which: produces a homogeneous set of goods or services; does not cross provincial boundaries; and provides data on the value of output, together with the cost of principal intermediate inputs used, along with the cost and quantity of labour used to produce the output. The production entity is the physical unit where the business operations are carried out. It must have a civic address and dedicated labour.

The exclusions to the target population are ancillary establishments (producers of services in support of the activity of producing goods and services for the market of more than one establishment within the enterprise, and serves as a cost centre or a discretionary expense centre for which data on all its costs including labour and depreciation can be reported by the business), future establishments, establishments with a missing or a zero gross business income (GBI) value on the BR and establishments in the following non-covered NAICS:

• 4541 (electronic shopping and mail-order houses)
• 4542 (vending machine operators)
• 45431 (fuel dealers)
• 45439 (other direct selling establishments)

4. Sampling

The MRTS sample consists of 10,000 groups of establishments (clusters) classified to the Retail Trade sector selected from the Statistics Canada Business Register. A cluster of establishments is defined as all establishments belonging to a statistical enterprise that are in the same industrial group and geographical region. The MRTS uses a stratified design with simple random sample selection in each stratum. The stratification is done by industry groups (the mainly, but not only four digit level NAICS), and the geographical regions consisting of the provinces and territories, as well as three provincial sub-regions. We further stratify the population by size.

The size measure is created using a combination of independent survey data and three administrative variables: the annual profiled revenue, the GST sales expressed on an annual basis, and the declared tax revenue (T1 or T2). The size strata consist of one take-all (census), at most, two take-some (partially sampled) strata, and one take-none (non-sampled) stratum. Take-none strata serve to reduce respondent burden by excluding the smaller businesses from the surveyed population. These businesses should represent at most ten percent of total sales. Instead of sending questionnaires to these businesses, the estimates are produced through the use of administrative data.

The sample was allocated optimally in order to reach target coefficients of variation at the national, provincial/territorial, industrial, and industrial groups by province/territory levels. The sample was also inflated to compensate for dead, non-responding, and misclassified units.

MRTS is a repeated survey with maximisation of monthly sample overlap. The sample is kept month after month, and every month new units are added (births) to the sample. MRTS births, i.e., new clusters of establishment(s), are identified every month via the BR's latest universe. They are stratified according to the same criteria as the initial population. A sample of these births is selected according to the sampling fraction of the stratum to which they belong and is added to the monthly sample. Deaths occur on a monthly basis. A death can be a cluster of establishment(s) that have ceased their activities (out-of-business) or whose major activities are no longer in retail trade (out-of-scope). The status of these businesses is updated on the BR using administrative sources and survey feedback, including feedback from the MRTS. Methods to treat dead units and misclassified units are part of the sample and population update procedures.

5. Questionnaire design

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey incorporates the following sub-surveys:

Monthly Retail Trade Survey - R8

Monthly Retail Trade Survey (with inventories) – R8

Survey of Sales and Inventories of Alcoholic Beverages

The questionnaires collect monthly data on retail sales and the number of trading locations by province or territory and inventories of goods owned and intended for resale from a sample of retailers. The items on the questionnaires have remained unchanged for several years. For the 2004 redesign, the general questionnaires were subject to cosmetic changes only. The questionnaire for Sales and Inventories of Alcoholic Beverages underwent more extensive changes. The modifications were discussed with stakeholders and the respondents were given an opportunity to comment before the new questionnaire was finalized. If further changes are needed to any of the questionnaires, proposed changes would go through a review committee and a field test with respondents and data users to ensure its relevancy.

6. Response and non-response

6.1. Response and non-response

Despite the best efforts of survey managers and operations staff to maximize response in the MRTS, some non-response will occur. For statistical establishments to be classified as responding, the degree of partial response (where an accurate response is obtained for only some of the questions asked a respondent) must meet a minimum threshold level below which the response would be rejected and considered a unit non-response. In such an instance, the business is classified as not having responded at all.

Non-response has two effects on data: first it introduces bias in estimates when non-respondents differ from respondents in the characteristics measured; and second, it contributes to an increase in the sampling variance of estimates because the effective sample size is reduced from that originally sought.

The degree to which efforts are made to get a response from a non-respondent is based on budget and time constraints, its impact on the overall quality and the risk of non-response bias.

The main method to reduce the impact of non-response at sampling is to inflate the sample size through the use of over-sampling rates that have been determined from similar surveys.

Besides the methods to reduce the impact of non-response at sampling and collection, the non-responses to the survey that do occur are treated through imputation. In order to measure the amount of non-response that occurs each month, various response rates are calculated. For a given reference month, the estimation process is run at least twice (a preliminary and a revised run). Between each run, respondent data can be identified as unusable and imputed values can be corrected through respondent data. As a consequence, response rates are computed following each run of the estimation process.

For the MRTS, two types of rates are calculated (un-weighted and weighted). In order to assess the efficiency of the collection process, un-weighted response rates are calculated. Weighted rates, using the estimation weight and the value for the variable of interest, assess the quality of estimation. Within each of these types of rates, there are distinct rates for units that are surveyed and for units that are only modeled from administrative data that has been extracted from GST files.

To get a better picture of the success of the collection process, two un-weighted rates called the 'collection results rate' and the 'extraction results rate' are computed. They are computed by dividing the number of respondents by the number of units that we tried to contact or tried to receive extracted data for them. Non-monthly reporters (respondents with special reporting arrangements where they do not report every month but for whom actual data is available in subsequent revisions) are excluded from both the numerator and denominator for the months where no contact is performed.

In summary, the various response rates are calculated as follows:

Weighted rates:

Survey Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status i / Sum of survey weighted sales

where i = units that have either reported data that will be used in estimation or are converted refusals, or have reported data that has not yet been resolved for estimation.

Admin Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status ii / Sum of administrative weighted sales

where ii = units that have data that was extracted from administrative files and are usable for estimation.

Total Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status i or response status ii / Sum of all weighted sales

Un-weighted rates:

Survey Response rate (collection) =
Number of questionnaires with response status iii/ Number of questionnaires with response status iv

where iii = units that have either reported data (unresolved, used or not used for estimation) or are converted refusals.

where iv = all of the above plus units that have refused to respond, units that were not contacted and other types of non-respondent units.

Admin Response rate (extraction) =
Number of questionnaires with response status vi/ Number of questionnaires with response status vii

where vi = in-scope units that have data (either usable or non-usable) that was extracted from administrative files

where vii = all of the above plus units that have refused to report to the administrative data source, units that were not contacted and other types of non-respondent units.

(% of questionnaire collected over all in-scope questionnaires)

Collection Results Rate =
Number of questionnaires with response status iii / Number of questionnaires with response status viii

where iii = same as iii defined above

where viii = same as iv except for the exclusion of units that were contacted because their response is unavailable for a particular month since they are non-monthly reporters.

Extraction Results Rate =
Number of questionnaires with response status ix / Number of questionnaires with response status vii

where ix = same as vi with the addition of extracted units that have been imputed or were out of scope

where vii = same as vii defined above

(% of questionnaires collected over all questionnaire in-scope we tried to collect)

All the above weighted and un-weighted rates are provided at the industrial group, geography and size group level or for any combination of these levels.

Use of Administrative Data

Managing response burden is an ongoing challenge for Statistics Canada. In an attempt to alleviate response burden and survey costs, especially for smaller businesses, the MRTS has reduced the number of simple establishments in the sample that are surveyed directly and instead derives sales data for these establishments from Goods and Service Tax (GST) files using a statistical model. The model accounts for differences between sales and revenue (reported for GST purposes) as well as for the time lag between the survey reference period and the reference period of the GST file.

For more information on the methodology used for modeling sales from administrative data sources, refer to 'Monthly Retail Trade Survey: Use of Administrative Data' under 'Documentation' of the IMDB.

Table 1 contains the weighted response rates for all industry groups as well as for total retail trade for each province and territory. For more detailed weighted response rates, please contact the Marketing and Dissemination Section at (613) 951-3549, toll free: 1-877-421-3067 or by e-mail at retailinfo@statcan.

6.2. Methods used to reduce non-response at collection

Significant effort is spent trying to minimize non-response during collection. Methods used, among others, are interviewer techniques such as probing and persuasion, repeated re-scheduling and call-backs to obtain the information, and procedures dealing with how to handle non-compliant (refusal) respondents.

If data are unavailable at the time of collection, a respondent's best estimates are also accepted, and are subsequently revised once the actual data become available.

To minimize total non-response for all variables, partial responses are accepted. In addition, questionnaires are customized for the collection of certain variables, such as inventory, so that collection is timed for those months when the data are available.

Finally, to build trust and rapport between the interviewers and respondents, cases are generally assigned to the same interviewer each month. This action establishes a personal relationship between interviewer and respondent, and builds respondent trust.

7. Data collection and capture operations

Collection of the data is performed by Statistics Canada's Regional Offices.

Table 1
Weighted response rates by NAICS, for all provinces and territories: December 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 1: Weighted response rates by NAICS Weighted Response Rates (appearing as column headers).

	Weighted Response Rates
	Total	Survey	Administrative
NAICS - Canada
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers	91.8	92.6	56.9
Automobile Dealers	93.1	93.5	55.7
New Car Dealers	94.3	94.3	Note ...: not applicable
Used Car Dealers	74.1	78.2	55.7
Other Motor Vehicle Dealers	71.8	71.1	76.5
Automotive Parts, Accessories and Tire Stores	86.0	91.6	44.8
Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores	85.1	89.3	38.6
Furniture Stores	88.8	90.2	60.1
Home Furnishings Stores	79.8	88.0	28.4
Electronics and Appliance Stores	88.3	88.3	85.8
Building Material and Garden Equipment Dealers	84.5	87.2	54.8
Food and Beverage Stores	88.2	91.7	43.8
Grocery Stores	92.8	97.0	45.4
Grocery (except Convenience) Stores	93.9	97.9	47.2
Convenience Stores	75.8	83.2	30.9
Specialty Food Stores	71.3	76.2	45.7
Beer, Wine and Liquor Stores	78.7	80.1	24.3
Health and Personal Care Stores	90.9	91.4	83.8
Gasoline Stations	79.0	79.5	70.0
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores	87.9	88.5	62.9
Clothing Stores	88.0	88.5	61.0
Shoe Stores	91.1	91.9	11.9
Jewellery, Luggage and Leather Goods Stores	85.5	86.4	71.8
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book and Music Stores	89.8	92.6	49.2
General Merchandise Stores	97.4	97.9	23.8
Department Stores	100.0	100.0	Note ...: not applicable
Other general merchandise stores	94.9	96.0	23.8
Miscellaneous Store Retailers	81.9	87.0	39.5
Total	89.4	91.0	53.5
Regions
Newfoundland and Labrador	82.7	83.8	33.7
Prince Edward Island	89.3	90.3	29.5
Nova Scotia	92.4	93.4	57.1
New Brunswick	89.4	91.7	44.6
Québec	87.6	89.2	64.0
Ontario	91.9	93.8	47.9
Manitoba	84.6	85.2	57.1
Saskatchewan	90.7	92.5	44.4
Alberta	90.3	91.9	54.7
British Columbia	85.5	87.1	47.2
Yukon Territory	87.0	87.0	Note ...: not applicable
Northwest Territories	89.7	89.7	Note ...: not applicable
Nunavut	70.9	70.9	Note ...: not applicable
... not applicable

Weighted Response Rates

Respondents are sent a questionnaire or are contacted by telephone to obtain their sales and inventory values, as well as to confirm the opening or closing of business trading locations. Collection of the data begins approximately 7 working days after the end of the reference month and continues for the duration of that month.

