Evidence of meeting #137 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was household.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:30 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
Can Statistics Canada be compelled to share identifiable personal information with any politician?
4:30 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
Can Statistics Canada be compelled to share identifiable personal information with the courts?
4:30 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
Can Statistics Canada be compelled to share identifiable personal information with the RCMP?
4:30 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
Can Statistics Canada be compelled to share identifiable personal information with the Canada Revenue Agency?
4:35 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
Can Statistics Canada be compelled to share identifiable personal information with CSIS?
4:35 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
How many data files have been hacked from Statistics Canada databases?
4:35 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
Why is Statistics Canada requesting household spending and income data from our financial institutions?
4:35 p.m.
Chief Statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada
I can identify four reasons.
One is the declining response rates from our major source of survey, the Canadian household spending survey. It's sitting at about 40% today. It just isn't giving us the timely and detailed data that we need. We are seeing gaps because of the consumption of digital services in Canada. That is a real gap for us. Our modernization agenda is all about experimentation and piloting, of which this is one example, where we're looking for new ways to fill those gaps. We've demonstrated that when we do use administrative data, as we've done with our housing gap that we've had, we can actually provide good-quality and timely data to Canadians.
4:35 p.m.
Chief Statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada
The use of administrative data in Statistics Canada goes back to 1921, when we first started using vital statistics. Then it was supplemented in 1938 with trade data and so on.
4:35 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
You've been using surveys for quite some time. Why are you switching over to this type of data?
4:35 p.m.
Chief Statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada
As I said, with our traditional surveys we're seeing declining response rates. Canadians are busy. Canadians in many cases are not even reachable. They don't have land lines. There are various reasons why we're seeing the kinds of declining response rates. We have to go to administrative sources. Again, using administrative sources is not anything new to Statistics Canada.
4:35 p.m.
Chief Statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada
Canadians will have better quality data. They'll have it for the areas that they're interested in. Canadians don't want to just know what's going on at the national level or the provincial level or even at the municipal level; they want to know what's going on at the neighbourhood level. Obviously, this is all with the protection of privacy and confidentiality that they deserve as well.
4:35 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
Will the data collected be given to the government in any form?
4:35 p.m.
Chief Statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada
It will only be in aggregate form, where no individual transaction or data can ever be identified.
4:35 p.m.
Whitby, Lib.
Will the data collected be given to the opposition in any form?