I'll just comment on the consultations to begin with. We do extensive consultations leading up to each census. We start about three or four years prior to the census and do consultations. We put out a consultation guide. It's on our website. It's quite a public process. We consult with key data users. That's for all of the content.
The space on the census questionnaire is limited. We have to weigh a number of factors: the need for the information, whether there's policy or legislative need; the respondent burden; data quality; costs and operational considerations; and alternative data sources.
So we went through that process, and we did have feedback on unpaid work. In particular, in the next step we went forward and did a series of very highly focused consultations specifically about unpaid work. You asked about whom we consulted on that. Certainly, we talked to the governments of our provinces and territories, as Statistics Canada does have territorial and provincial focal points. As well, we had a meeting with federal department managers from a number of departments with interests in the census information. We also did a follow-up and a specific call with provincial and territorial status of women offices, and that was organized by Status of Women Canada. Then also, as part of all of our consultations on the census, we talked to our advisory committees. We have a National Statistics Council, and particularly on this one there was an advisory committee on social conditions, which has advised us on gender work over time.
Then we also looked at the actual use of the unpaid work questions in the census. The need for information from small areas is really important in the census. What we heard back is that there was very, very little use of the census unpaid work questions but that there was a great deal of use of the general social survey questions, which are very extensive. The feedback we got and the advice we were given was that it was those questions from the general social survey that were providing the most comprehensive picture of unpaid household activities, for a number of reasons. It was also available in the same timeframe, and it was these questions from the general social survey that were being used.
So it was all of these considerations on the table that we looked at.
In terms of the other questions, we heard back that those questions were being used, the small area data, for example. There was, of course, quite a bit of use of the subsequent questions on education and labour, and there was a need for that information on the small area scale.
So those were the types of processes we went through. That was the information we got back.
I think that addresses those questions.