New entrants to the survey are introduced to the survey via an introductory letter that informs the respondent that a representative of Statistics Canada will be calling. This call is to introduce the respondent to the survey, confirm the respondent's business activity, establish and begin data collection, as well as to answer any questions that the respondent may have.

8. Editing

Data editing is the application of checks to detect missing, invalid or inconsistent entries or to point to data records that are potentially in error. In the survey process for the MRTS, data editing is done at two different time periods.

First of all, editing is done during data collection. Once data are collected via the telephone, or via the receipt of completed mail-in questionnaires, the data are captured using customized data capture applications. All data are subjected to data editing. Edits during data collection are referred to as field edits and generally consist of validity and some simple consistency edits. They are used to detect mistakes made during the interview by the respondent or the interviewer and to identify missing information during collection in order to reduce the need for follow-up later on. Another purpose of the field edits is to clean up responses. In the MRTS, the current month's responses are edited against the respondent's previous month's responses and/or the previous year's responses for the current month. Field edits are also used to identify problems with data collection procedures and the design of the questionnaire, as well as the need for more interviewer training.

Follow-up with respondents occurs to validate potential erroneous data following any failed preliminary edit check of the data. Once validated, the collected data is regularly transmitted to the head office in Ottawa.

Secondly, editing known as statistical editing is also done after data collection and this is more empirical in nature. Statistical editing is run prior to imputation in order to identify the data that will be used as a basis to impute non-respondents. Large outliers that could disrupt a monthly trend are excluded from trend calculations by the statistical edits. It should be noted that adjustments are not made at this stage to correct the reported outliers.

The first step in the statistical editing is to identify which responses will be subjected to the statistical edit rules. Reported data for the current reference month will go through various edit checks.

The first set of edit checks is based on the Hidiriglou-Berthelot method whereby a ratio of the respondent's current month data over historical (last month, same month last year) or auxiliary data is analyzed. When the respondent's ratio differs significantly from ratios of respondents who are similar in terms of industry and/or geography group, the response is deemed an outlier.

The second set of edits consists of an edit known as the share of market edit. With this method, one is able to edit all respondents, even those where historical and auxiliary data is unavailable. The method relies on current month data only. Therefore, within a group of respondents, that are similar in terms of industrial group and/or geography, if the weighted contribution of a respondent to the group's total is too large, it will be flagged as an outlier.

For edit checks based on the Hidiriglou-Berthelot method, data that are flagged as an outlier will not be included in the imputation models (those based on ratios). Also, data that are flagged as outliers in the share of market edit will not be included in the imputation models where means and medians are calculated to impute for responses that have no historical responses.

In conjunction with the statistical editing after data collection of reported data, there is also error detection done on the extracted GST data. Modeled data based on the GST are also subject to an extensive series of processing steps which thoroughly verify each record that is the basis for the model as well as the record being modeled. Edits are performed at a more aggregate level (industry by geography level) to detect records which deviate from the expected range, either by exhibiting large month-to-month change, or differing significantly from the remaining units. All data which fail these edits are subject to manual inspection and possible corrective action.

9. Imputation

Imputation in the MRTS is the process used to assign replacement values for missing data. This is done by assigning values when they are missing on the record being edited to ensure that estimates are of high quality and that a plausible, internal consistency is created. Due to concerns of response burden, cost and timeliness, it is generally impossible to do all follow-ups with the respondents in order to resolve missing responses. Since it is desirable to produce a complete and consistent microdata file, imputation is used to handle the remaining missing cases.

In the MRTS, imputation is based on historical data or administrative data (GST sales). The appropriate method is selected according to a strategy that is based on whether historical data is available, auxiliary data is available and/or which reference month is being processed.

There are three types of historical imputation methods. The first type is a general trend that uses one historical data source (previous month, data from next month or data from same month previous year). The second type is a regression model where data from previous month and same month, previous year are used simultaneously. The third type uses the historical data as a direct replacement value for a non-respondent. Depending upon the particular reference month, there is an order of preference that exists so that top quality imputation can result. The historical imputation method that was labelled as the third type above is always the last option in the order for each reference month.

The imputation method using administrative data is automatically selected when historical information is unavailable for a non-respondent. Trends are then applied to the administrative data source (monthly size) depending on whether the structure is simple, e.g. enterprises with only one establishment, or the unit has a more complex structure.

10. Estimation

Estimation is a process that approximates unknown population parameters using only part of the population that is included in a sample. Inferences about these unknown parameters are then made, using the sample data and associated survey design. This stage uses Statistics Canada's Generalized Estimation System (GES).

For retail sales, the population is divided into a survey portion (take-all and take-some strata) and a non-survey portion (take-none stratum). From the sample that is drawn from the survey portion, an estimate for the population is determined through the use of a Horvitz-Thompson estimator where responses for sales are weighted by using the inverses of the inclusion probabilities of the sampled units. Such weights (called sampling weights) can be interpreted as the number of times that each sampled unit should be replicated to represent the entire population. The calculated weighted sales values are summed by domain, to produce the total sales estimates by each industrial group / geographic area combination. A domain is defined as the most recent classification values available from the BR for the unit and the survey reference period. These domains may differ from the original sampling strata because units may have changed size, industry or location. Changes in classification are reflected immediately in the estimates and do not accumulate over time. For the non-survey portion, the sales are estimated with statistical models using monthly GST sales.

For more information on the methodology for modeling sales from administrative data sources which also contributes to the estimates of the survey portion, refer to 'Monthly Retail Survey: Use of Administrative Data' under 'Documentation' of the IMDB.

The measure of precision used for the MRTS to evaluate the quality of a population parameter estimate and to obtain valid inferences is the variance. The variance from the survey portion is derived directly from a stratified simple random sample without replacement.

Sample estimates may differ from the expected value of the estimates. However, since the estimate is based on a probability sample, the variability of the sample estimate with respect to its expected value can be measured. The variance of an estimate is a measure of the precision of the sample estimate and is defined as the average, over all possible samples, of the squared difference of the estimate from its expected value.

11. Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Revisions in the raw data are required to correct known non-sampling errors. These normally include replacing imputed data with reported data, corrections to previously reported data, and estimates for new births that were not known at the time of the original estimates.

Raw data are revised, on a monthly basis, for the month immediately prior to the current reference month being published. That is, when data for December are being published for the first time, there will also be revisions, if necessary, to the raw data for November. In addition, revisions are made once a year, with the initial release of the February data, for all months in the previous years. The purpose is to correct any significant problems that have been found that apply for an extended period. The actual period of revision depends on the nature of the problem identified, but rarely exceeds three years. The revision period can be extended when historical revisions or restratitfication are done.

Retail trade data are seasonally adjusted using the X12-ARIMA method. This consists of extrapolating a year's worth of raw data with the ARIMA model (auto-regressive integrated moving average model), and of seasonally adjusting the raw time series. Finally, the annual totals of the seasonally adjusted series are forced to the annual totals of the original series.

The seasonally adjusted data also need to be revised. In part, they need to reflect the revisions identified for the raw data. Also, the seasonally adjusted estimates are calculated using X-12-ARIMA, and are sensitive to the most recent values reported in the raw data. For this reason, with the release of each month of new data, the seasonally adjusted values for the previous three months are revised. A seasonally adjusted time series is a time series that has been modified to eliminate the effect of seasonal and calendar influences. For this reason, the seasonally adjusted data allows for more meaningful comparisons of economic conditions from month to month.

Once a year, seasonal adjustments options are reviewed to take into account the most recent data. Revised seasonally adjusted estimates for each month in the previous years are released at the same time as the annual revision to the raw data. The actual period of revision depends on the number years the raw data was revised.

12. Data quality evaluation

The methodology of this survey has been designed to control errors and to reduce their potential effects on estimates. However, the survey results remain subject to errors, of which sampling error is only one component of the total survey error. Sampling error results when observations are made only on a sample and not on the entire population. All other errors arising from the various phases of a survey are referred to as nonsampling errors. For example, these types of errors can occur when a respondent provides incorrect information or does not answer certain questions; when a unit in the target population is omitted or covered more than once; when GST data for records being modeled for a particular month are not representative of the actual record for various reasons; when a unit that is out of scope for the survey is included by mistake or when errors occur in data processing, such as coding or capture errors.

Prior to publication, combined survey results are analyzed for comparability; in general, this includes a detailed review of individual responses (especially for large businesses), general economic conditions and historical trends.

A common measure of data quality for surveys is the coefficient of variation (CV). The coefficient of variation, defined as the standard error divided by the sample estimate, is a measure of precision in relative terms. Since the coefficient of variation is calculated from responses of individual units, it also measures some non-sampling errors.

The formula used to calculate coefficients of variation (CV) as percentages is:

CV (X) = S(X) * 100% / X
where X denotes the estimate and S(X) denotes the standard error of X.

Confidence intervals can be constructed around the estimates using the estimate and the CV. Thus, for our sample, it is possible to state with a given level of confidence that the expected value will fall within the confidence interval constructed around the estimate. For example, if an estimate of $12,000,000 has a CV of 2%, the standard error will be $240,000 (the estimate multiplied by the CV). It can be stated with 68% confidence that the expected values will fall within the interval whose length equals the standard deviation about the estimate, i.e. between $11,760,000 and $12,240,000.

Alternatively, it can be stated with 95% confidence that the expected value will fall within the interval whose length equals two standard deviations about the estimate, i.e. between $11,520,000 and $12,480,000.

