Labour Statistics Division

If necessary, please make address label corrections in the boxes below (please print)

Legal Business Name

Operational Business Name (if different from legal business name)

• Contact Person
  • First Name
  • Last Name
• Address
• City
• Province
• Postal Code

Preferred Language of Correspondence

• English
• French

Survey Objective

The Workplace Survey will provide valuable information on the best practices of businesses by looking at the characteristics that help firms succeed. It will collect information from Canadian employers on a range of workplace issues. Survey results will provide unique insights into the relationship between employment practices and labour demand, as well as information on job vacancy, skill shortages, training and human resource practices. You as the respondent will benefit from completing this questionnaire by having the ability to benchmark your company against other companies in the same industry.

Confidentiality

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from publishing any statistics which would divulge information relating to any identifiable business without the previous written consent of that business. The data reported on this questionnaire will be treated in strict confidence. They will be used exclusively for statistical purposes and will be published in an aggregate form only.

Your Participation

The participation of your business in this survey is critical to ensure that the results are an accurate reflection of your industry, region and type of business. As with most business surveys conducted by Statistics Canada, this survey is mandatory. We thank you for your understanding and support.

Instructions

Please fill out this questionnaire and return it to Statistics Canada within the next 15 days using the self addressed envelope. If you have any difficulty answering specific questions, do not hesitate to phone 1-877-992-3999.

Coverage

Please complete this questionnaire for the business location appearing on the label of this questionnaire. For the purpose of this survey, “location” refers to the specific address appearing on the label of this questionnaire.

Record Linkages

To enhance the data from this survey, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Need Help?

We would be happy to answer any questions you might have. The telephone number is: 1-877-992-3999.

You may also visit Statistics Canada’s website for this questionnaire and FAQ’s.

Concepts and definitions for your reference.

Employee

Paid employees including full-time, part-time, permanent, non-permanent and seasonal employees, of this location receiving a T4 statement from Canada Revenue Agency who work on-site or off-site and employees who are on paid leave.

Please do not include employees who only receive a T4A statement.

Full-time employee: An employee working 30 or more hours per week.

Part-time employee: An employee working less than 30 hours per week.

Permanent employee: An employee who has no set termination date (include tenured teachers).

Non-permanent employee: An employee who has a set termination date or an agreement covering the period of employment (temporary, seasonal or casual).

Independent Contractor:

A person providing products or services under contract at your location but for whom the completion of a Canada Revenue Agency T4 statement is not required. This person may be an employee of another business or a home worker (computer consultant, piecework seamstress, etc.). Some independent contractors may receive a T4A statement from your location.

Managers

Include: President(s), executives, senior managers and managers that receive a T4 statement.

Senior Managers

Include the most senior executive in the workplace and other senior managers whose responsibilities would normally span more than one internal department. Most small workplaces would only have one senior manager. Examples: president of single location company; retail store manager; plant manager; senior partners in business services firms; production superintendent; senior administrator in public services enterprise; as well as vice-presidents, assistant directors, partners and assistant administrators whose responsibilities cover more than one domain.

Managers

Managers generally report to senior management and are responsible for a single domain or department. This category would normally include assistant directors or the equivalent in small workplaces. Examples: department heads or managers (engineering, accounting, R&D, personnel, computing, marketing, sales, etc.); heads or managers of specific product lines; junior partners or assistant administrators with responsibilities for a specific domain; and assistant directors in small locations (without an internal department structure).

Professionals

Employees whose duties would normally require at least an undergraduate university degree or the equivalent. Examples: medical doctors, lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, economists, science professionals, psychologists, sociologists, registered nurses, marketing and market research professionals, nurse-practitioners and teaching professionals, professors and teaching assistants. Include computing professionals whose duties would normally require a minimum of an undergraduate degree in computer science. Include professional project managers and supervisors not included in senior managers and specialist managers.

Technical/Trades

Technical/Semi-Professional Workers

Employees whose duties would normally require a community college certificate/diploma or the equivalent and who are not primarily involved in the marketing/sales of a product or service. Examples: technologists, lab technicians, registered nursing assistants, audio-visual technicians; trained caregivers; technology trainers; legal secretaries and draftspersons. Include computer programmers and operators whose duties would normally require a community college certificate or diploma. Include semi-professional project managers and supervisors not included in managers and professionals.

Trades/Skilled Production, Operation and Maintenance

Non-supervisory staff in positions requiring vocational/trades accreditation or the equivalent. Examples: construction trades, machinists, machine operators, stationary engineers, mechanics, beauticians/barbers/hairdressers, butchers and repair workers that do not normally require a post-secondary certificate or diploma.

A certificate of qualification for a skilled trade is considered a post-secondary certificate. These certificates are issued following the completion of an apprenticeship program. There are a lot of skilled trades that do require a post-secondary certificate (electrician, power line technician, etc.).

Sales/Marketing

Non-supervisory staff primarily engaged in the marketing/sales of products or services. Examples: retail sales clerks, waiters/waitresses, telemarketers, real estate agents, insurance agents and loans officers. Exclude employees whose duties require a university degree and professional accreditation (professionals), those whose duties require a community college certificate/diploma (technical/trades) and those whose duties are primarily supervisory (managers).

Administrative/Clerical

Non-supervisory staff providing clerical or administrative services for internal or external clients. Examples: secretaries, office equipment operators, filing clerks, account clerks, receptionists, desk clerks, mail and distribution clerks, bill collectors and claims adjusters. Duties do not normally require post-secondary education or responsibility for marketing or sales.

Production or Service Workers with no Trade/Certification

Non-supervisory staff in production, maintenance or service positions that require no vocational/trades accreditation or the equivalent in on-the-job training. Examples: assemblers, packers, sorters, pilers, machine operators, transportation equipment operators (drivers), warehousemen, cleaning staff, food service counter attendants, doormen and service station attendants. Jobs in this category require no more than a one-month training for someone with no trade or vocational accreditation.

Other

If you have a large number of employees who do not correspond to any of the above categories, please list their occupation(s) in the space provided below.

The Workplace Survey

For the purpose of this survey, “location” refers to the specific address appearing on the label of this questionnaire. Please consult the label on the front page. Please report for only this address. Do not combine information with any other location. If there is a question you cannot answer for the specified address, please skip to the next one.

Section A: Workforce Characteristics

Demographics

This section includes questions relating to the characteristics of the employees at this location.

A1. Was this location in operation during the entire 12-month period between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010?

• Yes Go to Question A2
• No Specify period of operation
  From: (yyyy/mm/dd)
  To: (yyyy/mm/dd)

A2. In the last pay period of December 2010 and December 2009, how many employees receiving a T4 statement were employed at this location?

Please see the definitions in the box below.

• December 2010 (If your answer is zero, we thank you for you cooperation. Please return the questionnaire using the enclosed postage paid envelope).
• December 2009

Employee: Paid employees including full-time, part-time, permanent, non-permanent and seasonal employees, of this location receiving a T4 statement (but not a T4A statement) who work on-site or off-site and employees who are on paid leave.

Do not include independent contractors.

Independent Contractor: A person providing products or services under contract at your location but for whom the completion of a Canada Revenue Agency T4 statement is not required. This person may be an employee of another business or a home worker (computer consultant, piecework seamstress, etc.). Independent contractors should not be included in Questions A1 to A9. Independent contractors may receive a T4A statement from this location.

A3. Of the total number of employees in December 2010, as reported in Question A2, how many were male and how many were female?  

Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

• Male
• Female

A4. Of the total number of employees in December 2010, as reported in Question A2, how many were in the following categories?

If you are unable to provide an actual gender breakdown, your best estimate is acceptable.
Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

Male
Female
Total

• Under 25 years of age
• 25 to 44 years of age
• 45 to 54 years of age
• 55 to 64 years of age
• 65 to 69 years of age
• 70 years of age and older

All employees
Please make sure that the totals reported here agree with the totals reported in Questions A2 and A3.

A5. Of the total number of employees in December 2010, as reported in Question A2, how many were in the following categories?

If you are unable to provide an actual gender breakdown, your best estimate is acceptable.
Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

Full-time employee: An employee working 30 or more hours per week.
Part-time employee: An employee working less than 30 hours per week.
Permanent employee: An employee who has no set termination date (include tenured teachers).
Non-permanent employee: An employee who has a set termination date or an agreement covering the period of employment (temporary, seasonal or casual).

Male
Female
Total

• Permanent employees
  Full-time
  Part-time
• Non-permanent employees
  Full-time
  Part-time
• All employees
  Please make sure that the totals reported here agree with the totals reported in Questions A2 and A3.

A6. Of the total number of employees in December 2010, as reported in Question A2, how many were in the following categories?

If you are unable to provide an actual gender breakdown, your best estimate is acceptable.
Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

Male
Female
Total

• Managers
• Professionals
• Technical/Trades
• Sales/Marketing
• Administrative/Clerical
• Production or Service Workers with no Trade/Certification
• Other
• All employees
  Please make sure that the totals reported here agree with the totals reported in Questions A2 and A3.

A7. Of the total number of employees in December 2010, as reported in Question A2, how many generally worked in the following categories:

If you are unable to provide an actual gender breakdown, your best estimate is acceptable.
Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

Male
Female
Total

• On-site
• At home
• At another workplace (including travel for work)
• Other

A8. Of the total number of employees in December 2010, as reported in Question A2, how many were in the following categories?

Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

Full-time employee: An employee working 30 or more hours per week.
Part-time employee: An employee working less than 30 hours per week.

Covered by a collective agreement
Not covered by a collective agreement

• Full-time
• Part-time

If no employees were covered by a collective agreement, Go to Question A10
Otherwise, Go to Question A9.

A9. Of the employees covered by a collective agreement, as reported in Question A8, how many were in the following categories?

Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

Full-time
Part-time
Total

• Managers
• Professionals
• Technical/Trades
• Sales/Marketing
• Administrative/Clerical
• Production or Service Workers with no Trade/Certification
• Other

Temporary and Contractual Help

A10. In December 2010, did you have workers who did not receive a T4 statement from this location, such as employees from a temporary help agency or independent contractors?

