Evidence of meeting #53 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 statistics.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
My question is for you, Madam Desaulniers.
Finding a balance between the need to have solid data we can rely on and Canadians' right to privacy is always an issue.
Can you explain to us what Statistics Canada is doing to achieve that balance?
March 23rd, 2017 / 9:35 a.m.
Andrée Desaulniers Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
I assume you are talking about the census. Unless your question is about our data in general.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
I am talking about data in general, but especially the census. There were some issues related to that.
9:35 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
My role is to explain the legislation, so perhaps you have some questions about how the legislation works. I can explain the data from the past, if you like.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
9:35 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
Okay.
Until 2001, data was made public without Canadians' consent.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
After between 72 years and 100 years, approximately. I can get the figures for you if you want.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
The 72-year period predates Confederation. So we lack information on how the waiting period was determined at the time. Generally speaking, the number of years is set based on an individual's lifespan.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
Voices
Interesting. That's good.
9:40 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
Yes, generally. That is why the period would not be 30 years.
9:40 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
The chief statistician explained it well. Over the years, with changes in legislation, determining what the legislator's intent was became complicated, especially in the early 1900s.
Once an enumerator promised to keep the information confidential, it meant that the entity as a whole was required to maintain confidentiality.
Many years later, we find ourselves trying to figure it out. We were not there at the time. So it was decided that a mechanism, under the Privacy Act, would allow data to be made available after 92 years, without people's consent. In any case, the data was collected a long time ago.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
In what piece of legislation does the 92-year period appear?
9:40 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
It appears in the Privacy Act. Actually, it's in section 6 of the Privacy Regulations.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
Exactly.
That covered data that had not yet been made available. For example, the data from 1891 was made available in 1983, when the legislation was passed.
Do you like numbers?
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
Okay. When the Privacy Act was passed....
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
Senior Analyst, Information Management Division, Statistics Canada
I'm talking about the act passed in 1983 whose regulations made it possible to make census data available after 92 years.
If you subtract 1891 from 1983, you get 92 years. We could make the data available when the act was passed, and that was done. As you know, the same figure is found in the Statistics Act.