Finally, due to the small contribution of the non-survey portion to the total estimates, bias in the non-survey portion has a negligible impact on the CVs. Therefore, the CV from the survey portion is used for the total estimate that is the summation of estimates from the surveyed and non-surveyed portions.

13. Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Confidentiality analysis includes the detection of possible "direct disclosure", which occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of a few respondents or when the cell is dominated by a few companies.

Preliminary Estimates, T1 Family File

User's Guide

Table of contents

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Charitable Donations (product #13C0014)
RRSP Contributors (product #17C0006)
Canadian Investors (product #17C0007)
Canadian Investment Income (product #17C0008)
Canadian Savers (product #17C0009)
Canadian Taxfilers (product #17C0010)
RRSP Contribution Limits (ROOM) (product # 17C0011)
Canadian Capital Gains (product #17C0012)
Data Source
Data Frequency
Data Quality
Confidentiality and Rounding
Glossary of Terms
Statistical Tables - Footnotes and Historical Availability
Geography

• Postal Geography
• Census Geography
• User-defined areas:

Geographic Levels – Postal Geography

• Adding Postal Areas Without Duplication
• City identification number (CityID)
• Hierarchy of postal geography

Geographic Levels – Census Geography
Geographic Levels – Special Geography
We Invite Your Comments
List of available data products

Income Statistics Division
Statistics Canada
income@statcan.gc.ca
February 2015

Text begins

Data Source

The financial and donors databanks are derived from income tax returns. For the most part, tax returns were filed in the spring of the year following the reference year. For example, for the 2013 tax year, most income tax returns were filed by April 30, 2014.

Demographic characteristics such as age are given as of December 31 of the tax year. Income information is for the calendar year under review.

The data for the products associated with this release are derived from an early version of a file that Statistics Canada receives from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The file benefits from timeliness, but loses some accuracy because of it. This earlier tax file, often referred to as the T1 preliminary file, contains about 97% of the records on the CRA file received four to five months later.

Data Frequency

Data are updated on an annual basis.

Data Quality

i) Number of Canadian taxfilers

The data used are direct counts from T1 preliminary tax file. For the 2013 tax year, 25.5 million Canadians or 71.9% filed tax returns.

Table A – Number of Canadian Taxfilers
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table A – Number of Canadian Taxfilers. The information is grouped by Tax year (appearing as row headers), Number of Taxfilers ('000), Date of Population Estimate, Population ('000) and Coverage (%) (appearing as column headers).

Tax year	Number of Taxfilers ('000)	Date of Population Estimate	Population ('000)	Coverage (%)
1991	18,786	01-Apr-92	28,270	66.5%
1992	19,267	01-Apr-93	28,601	67.4%
1993	19,882	01-Apr-94	28,907	68.8%
1994	20,184	01-Apr-95	29,212	69.1%
1995	20,536	01-Apr-96	29,514	69.6%
1996	20,772	01-Apr-97	29,818	69.7%
1997	21,113	01-Apr-98	30,080	70.2%
1998	21,431	01-Apr-99	30,315	70.7%
1999	21,893	01-Apr-00	30,594	71.6%
2000	22,249	01-Apr-01	30,911	72.0%
2001	22,804	01-Apr-02	31,252	73.0%
2002	22,968	01-Apr-03	31,548	72.8%
2003	23,268	01-Apr-04	31,846	73.1%
2004	23,625	01-Apr-05	32,143	73.5%
2005	23,952	01-Apr-06	32,471	73.8%
2006	24,258	01-Apr-07	32,818	73.9%
2007	24,624	01-Apr-08	33,191	74.2%
2008	24,987	01-Apr-09	33,604	74.4%
2009Note 1	24,321	01-Apr-10	34,002	71.5%
2010Note 1	24,495	01-Apr-11	34,368	71.3%
2011Note 1	24,842	01-Apr-12	34,754	71.5%
2012Note 1	25,160	01-Apr-13	35,025	71.8%
2013Note 1	25,483	01-Apr-14	35,416	71.9%
Note 1. Since 2009, the count of tax filers is based on the T1 preliminary tax file from the Canada Revenue Agency. Return to note 1 referrer Percent coverage is based on a comparison of the number of taxfilers in the Income Statistics Division's taxfilers databank and the population estimates from the Statistics Canada CANSIM table 051-0005, now available on the Statistics Canada web site.

ii) Elderly population

Some elderly Canadians receiving only Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement do not file because they have low or no taxable income. However, with the introduction of the Federal Sales Tax (FST) Credit in 1986 and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Credit in 1990, the percentage of the elderly population filing tax returns has increased.

iii) Low Income

Persons below a certain level of income with low income have no tax liability and are not required to file tax returns.  However, with the introduction of the Child Tax Credit in 1978, the Federal Sales Tax (FST) Credit in 1986, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Credit in 1990, and the Child Tax Benefits in 1993, persons with low income are still likely to file tax returns in order to apply for these credits.

Confidentiality and Rounding

Over the years since its creation, the T1 Family File (T1FF) has become known as a reliable, annual source for income and demographic estimates. To protect the confidentiality of Canadians, all data are subject to the confidentiality procedures of rounding and suppression.

All counts are rounded. Rounding may increase, decrease, or cause no change to counts. Rounding can affect the results obtained from calculations. For example, when calculating percentages from rounded data, results may be distorted as both the numerator and denominator have been rounded. The distortion can be greatest with small numbers.

All reported amounts are rounded to the nearest $5,000 dollars.

Since 1990, data cells represent counts of 15 or greater, and are rounded to a base of 10. For example, a cell count of 15 would be rounded to 20 and a cell count of 24 would be rounded to 20.

Note: Counts represent the number of persons. Reported amounts are aggregate dollar amounts reported.

In the data tables:
Medians, Percentiles and Average amount are rounded to the nearest ten dollars.
Percentages are published with no decimal and calculated on rounded data; therefore, the sum of percentages might not equal 100% in the case of small counts.

Suppressed Data

To maintain confidentiality, data cells have been suppressed whenever:

• areas comprise less than 100 taxfilers;
• cells represent less than 15 taxfilers;
• cells were dominated by a single filer;

Suppressed data may occur:

i) Within one area:

• when one of the income categories is suppressed, a second category must also be suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential data by subtraction (called residual disclosure);
• when one of the gender categories is suppressed, the other gender category must also be suppressed to avoid residual disclosure;
• when one age group category is suppressed, another age group must also be suppressed to avoid residual disclosure.

ii) Between areas:

• when a variable amount in one area is suppressed, that variable amount is also suppressed in another area to prevent disclosure by subtraction.

RRSP Contributors (product #17C0006)

This databank provides information on taxfilers who contributed to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) during the tax year under review.

The content of the databank is as follows:

Table 1:  Summary
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Number of RRSP contributors
Column 8 – Average age of RRSP contributors
Column 9 – Median employment income of RRSP contributors
Column 10 – 75th percentile of employment income of RRSP contributors
Column 11 – Amount of RRSP dollars reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 12 – Median RRSP contribution

Table 2:  Age groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Total number of RRSP contributors
Column 8 – Percent of contributors 0 to 24 years of age
Column 9 – Percent of contributors 25 to 34 years of age
Column 10 – Percent of contributors 35 to 44 years of age
Column 11 – Percent of contributors 45 to 54 years of age
Column 12 – Percent of contributors 55 to 64 years of age
Column 13 – Percent of contributors 65+ years of age
Column 14 – Total amount of RRSP dollars reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 15 – Percent of contributions reported by age group 0 to 24
Column 16 – Percent of contributions reported by age group 25 to 34
Column 17 – Percent of contributions reported by age group 35 to 44
Column 18 – Percent of contributions reported by age group 45 to 54
Column 19 – Percent of contributions reported by age group 55 to 64
Column 20 – Percent of contributions reported by age group 65+

Table 3:  Sex
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Percent of taxfilers who are male
Column 8 – Percent of taxfilers who are female
Column 9 – Total number of RRSP Contributors
Column 10 – Percent of contributors who are male
Column 11 – Percent of contributors who are female
Column 12 – Total amount of RRSP dollars reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 13 – Percent of contributions reported by males
Column 14 – Percent of contributions reported by females
Column 15 – Median RRSP contribution of all contributors
Column 16 – Median RRSP contribution of males
Column 17 – Median RRSP contribution of females

Table 4:  Income groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Total number of RRSP contributors
Column 8 – Percent of RRSP contributors with total income less than $20,000
Column 9 – Percent of RRSP contributors with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 10 – Percent of RRSP contributors with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 11 – Percent of RRSP contributors with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 12 – Percent of RRSP contributors with total income $80,000+
Column 13 – Total amount of RRSP dollars reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 14 – Percent of total RRSP amount reported by contributors with total income less than $20,000
Column 15 – Percent of total RRSP amount reported by contributors with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 16 – Percent of total RRSP amount reported by contributors with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 17 – Percent of total RRSP amount reported by contributors with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 18 – Percent of total RRSP amount reported by contributors with total income $80,000+

RRSP Contribution Limits (ROOM) (product # 17C0011)

The Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) Room databank was created to provide information on the RRSP contribution limit (RRSP Room) available. This product can be used in conjunction with the RRSP databank which concentrates on the RRSP contributors.

In 1989, the legislation dictated that contribution limits for persons not contributing to a registered pension plan (RPP) or a Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (DPSP) was 20% of earned income to a maximum of $7,500. The limit for RPP and DPSP members was 20% of earned income to a maximum of $3,500 less the amount contributed by the employee to the RPP or DPSP.

Further amendments to the Income Tax Act relative to RRSPs, taking effect January 1, 1991, were intended to make RRSP contribution limits more equitable. The RRSP contribution limit was set at 18% of earned income for the previous tax year, to a set maximum minus the Pension Adjustment (PA). The PA represents the calculated value of the pension accrued through an RPP or a DPSP in the previous tax year.

Total RRSP Room represents the deduction limit that Canadians can claim with respect to contributions made to RRSPs. It does not include income eligible for transfers, such as retiring allowances and severance pay that may be rolled over into RRSPs. The sum of the deduction limit and rollovers represents the maximum amount that can be claimed as a deduction on line 208 of the income tax return.

 

Table B – New Room – Calculation of RRSP Contribution Limits
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table B – New Room – Calculation of RRSP Contribution Limits. The information is grouped by Earned income
in tax year (appearing as row headers), New room, Unused room and Total room
(for tax year+1) (appearing as column headers).

