12 Conclusion

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The response by Statistics Canada to concerns regarding immigrant outcomes, documented in this paper, was guided by some of the priorities in place within the Agency. The important role played by substantive research in Statistics Canada is among these. Substantive research allows the statistical agency to hold a mirror to important social and economic trends in an objective manner, thereby contributing to public discussion and policy development. In so doing, the Agency fulfills its mandate to not only collect statistics but also to analyse them.

Substantive research also provides important data quality feedback. For example, information on immigrant undercoverage issues in the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics stemmed from such substantive analysis. Significant feedback from research has allowed statisticians to learn what worked and what did not in the new Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, a survey that contained a number of new content blocks. The significant data development outlined earlier in the paper was guided to a considerable degree by the research results and by the resulting questions for which the policy departments and Statistics Canada had no answer.

Significant and meaningful co-operation with the policy departments is another important Agency priority. In this particular case, regular formal meetings are held with Citizenship and Immigration Canada to discuss both research projects and data requirements in the immigration area. Research priorities are influenced by the needs of the appropriate policy agencies, although they are not the sole influence.¹² Virtually all of the significant data development described earlier was a joint effort of Statistics Canada and the relevant policy agency.

The successful conduct of both substantive research and data development is enhanced by strong links with the academic research community as well, another important priority for Statistics Canada. Agency researchers interact with their academic counterparts through publications in academic journals, presentations at academic conferences and the co-authoring of studies. This activity tends to keep the quality of the research high, the methods up to date, and it lends credibility to the studies produced by Statistics Canada. It is also very useful in recruitment drives, allowing Statistics Canada to bid for some of the better graduates. Their view of the Agency is altered by such interaction. Needless to say, when new databases that are designed primarily to meet analytical and research objectives are developed—as is the case with most of the longitudinal surveys—then strong links with the academic research community, as well as the policy community, are essential.

Finally, much of the research described in this paper might not have been conducted at all had it not been done in Statistics Canada. The Agency has a considerable comparative advantage in the conduct of some substantive research. This is particularly true for research employing complex administrative data files, such as taxation data described earlier. Access to the taxation data for research purposes is ultimately controlled by the department that collects taxes.¹³ The protection of these data is paramount in the public's mind. Having the appropriate legislation—such as the Statistics Act—in place to protect the confidentiality of these data is an important part of acquiring access. Few other research organizations have similar legislation. But beyond access, the detailed knowledge of the complex and idiosyncratic administrative data, as well as the skills developed in the analysis of such data, provide an advantage to Statistics Canada researchers. Some types of research are more efficiently carried out in Statistics Canada than elsewhere.

 

¹² Other criteria include Statistics Canada's comparative analytical advantage (often related to access to data and research skills), the need to exploit new datasets, and quality testing through analysis, and the public interest in particular issues.

¹³ The Canada Revenue Agency.