• Yes
• No Go to Question A12

A11. Of the workers who did not receive a T4 statement from this location, how many were in the following categories in December 2010?

• Workers receiving a T4 statement from a temporary help agency
• Independent contractors
• Volunteers
• Other workers not receiving a T4 statement from this location

Independent Contractor: A person providing products or services under contract at your location but for whom the completion of a Canada Revenue Agency T4 statement is not required. This person may be an employee of another business or home worker (computer consultant, piecework seamstress, etc.).

A12. Of the total number of employees in December 2010, as reported in Question A2, how many were temporary foreign workers?

A temporary foreign worker is a foreign national working legally in Canada on a temporary work permit. If you do not have any temporary foreign workers, please report zero.

• Number of temporary foreign workers

Seasonal Fluctuations

A13. In 2010, did the number of employees at this location fluctuate due to the seasonal nature of its activities?

Please exclude hires to replace employees on vacation or other leave.

• Yes
• No Go to Question B1

A14. If applicable, during which month(s) did the peak in employment occur?

Please check all that apply.

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

A15. What was the maximum number of employees at this location in 2010?

• Number of employees

Section B: Job Vacancies and Labour Turnover

Job Vacancies

B1.Please complete the table below

Vacant positions on December 31, 2010

Include

A job is vacant if it meets all three conditions:

• A specific position exists
• Work could start within 30 days
• You are actively seeking workers from outside this location to fill the position
  The position can be full-time or part-time, temporary, permanent, seasonal or on call, etc.

Exclude

• Positions to be filled by promotion/demotion, internal transfers or recall from layoffs
• Positions with start dates more than 30 days in the future
• Positions for which employees have been hired, but the employees have not yet reported for work
• Positions to be filled by employees of temporary help agencies, independent contractors or consultants

Hires
Include

A hire is any addition to your payroll from January 1 to December 31, 2010 and includes:

• New hire or a previously separated rehire
• Permanent, short-term and seasonal employees
• Recall from layoff
• Full-time and part-time employees
• On-call employees who returned to work after having been formally separated
• Workers who were hired and separated during the year
• Transfers from other locations

Exclude

• Transfers or promotions within this location
• Employees returning from a strike
• Independent contractors or consultants

Quits
Include

• Voluntary separations from January 1 to December 31, 2010

Exclude

• Retirements
• Transfers to other locations

Layoffs and dismissals
Include
Involuntary separations from January 1 to December 31, 2010 include:

• Layoffs with no intent to rehire (permanent)
• Layoffs (employees expect to be recalled)
• Dismissals/firings or other discharges for cause
• Discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing or closings
• Terminations of permanent, short-term, or seasonal employees

Retirements
Include

• Retirements from January 1 to December 31, 2010

Other separations
Include

Other separations from January 1 to December 31, 2010

• Transfers to other locations
• Employee disability (long term)
• Deaths

Total separations
Include

Add number of quits, layoffs, dismissals, retirements and other separations reported above.

Hires

B2. Of the total number of hires, at this location in 2010, as reported in Question B1, how many were hired in the following categories?

Permanent employees
Non-permanent employees

• Full-time
• Part-time
• All hires

Permanent employee: An employee who has no set termination date (include tenured teachers).

Non-permanent employee: An employee who has a set termination date or an agreement covering the period of employment (temporary, seasonal or casual).

B3. Please provide the job titles as well as a description of the most important activities or duties for the four most recently hired employees in 2010.

• Job Title #1
  (, daycare provider, factory worker, forestry technician)
• Description #1
  (, caring for children, stamp press machine operator, forest examiner)
• Job Title #2
  Description #2
• Job Title #3
  Description #3
• Job Title #4
  Description #4

Separations

B4. Of the total number of separations at this location in 2010, as reported in Question B1, how many were in the following categories?

Permanent employees
Non-permanent employees

• Full-time
• Part-time
• All separations

B5. Please provide the job titles as well as a description of the most important activities or duties for the four most recent separations, which are positions where an employee left your location in 2010 due to a quit, dismissal, layoff (permanent or temporary), retirement, death, or leave (disability, parental, etc).

• Job #1
  (daycare provider, factory worker, forestry technician)
• Description #1
  (caring for children, stamp press machine operator, forest examiner)
• Job #2
  Description #2
• Job #3
  Description #3
• Job #4
  Description #4

B6. Focusing on the four most recent separations in 2010, please provide the reason for the separation.

Quit
Layoff or dismissal
Retirement
Other separation (transfer, death, etc.)

• Job #1
• Job #2
• Job #3
• Job #4

B7. Of the total number of separations at this location in 2010, as reported in Question B1, how many resulted in eliminated positions?

• Number of eliminated positions

B8. Were there any temporary lay-offs in 2010 at this location?

Temporary lay-offs: laid-off employees who are expected to be recalled.

• Yes
• No Go to Question C1

B9. What was the number of person-days that employees spent on temporary lay-off in 2010?

• Number of person-days

Number of person-days: number of employees affected multiplied by the number of days laid-off

OR

• Number of employees affected
• Number of days laid off

Section C: Hours of Work

C1. In a usual work week in 2010, how many male and female employees were in the following categories?

Please exclude overtime hours.

If you are unable to provide an actual gender breakdown, your best estimate is acceptable.
Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

Male
Female
Total

• No hours worked
• (employees on leave or layoff)
• Less than 15 hours worked
• 15 to 29 hours worked
• 30 to 34 hours worked
• 35 to 40 hours worked
• Over 40 hours worked
• All employees

If you did not have any full-time employees in December 2010 Go to Question C5.

C2. In a usual work week in 2010, how many hours did full-time employees in the following categories work?

Regular hours
Total hours
(including overtime)

• Managers
• Professionals
• Technical/Trades
• Sales/Marketing
• Administrative/Clerical
• Production or Service Workers with no Trade/Certification
• Other

C3. In a usual work week in 2010, how often did full-time employees in the following categories work overtime hours?

Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always

• Managers
• Professionals
• Technical/Trades
• Sales/Marketing
• Administrative/ClericalProduction and Service Workers with no Trade/Certification
• Other

C4. For full-time employees in the following categories in 2010, what was the most common method of compensation for overtime hours?

Hourly overtime premiums
Regular pay rate
Compensatory time off
Not compensated
Not applicable (no overtime)

• Managers
• Professionals
• Technical/Trades
• Sales/Marketing
• Administrative/Clerical
• Production and Service Workers with no Trade/Certification
• Other

C5. In 2010 how many work days were lost at this location for the following reasons?

Please exclude paid vacation leave, maternity/parental leave, employees away on secondment or courses.

If you are unable to provide an actual gender breakdown, your best estimate is acceptable.
Please include only employees receiving a T4 statement from this location.

Male
Female
Total

• Paid personal sickness or disability leave
• Paid family related leave
• Unpaid leave
• Labour dispute (strike or lockout)

C6. Which level of government oversees the prevention and inspection of accidents and injuries of the employees in your workplace?

• The federal government
• The provincial government
• Don't know

Section D: Labour Compensation

The following questions relate to items on your financial statements.

D1. What was the gross payroll for all employees at this location in 2010?  

Gross payroll is the total remuneration paid to employees before deductions. The amount should be equivalent to the sum of the taxable employment income reported in box 14 of the T4 statement and on the Canada Revenue Agency “Remittance Form for Current Source Deductions.”

Financial amounts should be rounded to the nearest dollar.

D2. What was the number of permanent (full-time and part-time) employees in the following annual earnings categories?

If you are unable to provide an actual gender breakdown, your best estimate is acceptable.

Basic annual rate categories

Male
Female
Total

• $20,000 and below
• $20,001 - $40,000
• $40,001 - $60,000
• $60,001 - $80,000
• $80,001 - $100,000
• $100,001 - $120,000
• $120,001 and above

D3. For employees in the following categories, what was the minimum and the maximum annual salary?

Minimum
Maximum

• Managers
• Professionals
• Technical/Trades
• Sales/Marketing
• Administrative/Clerical
• Production or Service Workers with no Trade/Certification
• Other
• Overall

D4. Of the total number of employees in December 2010, as reported in Question A2, how many employees were earning the legal minimum wage?

If not applicable for your company, please report zero.

Number of employees earning legal minimum wage.

For information on minimum wage rates, please consult the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada web page at www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/lp/spila/minwage.shtml.

D5. What was the total expenditure on non-wage benefits at this location in 2010?

Non-wage benefits include but are not limited to health related benefits (dental care, life insurance), pay related benefits (severance, supplements to E.I.) or pension related benefits (pension plans, group RRSPs).

Include:

• employer’s contributions to pension plans and group RRSPs
• employer’s contributions to non-wage benefits
• severance pay
• compensation in kind other than stock plans
• non-taxable allowances and benefits
• recreational facilities provided by the employer
• moving expenses paid by the employer
• employee counselling services

Exclude:

• contribution to CPP/QPP
• contribution to Employment Insurance
• provincial health taxes
• worker’s compensation
• regular wages and salaries, commissions, overtime pay
• stock plans (purchase or ownership plans or stock options)
• paid leave
• piecework payments and special payments

Financial amounts should be rounded to the nearest dollar.

D6. What was the total training expenditure at this location, in 2010?

Include:

• trainers’ salaries
• contracts to vendors
• tuition paid to schools or training institutions
• training materials
• travel or living costs for trainees and trainers
• overhead or office costs for training

Exclude:

• salary of the employees that were on training

Financial amounts should be rounded to the nearest dollar.

Reminder: Please report for this location only.

Section E: Job Vacancies

• A job is vacant if it meets all three conditions:
• A specific position exists
• Work could start within 30 days
• You are actively seeking workers from outside this location to fill the position

The position can be full-time or part-time, temporary, permanent, seasonal or on call, etc.

If there were no job vacancies at this location on 31 December 2010, as reported in Question B1 Go to Question F1.