Earned income in tax year	New room	Unused room	Total room (for tax year+1)
1991	For 1992	pre1991 = 0	New room only
1992	For 1993	1991 to 1992	Unused room + new room
1993	For 1994	1991 to 1993	Unused room + new room
1994	For 1995	1991 to 1994	Unused room + new room
1995	For 1996	1991 to 1995	Unused room + new room
1996	For 1997	1991 to 1996	Unused room + new room
1997	For 1998	1991 to 1997	Unused room + new room
1998	For 1999	1991 to 1998	Unused room + new room
1999	For 2000	1991 to 1999	Unused room + new room
2000	For 2001	1991 to 2000	Unused room + new room
2001	For 2002	1991 to 2001	Unused room + new room
2002	For 2003	1991 to 2002	Unused room + new room
2003	For 2004	1991 to 2003	Unused room + new room
2004	For 2005	1991 to 2004	Unused room + new room
2005	For 2006	1991 to 2005	Unused room + new room
2006	For 2007	1991 to 2006	Unused room + new room
2007	For 2008	1991 to 2007	Unused room + new room
2008	For 2009	1991 to 2008	Unused room + new room
2009	For 2010	1991 to 2009	Unused room + new room
2010	For 2011	1991 to 2010	Unused room + new room
2011	For 2012	1991 to 2011	Unused room + new room
2012	For 2013	1991 to 2012	Unused room + new room
2013	For 2014	1991 to 2013	Unused room + new room

Calculation of contribution limits

For 1990, maximum contributions are:

• for non-participants in RPPs and DPSPs, the lesser of 20% of earned income and $7,500
• for participants in RPPs and DPSPs, 20% of earned income to a maximum of $3,500; the maximum is reduced according to employee contributions to RPPs/DPSPs.

For 1991 to 2013:

New room = 18% of earned income - PA - PSPA

Percentage of earned income to a maximum of

• $11,500 for 1991
• $12,500 for 1992 and 1993
• $13,500 for 1994
• $14,500 for 1995
• $13,500 for 1996
• $13,500 for 1997
• $13,500 for 1998
• $13,500 for 1999
• $13,500 for 2000
• $13,500 for 2001
• $13,500 for 2002
• $14,500 for 2003
• $15,500 for 2004
• $16,500 for 2005
• $18,000 for 2006
• $19,000 for 2007
• $20,000 for 2008
• $21,000 for 2009
• $22,000 for 2010
• $22,450 for 2011
• $22,970 for 2012
• $23,820 for 2013

Where PA = Pension Adjustment, and PSPA = Past Service Pension Adjustment

Prior to tax year 2000 (Room 2001):

Total Room (for tax year+1) = Unused Room (from 1991 forward) + New Room

For tax years 2000 to 2013 (Room 2001 to Room 2014):

Total Room (for tax year+1) = Unused Room accumulated since 1991 + (18% of earned income – Pension adjustment) – Current tax year contributions excluding rollovers

Data source for RRSP Room

Prior to the release of data for tax year 2000, the RRSP ROOM data were derived from a file received annually from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA, formerly Canada Customs and Revenue Agency). CRA generated the data from an administrative system designed in response to changes to the Income Tax Act with respect to Registered Retirement Savings Plans, changes that took effect January 1, 1991.

The system records information for each taxfiler with "earned income" (income used to determine the RRSP deduction limit). The information includes each year's earned income, new room amounts and unused room amounts carried forward.

Starting with the 2001 ROOM (2000 tax data), the amount of RRSP Room is calculated from other variables on the preliminary file, variables which were previously unavailable.

This year's release of the RRSP Room data is based on 2013 income tax returns. Contributions towards these limits can be made up to February 2015, to be reported on the 2014 tax returns. The mailing address at the time of filing is the basis for the geographic information in the tables.

The content of the databank is as follows:

Table 1: Persons with room
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk number (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see Geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Amount of Room dollars reported (in thousands of $)
Column 7 – Amount of Unused Room dollars reported (in thousands of $)
Column 8 – Amount of New Room dollars reported (in thousands of $)
Column 9 – Number of taxfilers with Room
Column 10 – Number of taxfilers with Unused Room
Column 11 – Number of taxfilers with New Room

Table 2: Characteristics of persons with new room
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk number (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see Geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Number of taxfilers with New Room
Column 7 – Average Age of taxfilers with New Room
Column 8 – Percentage Female taxfilers with New Room
Column 9 – Median Earned Income of taxfilers with New Room
Column 10 – Average New Room
Column 11 – Percentage of taxfilers with New Room between $500 and $2,399
Column 12 – Percentage of taxfilers with New Room between $2,400 and $4,699
Column 13 – Percentage of taxfilers with New Room between $4,700 and $7,799
Column 14 – Percentage of taxfilers with New Room between $7,800 and $12,999
Column 15 – Percentage of taxfilers with New Room greater than $13,000

Additional notes for Table 2:

Column 11: The first value represents the 25th percentile and is recalculated periodically.
Column 12: The first value represents the 50th percentile and is recalculated periodically.
Column 13: The first value represents the 75th percentile and is recalculated periodically.
Column 14: The first value represents the 90th percentile and is recalculated periodically.
Column 15: The value represents the 97th percentile and is recalculated periodically.

Canadian Savers (product #17C0009)

This databank provides information on taxfilers who have been classified as savers.

Savers are defined as taxfilers who reported interest and investment income on line 121, but no dividend income on line 120 of the personal income tax return.

Interest and investment income sources would include interest from Canada Savings bonds, bank accounts, treasury bills, investment certificates, term deposits, earnings on life insurance policies as well as foreign interest and dividend income.

Dividend income would include dividends from taxable Canadian corporations (as stocks or mutual funds), but not dividends from foreign investments.

Taxfilers reporting Canadian dividend income would not be counted as savers, but would be classified as investors.

The content of the databank is as follows:

Table 1: Summary
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Number of savers
Column 8 – Average age of savers
Column 9 – Median total income of savers
Column 10 – Total amount of interest dollars reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 11 – Median of interest dollars

Table 2: Age groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Total number of savers
Column 8 – Percent of savers 0-24 years of age
Column 9 – Percent of savers 25-34 years of age
Column 10 – Percent of savers 35-44 years of age
Column 11 – Percent of savers 45-54 years of age
Column 12 – Percent of savers 55-64 years of age
Column 13 – Percent of savers 65+ years of age
Column 14 – Total amount of interest income dollars reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 15 – Percent of interest income reported by age group 0-24
Column 16 – Percent of interest income reported by age group 25-34
Column 17 – Percent of interest income reported by age group 35-44
Column 18 – Percent of interest income reported by age group 45-54
Column 19 – Percent of interest income reported by age group 55-64
Column 20 – Percent of interest income reported by age group 65+

Table 3: Sex
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Percent of taxfilers who are male
Column 8 – Percent of taxfilers who are female
Column 9 – Total number of savers
Column 10 – Percent of savers who are male
Column 11 – Percent of savers who are female
Column 12 – Total amount of interest income reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 13 – Percent of interest income reported by males
Column 14 – Percent of interest income reported by females
Column 15 – Median interest income of all savers
Column 16 – Median interest income of all male savers
Column 17 – Median interest income of all female savers

Table 4: Income groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Total number of savers
Column 8 – Percent of savers with total income less than $20,000
Column 9 – Percent of savers with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 10 – Percent of savers with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 11 – Percent of savers with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 12 – Percent of savers with total income $80,000+
Column 13 – Total amount of interest income reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 14 – Percent of interest income reported by savers with total income less than $20,000
Column 15 – Percent of interest income reported by savers with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 16 – Percent of interest income reported by savers with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 17 – Percent of interest income reported by savers with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 18 – Percent of interest income reported by savers with total income $80,000+

Canadian Investors (product #17C0007)

This databank provides information on taxfilers classified as investors.

Investors include taxfilers who reported dividend income on line 120 of their personal tax return. They may or may not have also reported interest and other investment income on line 121. When income is also reported on line 121, that amount is added to the amount of dividend income received, and the sum becomes the investment income of the investor.

The content of the databank is as follows:

Table 1: Summary
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Number of investors
Column 8 – Average age of investors
Column 9 – Median total income of investors
Column 10 – Amount of investment dollars (in thousands of dollars)
Column 11 – Percentage of the investment income derived from dividends
Column 12 – Median investment income

Table 2: Age groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Total number of investors
Column 8 – Percent of investors 0-24 years of age
Column 9 – Percent of investors 25-34 years of age
Column 10 – Percent of investors 35-44 years of age
Column 11 – Percent of investors 45-54 years of age
Column 12 – Percent of investors 55-64 years of age
Column 13 – Percent of investors 65+ years of age
Column 14 – Total amount of investment income dollars reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 15 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 0-24
Column 16 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 25-34
Column 17 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 35-44
Column 18 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 45-54
Column 19 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 55-64
Column 20 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 65+

Table 3: Sex
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Percent of taxfilers who are male
Column 8 – Percent of taxfilers who are female
Column 9 – Total number of investors
Column 10 – Percent of investors who are male
Column 11 – Percent of investors who are female
Column 12 – Total amount of investment income reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 13 – Percent of investment income reported by males
Column 14 – Percent of investment income reported by females
Column 15 – Median investment income of all investors
Column 16 – Median investment income of all male investors
Column 17 – Median investment income of all female investors

Table 4: Income groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Total number of investors
Column 8 – Percent of investors with total income less than $20,000
Column 9 – Percent of investors with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 10 – Percent of investors with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 11 – Percent of investors with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 12 – Percent of investors with total income $80,000+
Column 13 – Total amount of investment income reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 14 – Percent of investment income reported by investors with total income less than $20,000
Column 15 – Percent of investment income reported by investors with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 16 – Percent of investment income reported by investors with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 17 – Percent of investment income reported by investors with total income
between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 18 – Percent of investment income reported by investors with total income
$80,000+

Canadian Investment Income (product #17C0008)

This databank provides information on taxfilers who reported dividend income on line 120 of the tax return, or interest and other investment income on line 121, or both. These taxfilers include those designated as savers and those designated as investors in two other databanks available: Canadian Savers and Canadian Investors. In this databank, investment income includes both interest and dividends.

Dividend income includes dividends from taxable Canadian corporations (as stocks or mutual funds).

Interest and other investment income sources include interest from Canada Savings bonds, bank accounts, treasury bills, investment certificates, term deposits, earnings on life insurance policies as well as foreign interest and dividend income.

