Introduction

Statistics Canada is preparing to launch an interactive consultation tool on its website for the purpose of engaging and seeking further input from Canadians by inviting them to discuss, comment and vote in a one-question online poll, titled "Question of the month," about one of the Agency's products, services or website features.

Objective

A privacy impact assessment for the Interactive Online Consultation Tool was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality and security issues associated with the tool, and if so, to make recommendations for their resolution or mitigation.

Description

The Interactive Online Consultation Tool will be made available in the Consulting Canadians module (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/interaction/consultation/).

Participants are asked to provide a user name (alias) and their email address, which may be used to correspond with them if required, and indicate by checking a box whether they wish to participate in Statistics Canada's future consultations (excluding the online "Question of the month" poll).
The online poll comment sections will be moderated. Users will be informed that their comments will be held until they are vetted by the moderator.

Unregistered visitors may also indicate their wish to take part in consultations by filling out an electronic form available from the left-hand menu of the Consulting Canadians module.  Participants who indicated a wish to participate in consultations may be invited via email by Statistics Canada's Consultation Services in Communications Division to participate in a consultation.

Conclusion

This assessment of the Interactive Online Consultation Tool did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Reliable economic and social statistical information is necessary for evidence-based policy, for efficient decision-making and for better measurement of development results. For that reason, it is crucial to increase the statistical capacity of emerging countries.

Statistics Canada signed an international co-operation agreement with the Canadian International Development Agency to help improve the management capabilities of the national statistical offices of some countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. One of the components of the agreement, signed by International Cooperation Division, is the International Statistical Fellowship Program which began in 2011 and ended in March 2016.

The program addressed identified gaps in the leadership and management of national statistical offices and systems in more than 40 participating countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. This entailed both acquisition of management knowledge and continued local development and ownership. After two weeks of training in Ottawa, attendees and their statistical office engaged with Statistics Canada by developing organizational action plans to apply what was learned in the training period. Statistics Canada monitored how these country-specific action plans were implemented over a two-year period.

For more information, contact statcan.international-international.statcan@statcan.gc.ca.

Statistics Canada has co-operated with China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for many years through the Statistical Information Management Program (SIMP). The program supported statistical capacity-building in China, with special emphasis on the sustainability aspect of the activities. This ensured that the NBS would have both the knowledge and the intention to implement the results of the projects.

The first phase of SIMP (SIMP I), from 1996 to 2004, covered national accounts, household surveys, a survey skills development course, and resource management.

SIMP II, from 2005 to February 2013, was also supported with cost-recovery funds from the Canadian International Development Agency and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. SIMP II had four main components: a social statistics project to integrate rural and urban household surveys; an economic statistics project to create an economic survey structure enable better gross domestic product estimates; an environment statistics project to enhance environmental statistics, in order to create environmental accounts; and an overarching management component.

Statistics Canada and the NBS decided to continue their co-operation: the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March 2013.

The MOU identifies two main co-operative projects: corporate business architecture and quality assurance for household surveys. The MOU also states that Statistics Canada, from time to time, will participate in workshops organized by the China International Statistical Training Center of the NBS.

For more information, please contact statcan.international-international.statcan@statcan.gc.ca.

Statistics Canada's provides technical assistance to international organizations and statistical offices and systems in other countries through two main types of activities:

• on-site technical assistance in other countries, either as single missions or as part of broader projects
• in-house technical assistance, either through formal training or brief study visits.

Statistics Canada's technical assistance activities are designed to help other countries develop their national statistical systems, providing them with information they need to monitor their social and economic programs. This, in turn, helps to improve the quality of international statistical system which is important for the global community and helps ensure better international comparability across statistical domains.

The provision of technical assistance also helps Statistics Canada to better understand the statistical needs of developing countries, which helps the agency carry out its global responsibilities.

For more information, please contact International Co-operation

Multilateral relations are activities done under the auspices of a multilateral organization. Most multilateral organizations have their own statistical programs and corresponding secretariat staff; Canada is a member of most of these organizations, and Statistics Canada is widely involved in multilateral statistical activities.