E1. Of the total vacant positions at this location, as reported in Question B1, how many were in the following categories and of those, how many were hard-to-fill?

Number of job vacancies
Number of vacancies which were hard-to-fill

• Managers
• Professionals
• Technical/Trades
• Sales/Marketing
• Administrative/Clerical 
• Production or Service Workers with no Trade/Certification
• Other
• All job vacancies

If you did not have any hard-to-fill vacancies, Go to Question E5.

E2. What percentage of the hard-to-fill vacancies indicated in Question E1 were due to skills shortages?

Skills Shortages exist when employers are unable to fill or have considerable difficulty in filling vacancies for an occupation, or if there are specialised skill needs within that occupation, at current levels of remuneration and conditions of employment, and a reasonably accessible location.

If you did not have any hard-to-fill vacancies due to skills shortages, please report 0 (zero), then Go to Question E5.

E3. Please provide the job titles as well as a description of the most important activities or duties for three vacant positions that have been hard-to-fill because of skills shortages.

• Job Title #1 (daycare provider, factory worker, forestry technician)
  Description #1 (caring for children, stamp press machine operator, forest examiner)
• Job Title #2
  Description #2
• Job Title #3
  Description #3

E4. For the hard-to-fill vacancies identified in E1, what were the impacts?

Please check all that apply.

• Lose business to competitors
• Delay developing new products or services
• Have difficulties meeting quality standards
• Increase operating costs
• Have difficulties introducing new work practices
• Increase workload for other staff
• Outsource work or contract out
• Decrease productivity

E5. For the vacant positions at this location in 2010, reported in Question B1, please provide the following information for four vacant positions beginning with the most recent vacancy.

Job # 1

A. Job Title (construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)

B. Description of main activities or duties (pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to a consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

C. On December 31, 2010, how long had this job been vacant?

D. Why was this position vacant? Please check the most appropriate answer.

• Quit
• Layoff or dismissal
• Retirement
• Firm growth (new position(s) similar to existing ones)
• Technological or organizational change (new position(s) with new skills required)
• Other.  Please specify:

E. Is/was this job hard-to-fill?

• Yes
• No If no, then Go to G.

F. Why was this job hard-to-fill? Please check all that apply.

• Not enough applicants

Applicants not meeting the following requirements:

• Qualifications (education level/credentials)
• Skills
• Work experience
• Motivation, attitude, or interpersonal skills

Inability to compete with other firms due to:

• Pay and benefits
• Promotion opportunities
• Shift work (regular or rotating)
• Seasonal nature of work
• Limited opportunities to use their skills
• Remote location/poor public transit

G. On December 31, 2010, were there other vacancies at this location with the same title and job description? (a location may have multiple vacant positions with the same title and job description)

• Yes How many?
• No

H. Apart from these similar jobs, were there any other job vacancies?

• Yes Go to next vacant position
• No Go to Question E6

Job # 2

A. Job Title (construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)

B. Description of main activities or duties (pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to a consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

C. On December 31, 2010, how long had this job been vacant?

D. Why was this position vacant? Please check the most appropriate answer.

• Quit
• Layoff or dismissal
• Retirement
• Firm growth (new position(s) similar to existing ones)
• Technological or organizational change (new position(s) with new skills required)
• Other. Please specify:

E. Is/was this job hard-to-fill?

• Yes
• No If no, then Go to G.

F. Why was this job hard-to-fill? Please check all that apply.

• Not enough applicants

Applicants not meeting the following requirements:

• Qualifications (education level/credentials)
• Skills
• Work experience
• Motivation, attitude, or interpersonal skills

Inability to compete with other firms due to:

• Pay and benefits
• Promotion opportunities
• Shift work (regular or rotating)
• Seasonal nature of work
• Limited opportunities to use their skills
• Remote location/poor public transit

G. On December 31, 2010, were there other vacancies at this location with the same title and job description?(a location may have multiple vacant positions with the same title and job description)

• Yes How many?
• No

H. Apart from these similar jobs, were there any other job vacancies?

• Yes Go to next vacant position
• No Go to Question E6

Job # 3

A. Job Title (construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)

B. Description of main activities or duties (pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to a consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

C. On December 31, 2010, how long had this job been vacant?

D. Why was this position vacant? Please check the most appropriate answer.

• Quit
• Layoff or dismissal
• Retirement
• Firm growth (new position(s) similar to existing ones)
• Technological or organizational change (new position(s) with new skills required)
• Other.  Please specify:

E. Is/was this job hard-to-fill?

• Yes
• No If no, then Go to G.

F. Why was this job hard-to-fill? Please check all that apply.

• Not enough applicants

Applicants not meeting the following requirements:

• Qualifications (education level/credentials)
• Skills
• Work experience
• Motivation, attitude, or interpersonal skills

Inability to compete with other firms due to:

• Pay and benefits
• Promotion opportunities
• Shift work (regular or rotating)
• Seasonal nature of work
• Limited opportunities to use their skills
• Remote location/poor public transit

G. On December 31, 2010, were there other vacancies at this location with the same title and job description? (a location may have multiple vacant positions with the same title and job description)

• Yes How many?
• No

H. Apart from these similar jobs, were there any other job vacancies?

• Yes Go to next vacant position
• Go to Question E6

Job # 4

A. Job Title (construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)

B. Description of main activities or duties (pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to a consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

C. On December 31, 2010, how long had this job been vacant?

D. Why was this position vacant? Please check the most appropriate answer.

• Quit
• Layoff or dismissal
• Retirement
• Firm growth (new position(s) similar to existing ones)
• Technological or organizational change (new position(s) with new skills required)
• Other. Please specify:

E. Is/was this job hard-to-fill?

• Yes
• No If no, then Go to G.

F. Why was this job hard-to-fill? Please check all that apply.

• Not enough applicants

Applicants not meeting the following requirements:

• Qualifications (education level/credentials)
• Skills
• Work experience
• Motivation, attitude, or interpersonal skills

Inability to compete with other firms due to:

• Pay and benefits
• Promotion opportunities
• Shift work (regular or rotating)
• Seasonal nature of work
• Limited opportunities to use their skills
• Remote location/poor public transit

G. On December 31, 2010, were there other vacancies at this location with the same title and job description?(a location may have multiple vacant positions with the same title and job description)

• Yes How many?
• No

The following questions refer to the vacant positions described in Question E5.

E6. What was the minimum number of years of work experience required for each vacant position?

Job #1
Job #2
Job # 3
Job # 4

• Number of years

E7. What was the type of work experience required?
Job #1
Job #2
Job # 3
Job # 4

• Specialized work experience (with a specific machine or system or in a specific industry)
• General work experience (sales or human resources management)
• No experience required

E8. What was the minimum education level required?
Job #1
Job #2
Job # 3
Job # 4

• None
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Some postsecondary education
• Trade certificate
• College diploma
• Undergraduate degree
• Professional accreditation or graduate degree

E9. Which of the following categories best describes each of the vacant positions?

Job #1
Job #2
Job # 3
Job # 4

• Full-time permanent
• Part-time permanent
• Full-time non-permanent
• Part-time non-permanent

E10. How would you best characterize the work hours or work arrangements of the vacant positions?
Job #1
Job #2
Job # 3
Job # 4

• Regular hours
• Shift-work (regular or rotating)
• Irregular hours

E11. Was the work associated with the vacant positions mainly on-site or off-site?
Job #1
Job #2
Job # 3
Job # 4

• Mainly on-site
• Mainly off-site

E12. What was the annual starting salary range offered, in thousands of Canadian dollars for each vacant position?

Job #1
Job #2
Job # 3
Job # 4

Minimum
Maximum

E13. What recruitment methods did you use in order to fill each vacant position?

Please check all that apply.

Job #1
Job #2
Job # 3
Job # 4

• Head hunters or personnel agency
• Company’s own Internet site
• Public Internet job postings site
• Newspaper ads
• Trade or professional association publications/sites
• Government employment centers
• On-site recruitment at schools, colleges or universities
• Word of mouth/personal contacts/referrals/informal networks
• Job signs or posters
• Unsolicited resumes
• Job fairs
• Other

Section F: current and future skill shortages

Skills Shortages: Skill Shortages exist when employers are unable to fill or have considerable difficulty in filling vacancies for an occupation, or if there are specialised skill needs within that occupation, at current levels of remuneration and conditions of employment, and reasonably accessible location.

Skills shortages are different from skills gaps.

A Skills Gap is a lack of skills, work experience or qualifications among workers already employed in a job. Skills gaps refer to gaps internal to an organisation.

F1. Do you currently have any hard-to-fill vacancies due to skills shortages?

• Yes
• No Go to Question F3

F2. What is the main reason for these vacancies?

Please check the most appropriate answer.

• Quit
• Layoff or dismissal
• Retirement
• Firm growth (new position similar to existing one)
• Technological or organizational change (new position with new skills required)
• Other.  Please specify:

F3. Do you anticipate any hard-to-fill vacancies due to skills shortages in the next two years?

• Yes
• No Go to Question G1

F4. What is the main reason you anticipate these vacancies in the next two years?

Please check the most appropriate answer.

• Quit
• Layoff or dismissal
• Retirement
• Firm growth (new position similar to existing one)
• Technological or organizational change (new position with new skills required)
• Other. Please specify:

F5. For three vacancies you anticipate being hard-to-fill due to skills shortages in the next two years, please provide the following information.

Job # 1

A. Job Title (construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)

B. Description of main activities or duties (pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

C. How many employees with this title and job description do you anticipate you will need to hire in the next two years? (a location may have multiple vacant positions with the same title and job description.)

D. If you are unable to fill the skills shortages you are anticipating in the next two years, what will be the impact?

Please check all that apply.

• Lose business or orders to competitors
• Delay developing new products or services
• Have difficulties meeting quality standards
• Increase operating costs
• Have difficulties introducing new work practices
• Increase workload for other staff
• Outsource work
• Decrease productivity
• No particular problems/none of the above

Job # 2

A. Job Title (construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)

B. Description of main activities or duties (pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

C. How many employees with this title and job description do you anticipate you will need to hire in the next two years? (a location may have multiple vacant positions with the same title and job description.)