The content of the databank is as follows:

Table 1: Summary
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Number of taxfilers with investment income
Column 8 – Average age of taxfilers with investment income
Column 9 – Median total income of taxfilers with investment income
Column 10 – Reported investment income dollars for all taxfilers with investment income (in thousands of dollars)
Column 11 – Median investment income for all taxfilers with investment income

Table 2: Age groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Total number of receivers of investment income
Column 8 – Percent of receivers of investment income 0-24 years of age
Column 9 – Percent of receivers of investment income 25-34 years of age
Column 10 – Percent of receivers of investment income 35-44 years of age
Column 11 – Percent of receivers of investment income 45-54 years of age
Column 12 – Percent of receivers of investment income 55-64 years of age
Column 13 – Percent of receivers of investment income 65+ years of age
Column 14 - Total amount of investment income dollars reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 15 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 0-24
Column 16 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 25-34
Column 17 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 35-44
Column 18 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 45-54
Column 19 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 55-64
Column 20 – Percent of investment income reported by age group 65+

Table 3: Sex
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Percent of taxfilers who are male
Column 8 – Percent of taxfilers who are female
Column 9 – Total number of receivers of investment income
Column 10 – Percent of receivers of investment income who are male
Column 11 – Percent of receivers of investment income who are female
Column 12 – Total amount of investment income reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 13 – Percent of investment income reported by males
Column 14 – Percent of investment income reported by females
Column 15 – Median investment income of all receivers of investment income
Column 16 – Median investment income of all male receivers of investment income
Column 17 – Median investment income of all female receivers of investment income

Table 4: Income groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Total number of receivers of investment income
Column 8 – Percent of receivers of investment income with total income less than $20,000
Column 9 – Percent of receivers of investment income with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 10 – Percent of receivers of investment income with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 11 – Percent of receivers of investment income with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 12 – Percent of receivers of investment income with total income $80,000+
Column 13 – Total amount of investment income reported (in thousands of dollars)
Column 14 – Percent of investment income reported by receivers of investment income with total income less than $20,000
Column 15 – Percent of investment income reported by receivers of investment income with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 16 – Percent of investment income reported by receivers of investment income with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 17 – Percent of investment income reported by receivers of investment income with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 18 – Percent of investment income reported by receivers of investment income with total income $80,000+

Canadian Capital Gains (product #17C0012)

This databank provides information on taxfilers who reported capital gains during the tax year under review.

Line 127 of the T1 income tax return contains the amount of taxable capital gains reported by Canadians; this value is half the actual capital gains received. The information in this databank reflects the total capital gains received; amounts reported have been grossed up to reflect this total.

The content of the databank is as follows:

Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Number of taxfilers reporting capital gains
Column 8 – Percent of taxfilers reporting capital gains who had a total income under $20,000
Column 9 – Percent of taxfilers reporting capital gains who had a total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 10 – Percent of taxfilers reporting capital gains who had a total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 11 – Percent of taxfilers reporting capital gains who had a total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 12 – Percent of taxfilers reporting capital gains who had a total income of $80,000+
Column 13 – Total value of capital gains (in thousands of dollars)
Column 14 – Percent of capital gains reported by taxfilers with a total income under $20,000
Column 15 – Percent of capital gains reported by taxfilers with a total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 16 – Percent of capital gains reported by taxfilers with a total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 17 – Percent of capital gains reported by taxfilers with a total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 18 – Percent of capital gains reported by taxfilers with a total income of $80,000+

Canadian Taxfilers (product #17C0010)

This databank provides a demographic and income profile of Canadians who filed a personal tax return in the reference year, according to the T1 preliminary file.

The content of the databank is as follows:

Table 1: Summary
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Percent of taxfilers 0-24 years of age
Column 8 – Percent of taxfilers 25-34 years of age
Column 9 – Percent of taxfilers 35-44 years of age
Column 10 – Percent of taxfilers 45-54 years of age
Column 11 – Percent of taxfilers 55-64 years of age
Column 12 – Percent of taxfilers 65+ years of age
Column 13 – Average age of taxfilers
Column 14 – Median total income of taxfilers
Column 15 – 75th percentile of total income of taxfilers
Column 16 – 85th percentile of total income of taxfilers
Column 17 – 95th percentile of total income of taxfilers
Column 18 – Median employment income of taxfilers
Column 19 – 75th percentile of employment income of taxfilers

Table 2: Income Groups
Column 1 – City identification number
Column 2 – Postal area
Column 3 – Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 – Level of geography (see geography section)
Column 5 – Place name
Column 6 – Number of taxfilers
Column 7 – Percent of taxfilers with total income less than $20,000
Column 8 – Percent of taxfilers with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 9 – Percent of taxfilers with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 10 – Percent of taxfilers with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 11 – Percent of taxfilers with total income $80,000+
Column 12 – Value of total income (in thousands of dollars)
Column 13 – Percent of total income reported by taxfilers with total income less than $20,000
Column 14 – Percent of total income reported by taxfilers with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 15 – Percent of total income reported by taxfilers with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 16 – Percent of total income reported by taxfilers with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 17 – Percent of total income reported by taxfilers with total income $80,000+

Charitable Donations (product #13C0014)

This databank provides information on taxfilers classified as charitable donors. Charitable donors are defined as taxfilers reporting donations on line 340 of the tax return.

Canadians contribute in many ways to charitable organizations. The databank on charitable donors provides information on taxfilers who claimed a tax credit for charitable donations on their income tax return in the reference year. These data may include donations that might be denied by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) after an audit. To find out more about why donations might be denied (i.e. tax shelter gifting arrangements, false receipting) please go to the Canada Revenue Agency website.

Persons making charitable donations, but not reporting them on their personal tax return are not included in this databank. These include donations for which no receipt was provided and donations for which the receipt was lost. No estimate of such donations is included in these data.

Only donations made to approved organizations are allowable as deductions in the tax system. Donations are eligible if made to Canadian registered charities and Canadian amateur athletic associations. They are also eligible if made to: prescribed universities outside Canada; certain tax exempt housing organizations in Canada; Canadian municipalities; the United Nations; and certain charities outside Canada to which the Government of Canada has made a gift.

It is possible to carry donations forward for up to five years after the year in which they were made. In the reference year, it is possible to claim donations made in any of the previous five years, as long as they were not already claimed in a prior year. The donations made in the reference year could be claimed the same year, or could be carried forward to any of the next five years. According to tax laws, taxfilers are permitted to claim both their donations and those made by their spouses to get better tax benefits. Consequently, the number of persons who made charitable donations may be higher than the number who claimed tax credits.

A change in tax regulations was introduced in 2007. Taxfilers contributing to a recognized charity (as outlined above) were eligible to claim a tax credit of 15% of their donations on the first $200, and 29% on the rest. In 2006, the tax credit was 15.25% on the first $200 and 29% on the rest. In 2005, the tax credit was 15% on the first $200 and 29% on the rest. From 2001 to 2004, the tax credit was 16% on the first $200 and 29% on the rest. From 1992 to 2000, the tax credit was 17% on the first $200 and 29% on the rest. Previously, taxfilers had to give $250 to charity before the 29% credit was available.

The content of the databank is as follows:

Table 1: Summary
Column 1 - City identification number
Column 2 - Postal area
Column 3 - Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 - Level of geography (see Geography section)
Column 5 - Place name
Column 6 - Total Number of taxfilers
Column 7 - Number of charitable donors
Column 8 - Average age of donors
Column 9 - Average donation for age group 0-24
Column 10 - Average donation for age group 25-34
Column 11 - Average donation for age group 35-44
Column 12 - Average donation for age group 45-54
Column 13 - Average donation for age group 55-64
Column 14 - Average donation for age group 65+
Column 15 - Total amount of charitable donations (thousands of $)
Column 16 - Median donation
Column 17 - Median total income of donors
Column 18 - 75th percentile of donors' total income

Table 2: Age and Sex (new beginning with 1995)
Column 1 - City identification number
Column 2 - Postal area
Column 3 - Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 - Level of geography (see Geography section)
Column 5 - Place name
Column 6 - Total Number of taxfilers
Column 7 - Percent of taxfilers who are male
Column 8 - Percent of taxfilers who are female
Column 9 - Number of charitable donors
Column 10 - Percent of charitable donors who are male
Column 11 - Percent of charitable donors who are female
Column 12 - Percent of donors 0 - 24 years of age
Column 13 - Percent of donors 25 - 34 years of age
Column 14 - Percent of donors 35 - 44 years of age
Column 15 - Percent of donors 45 - 54 years of age
Column 16 - Percent of donors 55 - 64 years of age
Column 17 - Percent of donors 65+ years of age
Column 18 - Total median donation
Column 19 - Median donation of males
Column 20 - Median donation of females
Column 21 - Total amount of charitable donations (thousands of $)
Column 22 - Total amount of charitable donations for males (thousands of $)
Column 23 - Total amount of charitable donations for females (thousands of $)

Table 3: Income Groups (new beginning with 1997)
Column 1 - City identification number
Column 2 - Postal area
Column 3 - Postal walk (no longer available)
Column 4 - Level of geography (see Geography section)
Column 5 - Place name
Column 6 - Total number of taxfilers
Column 7 - Total number of charitable donors
Column 8 - Percent of charitable donors with total income less than $20,000
Column 9 - Percent of charitable donors with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 10 - Percent of charitable donors with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 11 - Percent of charitable donors with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 12 - Percent of charitable donors with total income $80,000+
Column 13 - Total value of charitable donations (in thousands of dollars)
Column 14 - Percent of donations reported by donors with total income under $20,000
Column 15 - Percent of donations reported by donors with total income between $20,000 and $39,999
Column 16 - Percent of donations reported by donors with total income between $40,000 and $59,999
Column 17 - Percent of donations reported by donors with total income between $60,000 and $79,999
Column 18 - Percent of donations reported by donors with total income $80,000+

Statistical Tables - Footnotes and Historical Availability

RRSP Contributors

1. Table 1 is available in its current format starting with the 1990 data, according to the postal geography. Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are available starting with the 1993 data, census divisions (CDs) with the 1994 data and federal electoral districts (FEDs) with the 1997 data.
2. Table 2 (age groups) and table 3 (sex) are available in their current formats starting with the 1994 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs (since 1997). Some changes were made to the age groupings over the years.
3. Table 4 (income groups) is available in its current format starting with the 2007 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs. From 1997 to 2006, the income groups were cumulative.

RRSP Contribution Limits (Room)

1. Both tables are available in their current format starting with the 1993 data.
2. Data are available for all levels of the postal geography starting with the 1993 tax year.
3. Data for census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are available starting with the 1993 tax year (1994 room), census divisions (CDs) with the 1994 tax year (1995 room) and federal electoral districts (FEDs) with the 1997 tax year (1998 room).
4. The figures in Table 2 ($500, $2,400, $4,700, $7,800 and $13,000) represent the 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th and 97th percentiles of new room and are recalculated periodically.