The centre of multilateral statistical activities is the United Nations and its family of institutions. The United Nations Statistical Commission meets once a year. Supported by the United Nations Statistics Division, the commission's meetings cover topics related to economic, social and environmental statistics, classifications, reviews of statistical programs, development indicators and other topics of current and emerging importance.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is also very active in the statistical field. Many of its expert groups regularly produce relevant work for Statistics Canada in the areas of national accounts, classification, environment statistics and social statistics. Statistics Canada is involved in many of these expert groups.

For more information, please contact Multilateral Relations

Introduction

Beginning in spring 2007, Statistics Canada will conduct the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). This new survey will collect information through self-reported data on health and through direct physical measures. It is anticipated that approximately 5,000 respondents will complete the entire survey, with one or two persons between the ages of 6 and 79 selected per household.

Objectives

A privacy impact assessment for the CHMS was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality and security issues associated with the survey, and if so, to make recommendations for their resolution or mitigation.

Description

The CHMS will collect information that will help evaluate the extent of health problems among Canadians in such areas as chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes and cardiovascular disease), infectious diseases, lifestyle characteristics (e.g., physical activity and nutritional status) and environmental exposures. The survey will also provide a means to explore emerging public health issues and new measurement technologies.

The CHMS will collect data both through a questionnaire administered in the household and physical measure tests administered in a mobile health clinic. As part of the data collection, respondents will undergo a series of physical tests and will be asked to provide tissue samples (blood and urine) that will be subsequently sent to various government laboratories under contract to Statistics Canada to perform tests.

Because of the highly personal nature of the information being collected, tested and processed, the privacy impact assessment identified a number of potential privacy issues and risks. They include:

• Transmission of information/samples between mobile clinics and Statistics Canada Headquarters and the laboratories
• Reporting back survey and laboratory results to respondents
• Storage of physical specimens (blood, urine and DNA)
• Retention of personal identifiers
• Permission of respondents for future tests
• Age of consent regarding children in the survey

Measures put in place to address these issues include providing comprehensive information in order to obtain written informed consent from respondents, anonymous ID numbers on stored samples and other security procedures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of respondents’ information.

Consultations and Review Boards

Privacy issues were discussed with, and input obtained from, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Similarly meetings to discuss the survey have been held with the offices of provincial privacy commissioners in all provinces.

As well, numerous other committees were used to direct the development of the survey and to address privacy and research ethics questions related to the survey. These include the CHMS Expert Advisory Committee, the Physician Advisory Committee and the Laboratory Advisory Committee. The CHMS also engaged in detailed discussions with the Health Canada Research Ethics Board and received their approval to proceed.

Conclusion

The conclusion is that with the enhanced and existing Statistics Canada safeguards and procedures and those to be in place at the mobile clinics and the laboratories, any remaining risks will be either negligible or are such that Statistics Canada is prepared to accept and manage these risks.

Chart of Accounts was approved as a departmental standard on April 17, 2001.

• Balance Sheet Accounts
  1. Assets
  2. Liabilities
  3. Equity
• Income Statement
  4. Revenue
  5. Expenses
  6. Gains/Losses and Other Items

Chart of Accounts was approved as a departmental standard on October 31, 2005.

• Balance Sheet Accounts
  • 1 Assets
  • 2 Liabilities
  • 3 Equity
  • Balance Sheet - Summary level only
• Income Statement
  • 4 Revenue
  • 5 Expenses
  • 6 Gains/Losses, Corporate Taxes and Other Items
  • 7 Extraordinary Gains/Losses, Non-recurring Items & Adjustments
  • Income Statement - Summary level only
• Supplementary Accounts
  • Balance Sheet
  • Income Statement

Financial Position and Performance of a Business

The standard financial reporting classification currently in use at Statistics Canada is the Chart of Accounts (COA) Canada 2006.

Canada

Chart of Accounts (COA) Canada

• COA Canada 2006
• COA Canada 2002