D. If you are unable to fill the skills shortages you are anticipating in the next two years, what will be the impact?

Please check all that apply.

• Lose business or orders to competitors
• Delay developing new products or services
• Have difficulties meeting quality standards
• Increase operating costs
• Have difficulties introducing new work practices
• Increase workload for other staff
• Outsource work
• Decrease productivity
• No particular problems/none of the above

Job # 3

A. Job Title (construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)

B. Description of main activities or duties (pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

C. How many employees with this title and job description do you anticipate you will need to hire in the next two years? (a location may have multiple vacant positions with the same title and job description.)

D. If you are unable to fill the skills shortages you are anticipating in the next two years, what will be the impact?

Please check all that apply.

• Lose business or orders to competitors
• Delay developing new products or services
• Have difficulties meeting quality standards
• Increase operating costs
• Have difficulties introducing new work practices
• Increase workload for other staff
• Outsource work
• Decrease productivity
• No particular problems/none of the above

SECTION G:

G1. How much time was spent completing this questionnaire?

• Hours
• Minutes

G2. Does this business operate out of more than one location?

• Yes
• No Go to the end of the questionnaire

G3. In completing this questionnaire, did you combine information with any other location?

• Yes
• No Go to the end of the questionnaire

G4. Which locations did you report for?

This location Go to the end of the questionnaire

• Some locations
• All locations Go to the end of the questionnaire

G5.In what province(s) did the locations you reported for operate?

All locations
Some locations

• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Prince Edward Island
• Nova Scotia
• New Brunswick
• Quebec
• Ontario
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Alberta
• British Columbia

G6. In 2010, what percentage of the total employment of this company was attributable to the locations you reported for?

Please return the completed questionnaire in the accompanying self-addressed, pre-paid envelope within 15 days of receipt.

On behalf of Statistics Canada , we would like to thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire.

Confidential when completed.

This survey is conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, c. S-19. Completion of this questionnaire is a legal requirement under the Statistics Act.

Si vous préférez ce questionnaire en français veuillez cocher la case.

The purpose of this survey is to collect information on livestock and crops. The statistics produced from the survey enable those active in the agricultural sector to observe and assess changes in the industry, measure performance and keep the agricultural community and general public informed of developments. The questions in Section C (Cattle and Calves Supplementary) are sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to aid in the analysis of the cattle sector since BSE.

Statistics Canada is collecting information concerning the farm described on the label. If the operators of this holding manage any other farm(s) entirely separate from this farm (i.e., separate accounting books are kept), please do not include any data for the other farm(s) on this questionnaire.

Instructions: When answering the livestock questions, please include as of June 1, 2010 ...

• all livestock (cattle or calves, pigs, and/or sheep or lambs) on your operation regardless of ownership, including livestock pastured, custom fed or fed under contract for others.
• all livestock owned by the operator and held on Crown land, community pastures, and grazing projects.
• Please Do Not Report livestock (cattle or calves, pigs and/or sheep or lambs) which are owned by you but kept on a farm, ranch or feedlot operated by someone else.

Section A. Crops Seeded

1. Did you or do you plan to seed any crops in 2010?

• Yes
• No (Go to Question 3)

2. Which of the following crops did you seed or will you seed in 2010?  (Report seeded area and Unit Of Measure (UOM).)

1. Barley
2. Corn for Grain (include seed corn and exclude sweet corn)
3. Fodder Corn
4. Mixed Grains (two or more grains sown together)
5. Oats
6. Potatoes
7. Soybeans
8. Spring Wheat
9. Other Crops (list in comments)

(Go to Question 3)

3. Did you seed any Winter Wheat in the fall of 2009?

• Yes (Go to Question 4)
• No (Go to Question 6)

4. What area of Winter Wheat did you seed in the fall of 2009 (Include UOM)?

(Go to Question 5)

5. What area is remaining to be harvested (Include UOM)?

(Go to Question 6)

6. Will you have Tame Hay in 2010?

• Yes
• No  (Go to Question 8)

7. What will be your total area of Tame Hay (Include UOM)?

• Total Area

(Go to Question 8)

8. What is your total area of Land for pasture or grazing and Other land in 2010? (Report total area and UOM.)

• Land for pasture or grazing (Note: If a field is used the same year for harvesting hay as pasture, count it only once as a hay field.)
• Other land
• Total farm area operated

(Go to Section B)

Section B. Cattle and/or Calves

1. On June 1, 2010 do you expect to have any cattle or calves on this operation?
  Include grazing projects, community pastures or Crown land.

• Yes
• No  (Go to Section D)

2. Are cattle or calves kept on this operation for someone else? (If yes include them as part of inventory.)

• Yes
• No

3. How many of the following do you expect to have on this operation on June 1, 2010?

Total Number

1. Bulls, 1 year and over
2. Dairy cows
3. Beef cows
4. Calves, under 1 year
5. Heifers, 1 year and over
   1. for Dairy replacement heifers (1 year and over)
   2. for Beef replacement heifers (1 year and over)
   3. for Slaughter or Feeder heifers (1 year and over)
6. Steers, 1 year and over

4. What will be the total cattle and/or calves inventory on June 1, 2010 on this operation?

Questions on Production

5. On this operation, how many calves do you expect to be born alive between January 1 and June 30, 2010?

6. On this operation, how many cows and heifers do you expect to calve between July 1 and December 31, 2010?

Section C. Cattle and Calves Supplementary

At June 1, 2010

1. Of the dairy cows reported (section B, question 3), how many are more than 11 years of age? (i.e. cows born before 1999)
2. Of the beef cows reported (section B, question 3), how many are more than 11 years of age? (i.e. cows born before 1999)
3. Of the feeder heifers reported (section B, question 3), how many are in the following three weight categories
   1. More than (or equal to) 1100 lbs (500 kg)
   2. Between 900 lbs and 1100 lbs (409-500 kg)
   3. Between 700 lbs and 900 lbs (318-409 kg)
4. Of the steers (1 year and over) reported (section B, question 3), how many are in the following three weight categories
   1. More than (or equal to) 1250 lbs (568 kg)
   2. Between 1000 lbs and 1250 lbs (455-568 kg)
   3. Between 800 lbs and 1000 lbs (363-455 kg)
5. Of those feeder heifers (section B, question 3) and/or steers (1 year and over) (section B, question 3) reported as of June 1, how many are being fed a finishing ration (mostly grain)?
6. Of those feeder heifers (section B, question 3) and/or steers (1 year and over ) (section B, question 3) reported as of June 1, how many are under 21 months of age?

Section D. Pigs

Inventory

1(a)  On June 1, 2010 do you expect to have any pigs on this operation?

• Yes
• No (Go to Question 1b)

1(b)  Were there any pigs on this operation during the past quarter (April, May and June 2010)?

• Yes  (Go to Question 6)
• No  (Go to Section E)

2. How many of the following do you expect to have on this operation on June 1, 2010?

Total Number

1. Sows and gilts kept for breeding
2. Boars kept for breeding
3. Suckling pigs
4. Weanling, nursery, or starter pigs
5. Market pigs, 50 pounds and over (23 kg and over)

3. What will be the total pig inventory on June 1, 2010 on this operation?

4. Of the sows and gilts for breeding reported in section D, question 2, what percent would have farrowed at least once?

5. Of the market pigs reported in section D, question 2, what number or percent are in the following three categories? Please report as a number or %

1. over 179 pounds (81 kg)
2. between 120 to 179 pounds (54 to 81 kg)
3. under 120 pounds (54 kg)?
   (Exclude weanling, nursery, or starter pigs)

Farrowings

6. During the last quarter (April, May and June 2010) how many sows and bred gilts farrowed? ? (Please report the farrowing rate as a quarterly, monthly, bi-weekly or weekly rate.)

If none, go to question 10

7. Compared with the last quarter, what is the expected percent change to farrowings in:
(Please report the percent change as an increase, decrease or no change.)

1. July, August and September 2010?
2. October, November and December 2010?

8. On average, how many pigs were born per litter during the last quarter (April, May and June 2010)?

9. Of the pigs born last quarter, what percentage died or were destroyed before weaning?

Shipments

10.  In April, May and June 2010, how many market pigs will this operation have shipped to a slaughter facility?

If none, go to question 12

11.  Of those market pigs shipped to slaughter, what number or percent will be shipped to a facility in: (Please report as a number or %)

1. the United States
2. another province
3. within province

12.  In April, May and June 2010, how many weanling, nursery, or starter pigs will this operation have shipped to another operation for feeding purposes?

If none, go to Section E

13.  Of those weanling, nursery, or starter pigs shipped for feeding purposes, what number or percent will be shipped to another operation in: ( Please report as a number or %)

1. the United States
2. another province
3. within province

Section E. Sheep and/or Lambs

1(a)  On June 1, 2010 do you expect to have any sheep or lambs on this operation?
Include grazing projects, community pastures or Crown land.

• Yes
• No (Go to Question 1b)

1(b)  Were there any sheep or lambs kept on this operation between January 1 and May 31, 2010?

• Yes  (Answer Questions 5, 6 and 7)
• No  (Go to Section F)

2. Are sheep or lambs kept on this operation for someone else? (If yes include them as part of inventory.)

• Yes
• No

3. How many of the following do you expect to have on this operation on June 1, 2010?

Total Number

1. Rams, 1 year and over
2. Ewes
3. Replacement lambs
4. Market lambs

4. What will be the total sheep and lambs inventory on June 1, 2010 on this operation?

Questions on Production

5. On this operation, how many lambs do you expect to be born between January 1 and June 30, 2010?
6. How many sheep and lambs died or will die, including those killed by disease or predators, between January 1 and June 30, 2010?
7. On this operation, how many lambs do you expect to be born between July 1 and December 31, 2010?