Canadian Savers

1. Table 1 is available in its current format starting with the 1990 data, according to the postal geography. Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are available starting with the 1993 data, census divisions (CDs) with the 1995 data and federal electoral districts (FEDs) with the 1997 data.
2. Table 2 (age groups) and table 3 (sex) are available in their current formats starting with the 1995 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs (since 1997). Some changes were made to the age groupings over the years.
3. Table 4 (income groups) is available in its current format starting with the 2007 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs. From 1997 to 2006, the income groups were cumulative.

Canadian Investors

1. Table 1 is available in its current format starting with the 1990 data, according to the postal geography. Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are available starting with the 1993 data, census divisions (CDs) with the 1995 data and federal electoral districts (FEDs) with the 1997 data.
2. The proportion of investment income from dividends is available starting with the 1996 data (Table 1).
3. Table 2 (age groups) and table 3 (sex) are available in their current formats starting with the 1995 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs (since 1997). Some changes were made to the age groupings over the years.
4. Table 4 (income groups) is available in its current format starting with the 2007 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs. From 1997 to 2006, the income groups were cumulative.

Canadian Investment Income

1. Table 1 is available in its current format starting with the 1990 data, according to the postal geography. Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are available starting with the 1993 data, census divisions (CDs) with the 1995 data and federal electoral districts (FEDs) with the 1997 data.
2. Table 2 (age groups) and table 3 (sex) are available in their current formats starting with the 1995 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs (since 1997). Some changes were made to the age groupings over the years.
3. Table 4 (income groups) is available in its current format starting with the 2007 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs. From 1997 to 2006, the income groups were cumulative.

Canadian Capital Gains

1. The standard table on capital gains by income group is available in its current format starting with the 2007 data. From 1998 data up to 2006, the income groups were cumulative.
2. All levels of geography are available since the 1998 data, including census divisions, census metropolitan areas, federal electoral districts and all levels of the postal geography.

Canadian Taxfilers

1. Table 1 is available in its current format starting with the 1990 data, according to the postal geography. Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are available starting with the 1993 data, census divisions (CDs) with the 1995 data and federal electoral districts (FEDs) with the 1997 data.
2. Starting with the 2007 data, the column on the "% reporting in French" in table 1 has been suppressed.
3. Table 2 (income groups) is available in its current format starting with the 2007 data, for postal areas, CMAs, CDs and FEDs. From 1997 to 2006, the income groups were cumulative.

Charitable Donations

1. Table 1 (summary) is available starting with the 1990 data, according to the postal geography. Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are available starting with the 1993 data, census divisions (CDs) with the 1995 data and federal electoral districts (FEDs) with the 1997 data.
2. Changes were made to the age groups in table 1 in 1991 and in 1997.
3. Table 2 (age groups) is available starting with the 1995 data, for the postal geography and for CMAs. CDs are available starting with the 1995 data and FEDs with the 1997 data.
4. Changes were made to the age groups in table 2 in 1997.
5. Table 3 (Income groups) is available in its current format starting with the 2007 data, for the postal geography, for CMAs, CDs and FEDs. From 1997 to 2006, the income groups were cumulative.

Glossary of Terms

75th percentile

Total income values are ranked from highest to lowest and the value reported as being the 75th percentile indicates that 25% of the taxfilers report an income equal or above that amount and 75% fall below. Percentiles are calculated for each geographical level.

For example, if the 75th percentile of total income is shown as $60,000 this means that 25% of the population under review has a total income greater than or equal to $60,000 and 75% of the population has a total income less than or equal to $60,000.

85th percentile

Starting with the 2007 data, the dollar value of the 85th percentile appears in the tables instead of the percentage above the 85th percentile like it was in previous years. Total income values are ranked from highest to lowest and the value reported as being the 85th percentile indicates that 15% of the taxfilers report an income equal or above that amount and 85% fall below. Percentiles are calculated for each geographical level.

For example, if the 85th percentile of total income is shown as $65,000 this means that 15% of the taxfilers has a total income greater than or equal to $65,000

95th percentile

Starting with the 2007 data, the dollar value of the 95th percentile appears in the tables instead of the percentage above the 95th percentile like it was in previous years. Total income values are ranked from highest to lowest and the value reported as being the 95th percentile indicates that 5% of the taxfilers report an income equal or above that amount and 95% fall below. Percentiles are calculated for each geographical level.

For example, if the 95th percentile of total income is shown as $90,000 this means that 5% of the population under review has a total income greater than or equal to $90,000

Age

Calculated as of December 31 of the reference year (i.e., tax year minus year of birth). Starting in 2007, all the counts are rounded to the nearest 10.

Capital Gains

Line 127 of the T1 income tax return shows "taxable capital gains" or half of the capital gains actually received.  The information in this databank has been grossed up to represent the total capital gains received.

Charitable donation

Is the allowable portion of total donations, as reported on the income tax return. Canadians contribute in many ways to charitable organizations. These data include only amounts given to charities and approved organizations for which official tax receipts were provided and claimed on tax returns. It is possible to carry donations forward for up to five years after the year in which they were made. Therefore, donations reported for the 2012 taxation year could include donations that were made in any of the five previous years. According to tax laws, taxfilers are permitted to claim both their donations and those made by their spouses to receive better tax benefits. Consequently, the number of people who made charitable donations may be higher than the number who claimed tax credits.

Charitable donor

Is defined as a taxfiler reporting a charitable donation amount on line 340 of the personal income tax form.

CityID

Since municipality names can be, in some cases, quite long and cumbersome for handling in electronic files, municipalities are given a "city identification number". Starting in 2007, the CityID is a five digits alpha-numeric component. It is created with the first letter of Postal Code^OM followed by "9" and a four digits number. Each first letter of Postal Code is allocated a range of number from 1 to 9999 (more explanation in geography section).

Deferred profit sharing plan (DPSP)

An employer-sponsored savings plan registered by the Canada Revenue Agency. Contributions to these plans by the employer (employees cannot contribute) are based on profits. The amount accumulated in these plans can be paid out as a lump sum at retirement or termination of employment, transferred to an RRSP, received in instalments over a period not to exceed ten years, or used to purchase an annuity.

Dividend income

Includes taxable amount of dividends (eligible and other than eligible) received from taxable Canadian corporations (as stocks or mutual funds) as reported on line 120 of the personal income tax return, and then grossed down to the actual amounts received; dividend income does not include dividends received from foreign investments (which are included in interest income and reported on line 121).

Earned income

The income used to determine the RRSP deduction limit. It includes such items as employment income (less union dues and expenses), net business and rental income, disability payments and alimony received. Alimony payments, current year business and rental losses are deducted from this amount. Most investment income (other than rents) is not considered earned income. In calculating the RRSP deduction limit, earned income from the previous year is used.

Employment income

The total reported employment income. Employment income includes wages and salaries, commissions from employment, training allowances, tips and gratuities, and self-employment income (net income from business, profession, farming, fishing and commissions) and Tax Exempted Indian Employment Income (new in 1999 for wages and salaries, commissions, and in 2010 for self-employment income).

Interest income

Refers to the amount Canadians claimed on line 121 of the personal income tax return. This amount includes interest generated from bank deposits, Canada Savings Bonds, corporate bonds, treasury bills, investment certificates, term deposits, annuities, mutual funds, earnings on life insurance policies and all foreign interest and foreign dividend incomes.

Investment income

Includes both interest income and dividend income.

Investors

Taxfilers who reported dividend income on line 120 of their personal tax return. They may or may not have also reported interest and other investment income on line 121. When such income is reported on line 121, this amount is added to the amount of dividend income received, and the sum becomes the investment income of the investor.

Level of geography

Is a code designating the type of geographic area to which the information in the table applies. See the section on Geography for further information.

Median

The middle number in a group of numbers. Where a median income, for example, is given as $26,000, it means that exactly half of the incomes reported are greater than or equal to $26,000, and that the other half is less than or equal to the median amount. Zero values are not included in the calculation of medians for individuals.

New room

For 2013 this amount is calculated as 18% of 2012 earned income (from definition above) to a maximum of $23,820 minus pension adjustment (PA) minus past service pension adjustment (PSPA). Since the focus of these data is for net new room for potential RRSP contributions, PA and/or PSPA details will be omitted.

Past service pension adjustment (PSPA)

Applies only to members of defined benefit RPPs. A PSPA occurs when the pension benefit is upgraded, or additional credits purchased, for service in past years. In the first case, it is called an exempt (from certification) PSPA; in the second case, a certifiable PSPA. Only service after 1989 is considered.

Pension adjustment (PA)

Calculated value of the pension accrued in the year in an RPP or a DPSP. The PA decreases the RRSP deduction limit. To calculate this limit, the PA from the previous year is used.

Registered disability savings plan income (RDSP)

Beginning in 2008, the RDSP is for individuals for whom a valid disability certificate has been filed. Contributions can be made by the beneficiary or by qualified persons legally authorized to act for the beneficiary. The contributions are not deductible but the income earned is not taxable as long as it remains into the plan. Contributions are subject to a lifetime limit of $200,000; they will be matched in some degree by government contributions.

Registered pension plan (RPP)

An employer-sponsored plan registered with the Canada Revenue Agency and most commonly also with one of the pension regulatory authorities. The purpose of such plans is to provide employees with a regular income at retirement. The two main types of RPPs are called defined benefit (where the benefit formula is specified) and defined contribution (where only the contribution formula is defined).

Registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)

An individual retirement savings plan that is registered by the Canada Revenue Agency. It permits limited contributions, and income earned in the RRSP is exempt from tax until payments are received from the plan.

Savers

Taxfilers who reported interest and investment income on line 121 of the personal income tax return, but no dividend income on line 120.

Taxfiler

Individual who filed a personal income tax return for the reference year.

Total income

Note: this variable was revised over the years, as reflected in the comments below; data users who plan to compare current data to data from previous years should bear in mind these changes. Also, it should be noted that all income amounts are gross, with the exception of net rental income, net limited partnership income and all forms of net self-employment income.

