Official Languages committee  We are going to examine all approaches to confirm which one is the best to obtain the information required under the law.

Official Languages committee  Yes, we are.

Official Languages committee  Absolutely.

Official Languages committee  There are some questions that reflect only part of the population. It's better to ask those questions directly to the subpopulation, as we have done in the past. I'll use as an example the aboriginal peoples survey, which is now in the field. If we ask questions of all of the pop

Official Languages committee  Yes, because we could use the answers from the census, for example, answers from English speakers living in Quebec, to conduct a survey addressed directly to that community.

Official Languages committee  We have not had any talks with that department.

Official Languages committee  Yes. We are setting up the consultations for the 2021 cycle. Statistics Canada is well aware of the issues regarding language-related information. That is why we are currently examining what could be done in 2021 that would allow us to meet that need for information.

Official Languages committee  It depends on the quality of the information.

Official Languages committee  As Ms. Denis said, the questions have to be developed and tested in order to confirm that people can understand them before they answer them.

Official Languages committee  That's part of the process we are embarking on now. When we're doing the consultations, we are not only looking for information needs but also at information comparability over time and the importance of that to the data users. Obviously there are financial constraints, but prob

Official Languages committee  That's okay.

Official Languages committee  Sure, go ahead.

Official Languages committee  As you've just heard, the census consultation and testing process for the 2021 census will begin later this year. The process by which the questions for the census are approved is determined by legislation. Section 21 of the Statistics Act states: The Governor in Council shall

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I want to thank the committee for inviting us to appear here today. The most fundamental role of Statistics Canada is to support the democratic process by providing Canadians with high-quality, current, and relevant information on the state of t