Section F. General Information

Confidentiality

Your answers are confidential.

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. The confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act are not affected by either the Access to Information Act or any other legislation. Therefore, for example, the Canada Revenue Agency cannot access identifiable survey records from Statistics Canada.

Information from this survey will be used for statistical purposes only and will be published in aggregate form only.

Data-sharing agreements

To avoid duplication of enquiry, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial statistical agencies, which must keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and farm operations may not object to the sharing of their data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to farm operations located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal and provincial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician at the address below. Please specify the name of the survey and the organizations with which you do not want to share your data.

Statistics Canada
Chief Statistician
R. H. Coats Building, 26th Floor, Section A
100 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T6

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the Prince Edward Island statistical agency and the New Brunswick Agriculture and Aquaculture department.

For agreements with provincial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to farm operations located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Comments:

Confidential when completed
This survey is conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, c. S-19. Completion of this questionnaire is a legal requirement under the Statistics Act.

Si vous préférez ce questionnaire en français veuillez cocher la case

The purpose of this survey is to collect information on livestock. The statistics produced from the survey enable those active in the agricultural sector to observe and assess changes in the industry, measure performance and keep the agricultural community and general public informed of developments. The questions in Section B (Cattle and Calves Supplementary) are sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to aid in the analysis of the cattle sector since BSE.

Statistics Canada is collecting information concerning the farm described on the label. If the operators of this holding manage any other farm(s) entirely separate from this farm (i.e., separate accounting books are kept), please do not include any data for the other farm(s) on this questionnaire.

Instructions: When answering the questions, please include as of July 1, 2010

all livestock (cattle or calves, pigs, and/or sheep or lambs) on your operation regardless of ownership, including livestock custom fed, fed under contract for others, and livestock pastured.

all livestock owned by the operator and held on Crown land, community pastures, and grazing projects.

Please DO NOT REPORT livestock (cattle or calves, pigs and/or sheep or lambs) which are owned by you but kept on a farm, ranch or feedlot operated by someone else.

Section A. Cattle and/or Calves

1. On July 1, 2010 do you expect to have any cattle or calves on this operation?
Include grazing projects, community pastures or Crown land.

• Yes
• No (Go to Section C)

2. Are cattle or calves kept on this operation for someone else? (If yes include them as part of inventory.)

• Yes
• No

Inventory Questions

3. How many of the following do you expect to have on this operation on July 1, 2010?

Total Number
i) Bulls, 1 year and over
ii) Dairy cows
iii) Beef cows
iv) Calves, under 1 year
v) Heifers, 1 year and over
a) Dairy replacement heifers (1 year and over)
b) Beef replacement heifers (1 year and over)
c) Slaughter or feeder heifers (1 year and over)
vi) Steers, 1 year and over

4. What will be the total cattle and/or calves inventory on July 1, 2010 on this operation?

Questions On Production

5. On this operation, how many calves were born alive in the last 6 months (between January 1 and June 30, 2010)?
6. On this operation, how many cows and heifers do you expect to calve between July 1 and December 31, 2010?

Section B. Cattle and Calves Supplementary

At July 1, 2010

1. Of the dairy cows reported (Section A, Question 3), how many are more than 11 years of age? (i.e. cows born before 1999)
2. Of the beef cows reported (Section A, Question 3), how many are more than 11 years of age? (i.e. cows born before 1999)

3. Of the feeder heifers reported (Section A, Question 3), how many are in the following three weight categories;
a) More than (or equal to) 1100 lbs (500 kg)
b) Between 900 lbs and 1100 lbs (409-500 kg)
c) Between 700 lbs and 900 lbs (318-409 kg)

4. Of the steers (1 year and over) reported (Section A, Question 3), how many are in the following three weight categories;
a) More than (or equal to) 1250 lbs (568 kg)
b) Between 1000 lbs and 1250 lbs (455-568 kg)
c) Between 800 lbs and 1000 lbs (363-455 kg)

5. Of those feeder heifers (Section A, Question 3) and/or steers (1 year and over) (Section A, Question 3) reported as of July 1, how many are being fed a finishing ration (mostly grain)?

6. Of those feeder heifers (Section A, Question 3) and/or steers (1 year and over ) (Section A, Question 3) reported as of July 1, how many are under 21 months of age?

Section C. Pigs

Inventory

1(a) On July 1, 2010 do you expect to have any pigs on this operation?

• Yes
• No

1(b) Were there any pigs on this operation during the past quarter (April, May and June 2010)?

• Yes (Go to Question 6)
• No (Go to Section D)

2. How many of the following do you expect to have on this operation on July 1, 2010?

Total Number

i) Sows and gilts kept for breeding
ii) Boars kept for breeding
iii) Suckling pigs
iv) Weanling, nursery, or starter pigs
v) Market pigs, 50 pounds and over (23 kg and over)

3. What will be the total pig inventory on July 1, 2010 on this operation?

4. Of the sows and gilts for breeding reported in section C, what percent would have farrowed at least once?

5. Of the market pigs reported in section C, what number or percent are in the following three categories? Please report as a number or %
i) over 179 pounds (81 kg)
ii) between 120 to 179 pounds (54 to 81 kg)
iii) under 120 pounds (54 kg)? (Exclude weanling, nursery, or starter pigs)

Farrowings

6. During the last quarter (April, May and June 2010) how many sows and bred gilts farrowed?

• Quarterly
• Monthly
• Bi-Weekly
• Weekly

If none, go to question 10

7. Compared with the last quarter, what is the expected percent change to farrowings in:
i) July, August and September 2010?

• Increase
• Decrease
• No change

ii) October, November and December 2010?

• Increase
• Decrease
• No change

8. On average, how many pigs were born per litter during the last quarter (April, May and June 2010)?

9. Of the pigs born last quarter, what percentage died or were destroyed before weaning?

Shipments

10. In April, May and June 2010, how many market pigs will this operation have shipped to a slaughter facility?
If none, go to question 12

11. Of those market pigs shipped to slaughter, what number or percent will be shipped to a facility in:
Please report as a number or %
i) the United States
ii) another province
iii) within province

12. In April, May and June 2010, how many weanling, nursery, or starter pigs will this operation have shipped to another operation for feeding purposes?
If none, go to Section D

13. Of those weanling, nursery, or starter pigs shipped for feeding purposes, what number or percent will be shipped to another operation in:
Please report as a number or %
i) the United States
ii) another province
iii) within province

Section D. Sheep and/or Lambs

1.(a) On July 1, 2010 do you expect to have any sheep or lambs on this operation? Include grazing projects, community pastures or Crown land.

• Yes
• No

1.(b) Were there any sheep or lambs kept on this operation between January 1 and June 30, 2010?

• Yes (Answer Questions 5, 6 and 7)
• No (Go to Section E)

2. Are sheep or lambs kept on this operation for someone else? (If yes include them as part of inventory.)

• Yes
• No

Inventory Questions

3. How many of the following do you expect to have on this operation on July 1, 2010?

Total Number

i) Rams, 1 year and over
ii) Ewes
iii) Replacement lambs
iv) Market lambs

4. What will be the total sheep and lambs inventory on July 1, 2010 on this operation?

Questions on Production

5. On this operation, how many lambs were born in the last 6 months (between January 1 and June 30, 2010)?
6. How many sheep and lambs died or will die, including those killed by disease or predators, between January 1 and June 30, 2010?
7. On this operation, how many lambs do you expect to be born between July 1 and December 31, 2010?

Section E. General Information

Confidentiality

Your answers are confidential.

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. The confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act are not affected by either the Access to Information Act or any other legislation. Therefore, for example, the Canada Revenue Agency cannot access identifiable survey records from Statistics Canada.

Information from this survey will be used for statistical purposes only and will be published in aggregate form only.

Data-sharing agreements

To avoid duplication of enquiry, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial statistical agencies, which must keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and farm operations may not object to the sharing of their data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial statistical agencies of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to farm operations located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal and provincial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician at the address below. Please specify the name of the survey and the organizations with which you do not want to share your data.

Statistics Canada
Chief Statistician
R. H. Coats Building, 26th Floor, Section A
100 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T6

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Manitoba Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture and the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.

For agreements with provincial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to farm operations located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Comments:

5-5100-11.1: 2010-02-22 STC/AGR-460-75028

Confidential when completed

This survey is conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, c. S-19. Completion of this questionnaire is a legal requirement under the Statistics Act.

The purpose of this survey is to provide reliable estimates of Canadian production of mushrooms. To carry on work in your interest, government departments and producers' organizations require complete and accurate information. We depend on you to supply the facts.

Your data are kept strictly confidential and are grouped with others for statistical purposes.

Review the information on the label. If any information is incorrect or missing, please make the necessary corrections in the boxes below.

• Farm Name (if applicable)
• Corporation Name (if applicable)

Main operator

• Surname or Family Name
• Area Code
• Telephone
• Usual First Name and Initial
• Area Code
• Fax
• Location of alternate telephone
• Area Code
• Telephone
• R.R.
• Box No.
• Number and Street Name
• Postal Code
• Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)
• Email Address (if applicable)

Partner

• Partner's Surname or Family Name
• Area Code
• Telephone
• Partner's Usual First Name and Initial
• Area Code
• Fax
• Location of alternate telephone
• Area Code
• Telephone
• R.R.
• Box No.
• Number and Street Name
• Postal Code
• Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)

Check this box if the address and telephone is the same as main operator.

Partner

• Partner's Surname or Family Name
• Area Code
• Telephone
• Partner's Usual First Name and Initial
• Area Code
• Fax
• Location of alternate telephone
• Area Code
• Telephone
• R.R.
• Box No.
• Number and Street Name
• Postal Code
• Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)

Check this box if the address and telephone is the same as main operator.