Income reported by tax filers from any of the following sources:

• Employment income
  • Wages/Salaries/Commissions;
  • Other Employment Income as reported on line 104 of the tax form (tips, gratuities, royalties, etc.);
  • Net Self-Employment;
  • Tax Exempted Employment Income for Indians (Wages/Salaries/Commissions) for Indians (new in 1999);
  • Tax Exempted Self-Employment Income for Indians (since 2010).
• Investments
  • Interest and other investment income;
  • Dividend income.
• Government Transfers
  • Employment Insurance
    • Unemployment Insurance/Employment Insurance since 1982;
    • Quebec Parental Insurance Plan since 2006.
  • Pension Income
    • Old Age Security since 1982;
    • Net Federal Supplements (previously included in other income, shown separately since 1992)
      • Guaranteed Income Supplement created in 1967 and Spousal Allowance created in 1975, available since 1992;
      • Spousal Allowance (included in Net Federal Supplements since 1992; previously included in non-taxable income;
    • Canada and Quebec Pension plans benefits, since 1982.
  • Child Benefit
  • Family Allowance program up to 1992
  • Child Tax Credit up to 1992
  • Canada Child Tax Benefit (starting with 1993)
  • Universal Child Care Benefit since 2006
  • Federal Tax, Goods and Services Tax, Harmonized Sales Tax
    • Federal Sales Tax Credit (from 1988 to 1990);
    • Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit from 1990 to 1996;
    • Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) credit since 1997.
  • Workers' Compensation (included in other income prior to 1992 and shown separately since 1992)
  • Social Assistance (included in other income prior to 1992 and shown separately since 1992)
  • Provincial Refundable Tax Credits/Family Benefits – for a complete list please see the "Provincial Refundable Tax Credits/Family Benefits" section
  • Other Government Transfers
    • Working Income Tax Benefit (starting in 2007 depending on the province or territory; included since 2010 in the statistical tables).
• Private Pensions
• Registered Retirement Savings Plan Income (since 1994; previously in "other income"; since 1999, only for tax filers 65+)
• Other Income
  • Included as 'other income' prior to 1990
    • Net limited partnership income;
    • Alimony;
    • Net rental income;
    • Income for non-filing spouses (since 1989; included in "other income");
  • Other incomes as reported on line 130 of the tax form (fellowships, bursaries, etc.);
  • Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) Income as reported on line 125 of the tax form (introduced in 2008).

Monies not included in income above are: veterans' disability and dependent pensioners' payments, war veterans' allowances, lottery winnings and capital gains.

Total room (in thousands of dollars)

The sum of "new room" and "unused room" as defined here.

Total room (number of persons)

The number of taxfilers who have either unused room from previous years, new room based on their earned income, or both. The number of persons with total room does not correspond to the sum of persons with new room and unused room, as an individual can be included in both categories.

Universal Child Care Benefit

Beginning in July 2006, the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) is a taxable amount of $100 paid monthly for each child under 6 years of age. Included in Canada Child Tax Benefits in the statistical tables.

Unused RRSP contribution room (unused room)

The amount of the RRSP deduction limit that is not claimed by the taxfiler, or the amount remaining after subtracting actual contributions claimed on the tax return from that year's contribution room. Unused room can be carried forward indefinitely. The first year of unused room is from 1991 (see table B).

Geography

The data are available for the following geographic areas. See "Statistical Tables - Footnotes and Historical Availability" for further details. The mailing address at the time of filing is the basis for the geographic information in the tables.

Standard areas

Canada
Provinces and territories

Postal Geography:

• City Totals
• Urban Forward Sortation Areas (excludes Rural Routes and Suburban Services, and  Other Urban Areas within City)
• Suburban Services*
• Rural Routes (Within City)*
• Rural Postal Code Areas (Within City)
• Other Urban Areas (Non-residential within city)
• Rural Communities (not in City)
• Other Provincial Totals

*These postal geography levels were available in the past but are no longer available for this data.

Some postal geography levels such as Postal Walks are no longer available for this data.

Census Geography

• Economic Regions
• Census Divisions
• Census Metropolitan Areas
• Census Agglomerations
• Census Tracts
• Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order)

User-defined areas:

Users may select a specific area of interest that is not a standard area for which data can be made available in standard format. To obtain data, provide us with a list of the Postal Codes for which data are required and we will provide the aggregated data. Of course, the area must satisfy our confidentiality requirements, or no data can be produced. See the "Special Geography" section for further information.

Geographic Levels – Postal Geography

The various data compiled from the taxfile are available for different levels of the postal geography. Coded geographic indicators appearing on the data tables are shown below with a brief description.

Table - Geographic Levels – Postal Geography
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table - Geographic Levels – Postal Geography. The information is grouped by Level of
 Geography (L.O.G.) (appearing as row headers), Postal Area and Description (appearing as column headers).

Level of  Geography (L.O.G.)	Postal Area	Description
12	Canada	This level of data is an aggregation of the provincial/territorial totals (code 11). The national total is identified by the region code Z99099.
11	Province or Territory Total	This level of data is an aggregation of the following geographies within a province: City Totals = Code 08 Rural Communities = Code 09 Other Provincial Totals = Code 10 These totals are identified by a provincial/territorial postal letter, then a "990" followed by the province/territory code, as follows: Newfoundland and Labrador = A99010 Nova Scotia = B99012 Prince Edward Island = C99011 New Brunswick = E99013 Quebec = J99024 Ontario = P99035 Manitoba = R99046 Saskatchewan = S99047 Alberta = T99048 British Columbia = V99059 Northwest Territories = X99061 Nunavut = X99062 Yukon Territory = Y99060
10	Other Provincial Total ("P" Pot)	This level of data is an aggregation of small communities in the province that had less than 100 taxfilers, where these communities are combined into a "pot". Before 1992, it was identified by the same codes as the provincial/territorial totals, and only the "Delivery Mode" codes 2 and 3 distinguished between the two. To avoid this problem, starting with the 1992 data, an "8" appears after the provincial/territorial letter instead of a "9". The "9" will be reserved for the provincial/territorial total, as explained in 11 above. These "pot" codes are as follows: Newfoundland and Labrador = A89010 Nova Scotia = B89012 Prince Edward Island = C89011 New Brunswick = E89013 Quebec = J89024 Ontario = P89035 Manitoba = R89046 Saskatchewan = S89047 Alberta = T89048 British Columbia = V89059 Northwest Territories = X89061 Nunavut = X89062 Yukon Territory = Y89060
09	Rural Communities (Not in City )	For data obtained prior to reference year 2011, this level of geography was called “Rural Postal Codes (Not in a City)”. This level of geography pertains to rural communities that have one and only one rural Postal Code. Rural Postal Codes can be identified by a "zero" in the second position of the Postal Code. The 2013 databanks contain 3,962 areas coded as level of geography 09.
08	City Total	This level of data is an aggregation of the following geographies for unique place names within a province/territory: Urban FSA (Residential) = Code 03 Rural Route= Code 04 Suburban Services = Code 05 Rural Postal Code Areas (within city) = Code 06 Other Urban Area = Code 07 As of 2011, data for L.O.G. 04 and 05 are suppressed but included in the city totals. They have the following format: e.g., Edmonton = T95479; Regina = S94876. The pattern is the postal letter of the city plus "9" in the second position (indicating a total), followed by a 4 digit numeric code for the community (often called "CityID"). In general, postal cities do not coincide exactly with census subdivisions. The 2013 databanks contain 1,657 areas coded as level of geography 08.
07	Other Urban Area (Non-residential within city - "E" Pot)	This aggregation of data (or "pot") covers non-residential addresses within an urban centre and all other data not otherwise displayed. Commercial addresses, post office boxes and general delivery are included, as are residential addresses with too few taxfilers to report separately. They can be recognized by codes that are similar to the city totals, with a distinguishing difference: an "8" will follow the city postal letter rather than the "9" of the city total (e.g., Edmonton = T85479; Regina = S84876). The 2013 databanks contain 443 areas coded as level of geography 07.
06	Rural Postal Code Areas (Within City)	For data obtained prior to reference year 2011, this level of geography was called “Rural Postal Codes (Within a City)”. These data pertain to rural Postal Codes that belong to communities with more than one rural Postal Code. These occur in areas that were formerly serviced by rural delivery service and changed by Canada Post to urban delivery service or in communities served by more than one rural Postal Code. Rural Postal Codes can be identified by a "zero" in the second position of the Postal Code. Although data is disseminated individually for each rural Postal Code associated with a community, only the community name appears with the disseminated data. The actual rural Postal Codes are not displayed with the disseminated data. Therefore, for this level of geography, community names will appear more than once. The 2013 databanks contain 583 areas coded as level of geography 06.
05	Suburban Service	No longer available. Sparsely populated fringe areas of urban centres may receive their postal service from an urban post office by delivery designated as "suburban service". Their region code retains all six characters of the Postal Code. Suburban Services are usually near or on the perimeters of urban areas, and mail is delivered by a contractor to group mail boxes, community mail boxes and/or external delivery sites (e.g., kiosks, miniparks).
04	Rural Route	No longer available. Reasonably well-settled rural areas may receive their postal service from an urban post office by delivery designated as "rural route". Mail is delivered by a contractor to customers living along or near well-defined roads. Their region code retains all six characters of the Postal Code.
03	Urban FSA (Residential Area)	The urban Forward Sortation Area (FSA, identified by the first three characters of the Postal Code) includes all residential addresses covered by the first three characters of a Postal Code in a particular urban area (not including levels 04 and 05). Only residential FSAs are considered for these databanks. An Urban FSA of this type can be identified by the FSA followed by three blanks. One FSA can be split in different parts if it is associated with more than one city. The 2013 databanks contain 2,450 areas coded as level of geography 03.

Adding Postal Areas Without Duplication

Data files according to the postal geography will often contain subtotals and totals. Many data users need to add certain geographies in order to come up with a total for their particular area of interest. However, including subtotals during this process results in double-counting some populations, and this leads to an erroneous total. The following is a summary of which postal areas are aggregations in the standard postal geography.

Urban FSAs (LOG 3), Rural Routes (LOG 4), suburban services (LOG 5), Rural Postal Code Areas within a city (LOG 6) and Other Urban Areas (LOG 7) add up to City Totals (LOG 8).

City Totals (LOG 8), Rural Communities not in a city (LOG 9) and Other Provincial Totals (LOG 10) add up to provincial/territorial totals (LOG 11).

Provincial/territorial totals (LOG 11) add up to the Canada total (LOG 12).

Thus, using the Level of geography codes:
3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 8
8 + 9 + 10 = 11

City identification number (CityID)

As of 2007, CityID has been modified.

Previous to 2007:

1. CityID was a 4 digits number
2. Each municipality had a unique number between 1 and 9999
3. Almost every number was allocated to a municipality. Few numbers remained available for future new municipalities.

