Evidence of meeting #77 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was questionnaire.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
That is my sincerest wish; that is all I can tell you. We will do everything possible to make it happen.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Has your office set a deadline in the event you are unable to agree on how to ask the questions or interpret test results? I believe you do some testing of questions with a segment of the population, do you not? Is there a deadline beyond which you think that, if you are not ready, it will be too late and we will once again have to wait for the next census?
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
We are not yet at that stage.
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
We will test a number of versions of questions to find all the ones that work well.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Are you at the stage where you could offer a draft of the part of the questionnaire concerning the enumeration?
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
No, but we have already submitted the questions asked in previous inquiries to committee members. We are now in the process of determining how we might integrate them. However, we must first test the census and conduct qualitative tests. We have to put the questions to actual people to ensure they correctly understand them.
The process is running its course. I can assure you that we are following our timetable and that our aim is to achieve the objectives.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
On that point, I think we adopted a motion asking you to submit model questions pertaining to section 23 of the charter by next March.
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
Absolutely.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
I would like to see the questionnaire. I believe the other committee members would as well.
This is not negative criticism, but I believe Statistics Canada has become a very complicated monster, whereas things ultimately seem simple to me. I know this is an area of expertise, whereas I am a neophyte. Nevertheless, these questions are vitally important.
The first time we met, Mr. Corbeil, you did not reassure me in that respect. It all seemed so complicated.
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
It is.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
The fact that it is complex does not make it unfeasible.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much.
I would like to thank Mr. Arseneault, the neophyte, before moving on to Mr. Clarke.
October 31st, 2017 / 4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
To start off, would you tell me in what year Statistics Canada was founded?
4:20 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
Just a moment. In 1992, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics had been established 75 years earlier. So you can add 25 years.
4:20 p.m.
Director General, Census program, Statistics Canada
If you calculate from the creation of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, that is a lot of years.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
4:20 p.m.
Director General, Census program, Statistics Canada
We have approximately 5,000.
4:20 p.m.
Director General, Census program, Statistics Canada
I could not answer that question off the top of my head.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
4:20 p.m.
Assistant Director, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
We produce information on virtually everything you can imagine, from electric tubes to frozen chickens, immigrants, pregnant women, and other topics. We supply an enormous amount of information.
There really are a lot of divisions. They may be economic, social, environmental, or of another nature. I think we have more than 55 divisions.
4:20 p.m.
Director General, Census program, Statistics Canada
Some of them focus specifically on the science of investigation, which includes, for example, methodology, sampling, and so on.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
That is precisely what confuses me somewhat. I imagine there are linguistics and methodology experts in any one of your divisions.
Do you not systematically trigger certain mechanisms before publishing a report?
This one may have concerned much more than linguistics. I do not know; I have not seen the report. Nevertheless, I think it would be necessary and natural for the figures in every report to be checked quickly by a certified expert in each of the divisions concerned. You may say that would really be an exhaustive task. However, a linguistics expert would undoubtedly have seen immediately that the Quebec language data for 2016 were incorrect. He or she could have called you and told you there was a problem.
Do you not systematically use this kind of process?