What species of mushrooms did you grow in 2009? (Tick all that apply)

• Agaricus (fill in Part I, on this page, 'Agaricus Mushrooms')
• Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) - (fill in Part II, 'Specialty Mushrooms')
• Oyster (Pleurotus) - (fill in Part II, 'Specialty Mushrooms')
• Other (specify) - (fill in Part II, 'Specialty Mushrooms')

Part I - Agaricus Mushrooms

Section A - Agaricus Mushrooms

1. Type of Operation
What type of operation did you have for your Agaricus production in 2009?

• bed
• tray
• tunnel
• Other (specify)

What growing medium did you use for your Agaricus production in 2009?

• straw based compost
• hay/straw/manure based compost
• hay based compost
• manure based compost
• Other (specify)

2. Crop production and sales of Agaricus mushrooms

square feet
square metres
Total growing area for Agaricus mushrooms (standing footage) in 2010
Total growing area for Agaricus mushrooms (standing footage) in 2009
Total growing area spawned in 2009 (i.e., 10,000 sq, ft, spawned three times = 30,000 sq. ft.)

Quantity

• pounds
• kilograms

Value

• $

Fresh market sales of Agaricus mushrooms
Sales to processors of Agaricus mushrooms
Total Agaricus mushrooms sold in 2009

Section B - Value of investment for Agaricus mushrooms production (at current fair market value)

$
Total value of land only (leased or owned)
Total value of all buildings (including bed structures, heating and cooling equipment) used for Agaricus production)
Total value of all other machinery and equipment used in your Agaricus mushroom business

Section C - Labour for Agaricus mushrooms production

(Please include paid members of your family engaged in your Agaricus mushroom operation, including management salaries)

No.
Total number of full-time employees in 2009
No.
Total number of part-time employees in 2009 (i.e., working less than 25 hours per week)
$
Total labour cost in 2009 (include all benefits paid on behalf of employees, i.e., medical, E.I.,
pension plans, workmen's compensation, etc.)

Part II - Specialty Mushrooms

Section A - Shiitake Mushrooms

1. Type of Operation
What type of operation did you have for your Shiitake production in 2009?

• bed
• tray
• log
• Other (specify)

What growing medium did you use for your Shiitake production in 2009?

• natural wood logs
• sawdust
• pulp mill waste fibres
• Other (specify)

Did you grow your Shiitake mushrooms

• indoors or
• outdoors in 2009?

• Crop production and sales of Shiitake mushrooms

square feet
square metres
number of logs
Total growing area for Shiitake mushrooms (standing footage or number of logs) in 2010
Total growing area for Shiitake mushrooms (standing footage or number of logs) in 2009
Total growing area spawned in 2009 (i.e., 10,000 sq. ft. spawned three times = 30,000 sq. ft.)

Quantity

• pounds
• kilograms

Value

• $

Fresh market sales of Shiitake mushrooms
Sales to processors of Shiitake mushrooms
Total Shiitake mushrooms sold in 2009

Section B - Oyster and Other Species of Mushrooms

What species of mushrooms (other than Agaricus and Shiitake) did you grow in 2009?

• Oyster
• Other (specify)

1. Type of Operation
What type of operation did you have for your Oyster/Other production in 2009?

• bed
• tray
• tunnel
• log
• Other (specify)

What growing medium did you use for your Oyster/Other production in 2009?

• straw
• straw/manure based compost
• hay/straw based compost
• hay based compost
• pulp mill waste fibres
• Other (specify)

2. Crop production and sales of Oyster/Other mushrooms

square feet
square metres
number of logs
Total growing area for Oyster/Other mushrooms (standing footage or number of logs) in 2010
Total growing area for Oyster/Other mushrooms (standing footage or number of logs) in 2009
Total growing area spawned in 2009 (i.e., 10,000 sq. ft. spawned three times = 30,000 sq. ft.)

Quantity

• Pounds
• kilograms

Value

• $

Fresh market sales of Oyster/Other mushrooms
Sales to processors of Oyster/Other mushrooms
Total Oyster/Other mushrooms sold in 2009

Section C - Value of investment for specialty mushroom production (at current fair market value)

$
Total value of land only (leased or owned)
Total value of all building (including bed structures, heating and cooling equipment) used for specialty mushroom production
Total value of all other machinery and equipment used in your specialty mushroom business

Section D - Labour for specialty mushroom production

(Please indicate paid members of your family engaged in your specialty mushroom operation, including management salaries.)

No.
Total number of full-time employees in 2009
No.
Total number of part-time employees in 2009 (i.e., working less than 25 hours per week)
$
Total labour cost in 2009 (include all benefits paid on behalf of employee, i.e., medical, E.I. pension plans, workmen's compensation, etc.)

Agreement to Share Information

Note to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia:

To avoid duplication of enquiry this survey is conducted under a co-operative agreement with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Forest Resources and Agri-Food, the New Brunswick Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture and the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries pursuant to Section 12 of the Statistics Act (SC 1985, Chap. S19). Address any comments or questions to the Agriculture Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6.

The information collected and shared will be kept confidential and used only for statistical purposes. Any information shared with a provincial ministry of agriculture is released in aggregate form only. The provincial ministry of agriculture must guarantee the confidentiality of all shared data.

Statistics Canada does not provide the respondent's name or address to any provincial ministry of agriculture.

Do you agree to share this information?

• Yes
• No

To residents of Quebec:

To avoid duplication of enquiry, this survey is conducted under a co-operative agreement to share information in accordance with Section 11 of the Statistics Act, with Statistics Canada and l'Institut de la statistique du Québec.

Comments from Interviewer/Farm Operator:

Confidential when completed

This survey is conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, c. S-19. Completion of this questionnaire is a legal requirement under the Statistics Act.

Si vous préférez ce questionnaire en français, veuillez cocher la boîte

The purpose of this survey is to collect information on the area of fruits and vegetables grown in Canada. The area estimates are needed to provide Canadian growers with the protection of the Snapback Tariff program.

Would you prefer to answer next year's survey over the telephone?

• Yes
• No

A. Review the information on the label. If any information is incorrect or missing, please make the necessary corrections in the boxes below.

Farm Name (if applicable)
Corporation Name (if applicable)

Main Operator
Surname or Family Name
Usual First Name and Initial
Area Code Telephone
Area Code FAX
Location of alternate telephone
Area Code Telephone
R.R.
Box No.
Number and Street Name
Postal Code
Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)
Email Address (if applicable)

Partner
Partner's Surname or Family Name
Partner's Usual First Name and Initial
Area Code Telephone
Area Code FAX
Location of alternate telephone
Area Code Telephone
R.R.
Box No.
Number and Street Name
Postal Code
Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)
Check this box if the address and telephone is the same as main operator.

Partner
Partner's Surname or Family Name
Partner's Usual First Name and Initial
Area Code Telephone
Area Code FAX
Location of alternate telephone
Area Code Telephone
R.R.
Box No.
Number and Street Name
Postal Code
Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)
Check this box if the address and telephone is the same as main operator.

B. Will you grow any fruit and/or vegetables for sale in 2010?  Do not include greenhouse fruit and vegetables.

• Yes
• No - temporarily out of fruit and/or vegetable production
• No - permanently out of fruit and/or vegetable production
• No - never in fruit or vegetable production

Are the fruit and/or vegetables grown on your farm certified organic?

• Yes
• No

Please provide us with the name of your certifying agency

• If you answered yes to B, go to C.
• If you answered no to B, please skip to Section F.

C. Land Units

Will you be reporting the land area figures in:

• acres
• hectares
• arpents

D. Fruit Area (Grown For Sale)

Will you grow any fruit for sale in 2010? (Do not include fruit grown for home use.)

• Yes
• No (Go to Section E)

For the following fruit, please give the total area and give the producing areas grown for the fresh market and for processing separately. Exclude fruits grown for home use.

2010

Report to the nearest 1/10 of the land unit.

• Total area (Producing and non-producing, include rented area)

Producing area

• producing area for fresh market
• producing area for processing market

1. Apples
2. Apricots
3. High Bush Blueberries
4. Low Bush Blueberries
5. Sweet Cherries
6. Sour Cherries
7. Cranberries
8. Labrusca Grapes (Table)
9. Vinifera Grapes
10. Kiwis
11. Nectarines
12. Peaches
13. Pears
14. Plums and Prunes
15. Raspberries
16. Saskatoon Berries
17. Strawberries
18. Other Fruit Specify
19. Other Fruit Specify
20. Other Fruit Specify

E. Vegetable Area (Grown For Sale)

Will you grow any vegetables for sale in 2010? Do not include greenhouse vegetables.

• Yes
• No (Go to Section F. If D and E are answered no.)

For the following crops, what is the area you have planted or will plant for sale in 2010? Please give the areas planted for the fresh market and for processing separately. Exclude vegetables grown for home use.

2010

Report to the nearest 1/10 of the land unit.

• Total area (Producing and non-producing, include rented area)
• Producing area
• for fresh market
• for processing

1. Asparagus
2. Green or Wax Beans
3. Beets
4. Broccoli
5. Brussels Sprouts
6. Chinese Cabbage
7. Regular Cabbage
8. Baby Carrots
9. Regular Carrots
10. Cauliflower
11. Celery
12. Cucumbers & Gherkins
13. Garlic
14. Leeks
15. Head Lettuce
16. Leaf Lettuce (i.e. Romaine)
17. Melons (Watermelon)
18. Other Melons (include Cantaloupe, Winter Melons, etc.)
19. Dry Onions
20. Green Onions, Shallots
21. Parsley
22. Parsnips
23. Green Peas
24. Peppers
25. Potatoes
26. Pumpkins
27. Radishes
28. Rhubarb
29. Rutabagas and Turnips
30. Spinach
31. Squash and Zucchinis
32. Sweet Corn (exclude Grain Corn)
33. Tomatoes
34. Other Vegetable Specify
35. Other Vegetable Specify

F. Are you still operating a farm? (Answer this Question only if you answered "No" to Question B)

• Yes, Skip to Section G.
• No, out of business
• No, operator changed
• No, other reason - Explain in the "Comments" Section. Skip to Section G.