Starting with 2007 data:
To create more possibilities without changing the CityID length in our systems:

1. CityID number is now combined with 1st letter of Postal Code
2. Each 1st letter of Postal Code has a possibility of numbers, ranged from 1 to 9999 (Table D)
3. Old numbers have been kept for existing municipality and 1st letters of Postal Code have been added to them (Table C)
4. New municipalities have been assigned a new CityID number in new format (Table C)

Table C
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table C. The information is grouped by Postal Code (appearing as row headers), Municipality name, 2006 and Prior and 2007 and Follow (appearing as column headers).

Postal Code	Municipality name	2006 and Prior	2007 and Follow
K1A xxx	Ottawa	2434	K2434
G3C xxx	Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury	n/a	G2

Table D
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table D. The information is grouped by Province (appearing as row headers), Letter file and Range of number (appearing as column headers).

Province	Letter file	Range of number
Newfoundland & Labrador	A	1 – 9999
Prince Edward Island	C	1 – 9999
Nova Scotia	B	1 – 9999
New Brunswick	E	1 – 9999
Quebec	G	1 – 9999
Quebec	H	1 – 9999
Quebec	J	1 – 9999
Ontario	K	1 – 9999
Ontario	L	1 – 9999
Ontario	M	1 – 9999
Ontario	N	1 – 9999
Ontario	P	1 – 9999
Manitoba	R	1 – 9999
Saskatchewan	S	1 – 9999
Alberta	T	1 – 9999
British Columbia	V	1 – 9999
Yukon	Y	1 – 9999
Northwest Territories	X	1 – 9999
Nunavut	X	1 – 9999

Therefore, it is now essential to identify a municipality by adding the Postal Code 1st letter to the number in order to get the proper municipality in the proper province (Table E):

Table E
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table E. The information is grouped by Letter (appearing as row headers), Number, Municipality name and Province (appearing as column headers).

Letter	Number	Municipality name	Province
A	2	Avondale	NL
B	2	Bible Hill	NS
T	2	Rocky View	AB
G	2	Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury	QC

 

Hierarchy of postal geography

Description for Hierarchy of postal geography

Geographic Levels – Census Geography

Data are also available for the following levels of the Census geography; the following table shows the coded designators for these geographies, as well as a brief description of each.

Table - Geographic Levels – Census Geography
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table - Geographic Levels – Census Geography. The information is grouped by Level of
 Geography (L.O.G.) (appearing as row headers), Area and Description (appearing as column headers).

Level of  Geography (L.O.G.)	Area	Description
12	Canada	This level of data is an aggregation of the provincial/territorial totals (L.O.G. 11). The national total is identified by the region code Z99099.
11	Province or Territory Total	These totals are identified by a provincial/territorial postal letter, then a "990" followed by the province/territory code, as follows: Newfoundland and Labrador = A99010 Nova Scotia = B99012 Prince Edward Island = C99011 New Brunswick = E99013 Quebec = J99024 Ontario = P99035 Manitoba = R99046 Saskatchewan = S99047 Alberta = T99048 British Columbia = V99059 Northwest Territories = X99061 Nunavut = X99062 Yukon Territory = Y99060
61	Census Tract	Census tracts (CTs) are small geographic units representing urban or rural neighbourhood-like communities in census metropolitan areas (see definition below) or census agglomerations with an urban core population of 50,000 or more at time of 1996 Census. CTs were initially delineated by a committee of local specialists (such as planners, health and social workers and educators) in conjunction with Statistics Canada. The 2013 databanks contain 5,365 areas coded as level of geography 61, based on 2011 Census.
51	Economic Region	An economic region is a grouping of complete census divisions (see definition below) with one exception in Ontario. Economic regions (ERs) are used to analyse regional economic activity. Within the province of Quebec, ERs are designated by law. In all other provinces, they are created by agreement between Statistics Canada and the provinces concerned. Prince Edward Island and the territories each consist of one economic region. The 2013 databanks contain 76 areas coded as level of geography 51, based on 2011 Census.
42	Census Agglomeration	The general concept of a census agglomeration (CA) is one of a very large urban area, together with adjacent urban and rural areas that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that urban area. CAs have an urban core population of at least 10,000, based on the previous census. The 2013 databanks contain 133 area codes as level of geography 42, based on the 2011 Census: 114 CAs, 6 provincial parts for the 3 CAs which cross provincial boundaries, and 13 residual geographies called Non CMA-CA, one for each province and territory.
41	Census Metropolitan Area	The general concept of a census metropolitan area (CMA) is one of a very large urban area, together with adjacent urban and rural areas that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that urban area. CMAs have an urban core population of at least 100,000, based on the previous census. The 2013 databanks contain 35 areas coded as level of geography 41, based on 2011 Census: 001, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador 205, Halifax, Nova Scotia 305, Moncton, New Brunswick 310, Saint John, New Brunswick 408, Saguenay, Quebec 421, Québec, Quebec 433, Sherbrooke, Quebec 442, Trois-Rivières, Quebec 462, Montréal, Quebec 505, Ottawa-Gatineau (3 items: combined, Quebec part and Ontario part) 521, Kingston, Ontario 529, Peterborough, Ontario 532, Oshawa, Ontario 535, Toronto, Ontario 537, Hamilton, Ontario 539, St-Catharines-Niagara, Ontario 541, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ontario 543, Brantford, Ontario 550, Guelph, Ontario 555, London, Ontario 559, Windsor, Ontario 568, Barrie, Ontario 580, Greater Sudbury, Ontario 595, Thunder Bay, Ontario 602, Winnipeg, Manitoba 705, Regina, Saskatchewan 725, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 825, Calgary, Alberta 835, Edmonton, Alberta 915, Kelowna, British Columbia 932, Abbotsford-Mission, British Columbia 933, Vancouver, British Columbia 935, Victoria, British Columbia
31	Federal Electoral District	A federal electoral district (FED) refers to any place or territorial area represented by a member of Parliament elected to the House of Commons. There are 308 FEDs in Canada according to the 2003 Representation Order. The Representation Order is prepared by the Chief Electoral Officer describing, naming and specifying the population of each electoral district established by the Electoral Boundaries Commission and sent to the Governor in Council. The 2013 databanks contain 308 areas coded as level of geography 31.
21	Census Division	A census division (CD) is a group of neighbouring municipalities joined together for the purposes of regional planning and managing common services (such as police or ambulance services). A CD might correspond to a county, a regional municipality or a regional district. CDs are established under laws in effect in certain provinces and territories of Canada. In other provinces and territories where laws do not provide for such areas (Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta), Statistics Canada defines equivalent areas for statistical reporting purposes in cooperation with these provinces and territories. The 2011 Census contain 293 areas coded as level of geography 21; however, the 2013 databanks contain 295 areas since the CD of Halton (Ont.) straddles 2 Economic Regions. Starting in 2007, Census divisions are identified in the tables by a six digits code: 2 first digits = Province 2 next digits = Economic Region 2 last digits = Census Division

Geographic Levels – Special Geography

Clients may select geographical areas of their own definition; areas that are not part of the standard areas listed here (for example, bank service areas, retail store catchment areas). For this, clients must submit a list of the Postal Codes that make up their special area, and we will aggregate the micro data to correspond to that area of interest. Information ordered for special, or "user-defined" areas will be coded according to the following:

Geographic Levels - Special Geography
Table summary
This table displays the results of Geographic Levels - Special Geography. The information is grouped by Level of
Geography
(L.O.G.) (appearing as row headers), Name and Description (appearing as column headers).

Level of Geography (L.O.G.)	Name	Description
93	Total for all user-defined areas	This level represents the sum total of all user-defined areas, and is the total of levels 91 and 92 described below.
92	Other user-defined areas	This level of geography represents all user-defined areas that were too small, in terms of population; to have information compiled on those areas individually (i.e. fewer than 100 taxfilers). Such areas are grouped into this "other" category.
91	Special user-defined area	Any area showing L.O.G. = 91 is an area defined by a specific user according to that user's needs (for example, school catchment areas, health districts, etc.)

Conversion files

When a client is interested in purchasing data for areas that are considered non-standard geography by Income Statistics Division, a conversion file is usually necessary. A combination of Postal Codes making up one or more special area(s) is commonly referred to as a conversion file – an electronic file used by our staff to aggregate the different Postal Codes that make up the user-defined area. Simply provide us with the Postal Codes related to the area and we will compile the data (subject to our confidentiality restrictions).

For example, Postal Codes.  User-defined areas may be branch service or school catchment areas, neighbourhoods or almost any other region.

We Invite Your Comments

We are always working on ways to improve our products. The comments we receive concerning quality and presentation are essential to meet this objective. If you have any suggestions in this regard, we encourage you, the user, to provide us with your comments.

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Inquiries about these data and related statistics or services should be directed to:

Client Services, Income Statistics Division

Telephone:  Toll Free 1-888-297-7355 or 613-951-7355
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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© Minister of Industry, 2014

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© This data includes information copied with permission from Canada Post Corporation

List of available data products

The Income Statistics Division of Statistics Canada tabulates statistical data derived from administrative records - most notably, the taxfile.  The resulting demographic and socio-economic databanks available are listed in the table below, along with their identifying product number and the usual release dates.

List of Available Data Products
Table summary
This table displays the results of List of Available Data Products. The information is grouped by Product name (appearing as row headers), Product number and Release date (appearing as column headers).

Product name	Product number	Release date
RRSP Contributors	17C0006	Winter
RRSP Contribution Limits (Room)	17C0011	Winter
Canadian Savers	17C0009	Winter
Canadian Investors	17C0007	Winter
Canadian Investment Income	17C0008	Winter
Canadian Taxfilers	17C0010	Winter
Canadian Capital Gains	17C0012	Winter
Charitable Donors	13C0014	Winter
Neighbourhood Income and Demographics	13C0015	Spring - Summer
Economic Dependency Profile	13C0017	Spring - Summer
Labour Income Profile	71C0018	Spring - Summer
Families	13C0016	Spring - Summer
Seniors	89C0022	Spring - Summer

This bar graph shows Statistics Canada's budgetary authorities and expenditures, in thousands of dollars, as of September 30, 2013 and 2014:

• As at September 30, 2013
  • Net budgetary authorities: $400,509
  • Vote netting authority: $120,000
  • Total authority: $520,509
  • Net expenditures for the period ending September 30: $248,206
  • Year-to-date revenues spent from vote netting authority for the period ending September 30: $22,126
  • Total expenditures: $270,332
• As at September 30, 2014
  • Net budgetary authorities: $402,448
  • Vote netting authority: $120,000
  • Total authority: $522,448
  • Net expenditures for the period ending September 30: $245,461
  • Year-to-date revenues spent from vote netting authority for the period ending September 30: $18,661
  • Total expenditures: $264,122