Out of Business

1. Why is the farm out of business?

2. Does the operator plan to resume operating the farm in the future?

• Yes - When /year/month
• No - Don't know

Change of Operator

3.   Why has the farm changed operators? ((x) one box)

1. sold
2. rented/leased (period) (year(s))
3. farm operator retired
4. retired farm operator passed away
5. other (specify)

G. Respondent Information

Information on this questionnaire provided by: (Mark (x) in one box only)

1. farm operator (OPER1)
2. partner (OPER2 or OPER3)
3. spouse (if different from partner)
4. hired hand
5. other (specify relation to OPER1)

H. Federal/provincial agreement to share information

Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia Residents:

To reduce the number of federal and provincial surveys and to ensure more uniform statistics, Statistics Canada has entered into data sharing agreements under Section 12 of the Statistics Act with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Forest Resources and Agri-foods, New Brunswick Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Manitoba Department of Agriculture, the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture and Food and the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The information collected and shared will be kept confidential and only used for statistical purposes. Under Section 12 of the Statistics Act you may refuse to share your information. Address any comments or questions to the Agriculture Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T6.

Do you agree to share this information? (Mark (x) in one box only)

• Yes
• No

To Residents of Quebec: To avoid duplication of enquiry this survey is conducted under a co-operative agreement with the Institut de la statistique du Québec pursuant to Section 11 of the Statistics Act. The Quebec Statistics Act includes the same provisions for confidentiality and penalities for disclosure of information as the Federal Statistics Act.

Comments from Respondent

Interviewer
Regional Office
Senior Interviewer

Head Office

Confidential when completed

This survey is conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, c. S-19. Completion of this questionnaire is a legal requirement under the Statistics Act.

Si vous préférez ce questionnaire en français, veuillez cocher

The purpose of this survey is to provide reliable estimates of Canadian production of mushrooms. To carry on work in your interest, government departments and producers' organizations require complete and accurate information. We depend on you to supply the facts.

Your data are kept strictly confidential and are grouped with others for statistical purposes.

Review the information on the label. If any information is incorrect or missing, please make the necessary corrections in the boxes below.

• Farm Name (if applicable)
• Corporation Name (if applicable)

Main operator

• Surname or Family Name
• Area Code
• Telephone
• Usual First Name and Initial
• Area Code
• FAX
• Location of alternate telephone
• Area Code
• Telephone
• R.R.
• Box No.
• Number and Street Name
• Postal Code
• Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)
• Email Address (if applicable)

Partner

• Partner's Surname or Family Name
• Area Code
• Telephone
• Partner's Usual First Name and Initial
• Area Code
• FAX
• Location of alternate telephone
• Area Code
• Telephone
• R.R.
• Box No.
• Number and Street Name
• Postal Code
• Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)

Check this box if the address and telephone is the same as main operator.

Partner

• Partner's Surname or Family Name
• Area Code
• Telephone
• Partner's Usual First Name and Initial
• Area Code
• FAX
• Location of alternate telephone
• Area Code
• Telephone
• R.R.
• Box No.
• Number and Street Name
• Postal Code
• Post Office (name of city, town or village where mail is received)

Check this box if the address and telephone is the same as main operator.

What species of mushrooms did you grow in 2009? (Tick all that apply)

• Agaricus (fill in Part I, on this page, 'Agaricus Mushrooms')
• Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) - (fill in Part II, 'Specialty Mushrooms')
• Oyster (Pleurotus) - (fill in Part II, 'Specialty Mushrooms')
• Other (specify) - (fill in Part II, 'Specialty Mushrooms')

Part I - Agaricus Mshrooms

Section A - Agaricus Mushrooms

1. Type of Operation
What type of operation did you have for your Agaricus production in 2009?

• bed
• tray
• tunnel
• Other (specify)

What growing medium did you use for your Agaricus production in 2009?

• straw based compost
• hay/straw/manure based compost
• hay based compost
• manure based compost
• Other (specify)

2. Crop production and sales of Agaricus mushrooms

square feet
square metres
Total growing area for Agaricus mushrooms (standing footage) in 2010
Total growing area for Agaricus mushrooms (standing footage) in 2009
Total growing area spawned in 2009 (i.e., 10,000 sq, ft, spawned three times = 30,000 sq. ft.)

Quantity

• pounds
• kilograms

Value

• $

Fresh market sales of Agaricus mushrooms
Sales to processors of Agaricus mushrooms
Total Agaricus mushrooms sold in 2009

Section B - Value of investment for Agaricus mushrooms production (at current fair market value)

$
Total value of land only (leased or owned)
Total value of all buildings (including bed structures, heating and cooling equipment) used for Agaricus production)
Total value of all other machinery and equipment used in your Agaricus mushroom business

Section C - Labour for Agaricus mushrooms production

(Please include paid members of your family engaged in your Agaricus mushroom operation, including management salaries)

No.
Total number of full-time employees in 2009
No.
Total number of part-time employees in 2009 ( i.e., working less than 25 hours per week)
$
Total labour cost in 2009 (include all benefits paid on behalf of employees, i.e., medical, E.I.,
pension plans, workmen's compensation, etc.)

Part II - Specialty Mushrooms

Section A - Shiitake Mushrooms

1. Type of Operation
What type of operation did you have for your Shiitake production in 2009?

• bed
• tray
• log
• Other (specify)

What growing medium did you use for your Shiitake production in 2009?

• natural wood logs
• sawdust
• pulp mill waste fibres
• Other (specify)

Did you grow your Shiitake mushrooms

• indoors or
• outdoors in 2009?

• Crop production and sales of Shiitake mushrooms

square feet
square metres
number of logs
Total growing area for Shiitake mushrooms (standing footage or number of logs) in 2010
Total growing area for Shiitake mushrooms (standing footage or number of logs) in 2009
Total growing area spawned in 2009 (i.e., 10,000 sq. ft. spawned three times = 30,000 sq. ft.)

Quantity

• pounds
• kilograms

Value

• $

Fresh market sales of Shiitake mushrooms
Sales to processors of Shiitake mushrooms
Total Shiitake mushrooms sold in 2009

Section B - Oyster and Other Species of Mushrooms

What species of mushrooms (other than Agaricus and Shiitake) did you grow in 2009?

• Oyster
• Other (specify)

1. Type of Operation
What type of operation did you have for your Oyster/Other production in 2009?

• bed
• tray
• tunnel
• log
• Other (specify)

What growing medium did you use for your Oyster/Other production in 2009?

• straw
• straw/manure based compost
• hay/straw based compost
• hay based compost
• pulp mill waste fibres
• Other (specify)

2. Crop production and sales of Oyster/Other mushrooms

square feet
square metres
number of logs
Total growing area for Oyster/Other mushrooms (standing footage or number of logs) in 2010
Total growing area for Oyster/Other mushrooms (standing footage or number of logs) in 2009
Total growing area spawned in 2009 (i.e., 10,000 sq. ft. spawned three times = 30,000 sq. ft.)

Quantity

• Pounds
• kilograms

Value

• $

Fresh market sales of Oyster/Other mushrooms
Sales to processors of Oyster/Other mushrooms
Total Oyster/Other mushrooms sold in 2009

Section C - Value of investment for specialty mushroom production (at current fair market value)

$
Total value of land only (leased or owned)
Total value of all building (including bed structures, heating and cooling equipment) used for specialty mushroom production
Total value of all other machinery and equipment used in your specialty mushroom business

 

Section D - Labour for specialty mushroom production

(Please indicate paid members of your family engaged in your specialty mushroom operation, including management salaries.)

No.
Total number of full-time employees in 2009
No.
Total number of part-time employees in 2009 (i.e., working less than 25 hours per week)
$
Total labour cost in 2009 (include all benefits paid on behalf of employee, i.e., medical, E.I. pension plans, workmen's compensation, etc.)

Agreement to Share Information

Note to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia:

To avoid duplication of enquiry this survey is conducted under a co-operative agreement with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Forest Resources and Agri-Food, the New Brunswick Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture and the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries pursuant to Section 12 of the Statistics Act (SC 1985, Chap. S19). Address any comments or questions to the Agriculture Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6.

The information collected and shared will be kept confidential and used only for statistical purposes. Any information shared with a provincial ministry of agriculture is released in aggregate form only. The provincial ministry of agriculture must guarantee the confidentiality of all shared data.

Statistics Canada does not provide the respondent's name or address to any provincial ministry of agriculture.

Do you agree to share this information?

• Yes
• No

To residents of Quebec:

To avoid duplication of enquiry, this survey is conducted under a co-operative agreement to share information in accordance with Section 11 of the Statistics Act, with Statistics Canada and l'Institut de la statistique du Québec.

Comments from Interviewer/Farm Operator:

Reporting Guide

Statistics Canada
Environment, Energy and Transportation Statistics Division
Energy Section

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the 2017 Monthly Natural Gas Survey.

Help Line: 1-877-604-7828

Storage facilities include natural gas storage caverns such as: depleted oil and gas reservoirs, aquifer reservoirs, salt cover reservoirs. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage facilities are out of scope for this survey.

Units: Report Gigajoules (GJs) of natural gas stored during the month under review.

Confidentiality

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes.

Table of Contents

Skip to text

• A – Reporting Instructions
• B – Reporting Instructions and natural Gas definitions

Text begins

A – Reporting Instructions

Please report information for a specific reference month in 2017.

Please complete all sections as applicable.

If the information requested is unknown, please provide your best estimate.

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the Monthly Natural Gas Storage Survey. If you need more information, please call 1-877-604-7828.

B – Reporting Instructions and Natural Gas Definitions

Question 1: OPENING INVENTORY

1a: Opening inventory of base or cushion gas

Report total amount of base or cushion gas held by the establishment on the first day of the month under review. This should equal the closing inventory of the previous month.

Definition:

• Base gas, also referred to as cushion gas is the amount of gas that must be present in storage at all times to maintain a storage facility’s pressure.

1b: Opening inventory of working gas

Report total amount of working gas held by the establishment on the first day of the month under review. This should equal the closing inventory of the previous month.

Definition:

• Working gas is the amount of gas that can be withdrawn from storage while maintaining a storage facility’s minimum operating pressure.

Total opening inventory of natural gas

Report total amount of natural gas held by the establishment on the first day of the month under review. This should equal the sum of the base/cushion gas and working gas.

Question 2: CLOSING INVENTORY

2a: Closing inventory of base or cushion gas

Report total amount of base or cushion gas held by the establishment on the last day of the month under review.

Definition:

• Base gas, also referred to as cushion gas is the amount of gas that must be present in storage at all times to maintain a storage facility’s pressure.

2b: Closing inventory of working gas

Report total amount of working gas held by the establishment on the last day of the month under review.

Definition:

• Working gas is the amount of gas that can be withdrawn from storage while maintaining a storage facility’s minimum operating pressure.

Total closing inventory of natural gas

Report total amount of natural gas held by the establishment on the last day of the month under review. This should equal the sum of the base/cushion gas and working gas.

Question 3: HEATING VALUE OF STORED NATURAL GAS

3: Average heating value of stored natural gas in gigajoules per thousand cubic metres

Report average heat content of your natural gas held in storage for the month under review.

Question 4: INJECTED, WITHDRAWN AND INVENTORY ADJUSTMENTS OF NATURAL GAS STORAGE

4a: Injected in to storage

Report total amount of natural gas received by the establishment for month under review.

4b: Withdrawn from storage

Report total amount of natural gas delivered by the establishment for month under review.

4c: Other adjustments

This calculated amount is the difference between (1) opening and closing inventories and (2) injections and withdrawals. This difference includes discrepancies due to meter inaccuracies and/or leakage or other losses. Inventory adjustments can be a positive or negative value.

• Inventory adjustments = (closing – opening inventories) – (withdrawals – injections)

Net withdrawals of natural gas from inventories

This calculated amount is the difference between (1) withdrawals and (2) the sum of injections and inventory adjustments. Net withdrawals can be a positive or negative value.

• Net withdrawals = withdrawals – (injections + inventory adjustments)

Question 5: NATURAL GAS HELD IN THE UNITED STATES

5: Natural gas in storage facilities in the United States

Report total amount of natural gas held by the establishment in storage facilities located in the United States for eventual use in Canada.

Thank you for your participation.

Background

In 2010, Statistics Canada launched the Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP) to provide a more efficient model for producing economic statistics. The main objective was to enhance the economic statistics program so that it remains as robust and flexible as possible while reducing the burden on business respondents.

The IBSP encompasses around 60 surveys covering four major sectors: manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, services (including culture) and capital expenditures. By 2019/2020, the IBSP will include roughly 150 economic surveys covering all sectors of economic statistics. The list of surveys currently included in IBSP is available online.

The program changes ensure that Statistics Canada will continue to produce a consistent and coherent set of economic statistics. As well, data users and researchers can more easily combine economic data with information from other sources to undertake their analyses.

The IBSP uses a standardized approach for economic surveys conducted at Statistics Canada. This framework involves:

• Using a common Business Register as the unique frame
• Maximizing the use of administrative information to reduce business response burden
• Using electronic questionnaires as the principal mode of collection
• Harmonizing concepts and questionnaire content
• Adopting common sampling, collection and processing methodologies

What are some of the more significant changes?

• A new approach to sampling ensures businesses will only be asked those questions that are pertinent to their operations. This creates a win-win situation for Statistics Canada and respondents. Statistics Canada reduces the collection effort and has a greater likelihood of collecting the information it requires to produce official statistics relevant to Canadians. It also reduces the time needed by respondents to complete their business surveys.
• Increased use of administrative data reduces business response burden. Administrative data files (such as corporate income tax files) have been used extensively as a direct substitute for a sub-set of sampled units and for imputation of non-response. In the transition to the IBSP model, imputation methods were adapted to take full advantage of the availability of administrative data. This resulted in additional response burden reductions across survey programs. The majority of sampled businesses are no longer required to provide data for revenue and expense information that is available from tax data. The IBSP questionnaires are designed to collect information that is not available from administrative data files, such as commodities produced and business practices.
• A new coherent approach to developing provincial/territorial estimates uses existing information on Statistics Canada's business register to determine provincial/territorial shares of revenues, expenses and value added. This ensures a coherent and standardized approach that is consistent across all IBSP surveys. Previously, these data were collected directly from each respondent, contributing to response burden.
• Electronic questionnaires are now the primary mode to collect data from business respondents. Businesses complete surveys using a secure online application. The result is a more efficient and higher quality collection process. In addition, the quality of survey statistics may improve because electronic questionnaires have built-in checks designed to limit reporting errors that can occur with paper-based questionnaires.
• Increased coverage of the business population results in a more comprehensive set of business statistics. Beginning in reference year 2013, the population covered by the suite of annual economic survey programs increased to include all firms regardless of their size. In previous years, relatively small businesses (based on their sales) were not included in Statistics Canada's central business frame. However, with new self-coding technology, it became possible to classify all businesses operating in the Canadian economy onto the central business frame, regardless of the sales of the firm. As a result, with improved coverage of the population, the IBSP-based estimates better reflect the population of businesses operating in Canada.
• Questionnaires have been updated to reflect the latest business terminology and accounting practices of Canadian businesses. In addition the questionnaires apply the latest standard classifications used by Statistics Canada, such as the North American Industry Classification System and the North American Product Classification System.

Does this impact the comparability of data through time?

The extent of the changes in the business statistics program introduced by the IBSP means that some series may no longer be consistent with estimates from previous periods. For example, the increase in the business population alone means that the estimates will tend to be higher than those previously published.

For some series, data changes will be small and comparisons with estimates to previous reference periods will be consistent. In other cases, the impacts can be significant, leading to breaks in the current estimates when compared to past estimates.

Recognizing the importance of data continuity, Statistics Canada will continue to use several assessment techniques in order to examine whether current estimates will be directly comparable to past estimates. Among the techniques that may be used include:

• Evaluating survey estimates at all levels of detail (national, sub-national, NAICS)
• Comparing estimates obtained from sub-annual surveys (where applicable)
• Comparing tax information
• Analysing the results for common respondents in 2012 and 2013
• Comparing historical movements by respondent and by the industry in general

In all cases, users are aware that breaks can exist and that any comparisons with previous data should be made at their own discretion.

Once the estimates for the current reference year are available, revisions will be made to the previous year's data.

Who will use the new IBSP estimates?

• Businesses use the estimates to better understand their performance within their given industry relative to the industry average.
• Industry analysts and associations use the IBSP estimates to analyze the performance of given industries in the Canadian economy both nationally and regionally.
• Federal departments and agencies, provincial ministries and authorities, the press, survey respondents, and the general public use estimates to assess trends in the Canadian economy.

The IBSP data are a main input in the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts. They are first adjusted to macroeconomic accounting concepts and definitions and are then integrated into the macroeconomic accounting frameworks. This integration involves adjusting the data to adhere to the macroeconomic accounting identities as well as ensuring consistency through time. These data are the building blocks for Statistics Canada's benchmark measure of gross domestic product and a key input into the estimates used to determine equalization payments and the allocation of harmonized sales tax revenue.

Periodically, Statistics Canada undertakes large scale changes as part of its survey renewal process. The new IBSP data will be integrated into the Macroeconomic Accounts. Although the new data may lead to some changes/revisions to the national accounts, the System of National Accounts framework ensures that the national account estimates are robust and coherent.

Have any other survey releases taken place under the new IBSP schedule?

Yes. The first survey released under IBSP was the 2013 Survey of Aquaculture that was published in the Daily on November 14, 2014. Since then, several other annual surveys have been released, and a number of monthly surveys will soon be made available.

Further Information

For a more detailed explanation of the changes, please consult the Integrated Business Statistics Program Overview on the Statistics Canada website.

More information on the technical aspects on sampling and estimation is available upon request.

For more information, contact Media Relations (613-951-4636); statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca.

Ce document est aussi disponible en français.

Changes to the Monthly Electricity Supply and Disposition survey

Starting January 2016, Statistics Canada will roll out a more detailed monthly survey related to the electricity industry in Canada. A breakdown of these changes is provided below.

Increased coverage

The monthly electricity supply and disposition survey will expand its industry coverage by lowering its reporting threshold from an annual generation of 20,000 MW to a total generation capacity of 500 KW for electric utilities and industrial establishments that generate and/or distribute electricity from at least one plant. The survey will also include electricity generation/distribution from utilities and companies that have at least one photovoltaic solar plant with a total generating capacity of over 100 KW.

Amalgamation of quarterly content with the monthly

Content from the Electricity Disposition – Quarterly Residential Sector survey will be directly amalgamated with the monthly electricity survey. Specifically, the questions related to residential sales of electricity, such as megawatt hours and cost.

The amalgamation will effectively reduce the number of questionnaires that respondents will have to complete in the future.

Expanded content

In addition to the above changes, the content of the monthly electricity survey will be expanded during 2016 to provide more detailed and timelier data on the industry to end users. Among the most significant changes are expanded categories related to energy generation, as well as a geographic disposition of energy use by customers. A breakdown of these changes is as follows:

• Energy generation types
  • Combustible electricity generation
    • Thermal generation (fuel types – coal, natural gas, petroleum, other combustible fuels)
    • Total biomass generation (new fuel types – wood, spent pulping liquor, methane gas, municipal and other waste)
  • Non-combustible electricity generation
    • Wave and geothermal
• Electricity available for use within specific geographic borders
  • Total quantity of disposition of electricity to customers enrolled with retailers (i.e., industrial, residential and agricultural, and commercial)
  • Total quantity and value of disposition of electricity to 'end-use` customers (i.e., industrial, residential and agricultural, and commercial)
  • Unallocated quantity of electricity
  • Total quantity of electricity used by producers

Data comparability and accessibility

The content changes to the monthly electricity survey will result in new CANSIM tables for the survey that will be introduced in late 2016. In the interim, the existing CANSIM tables 127-0002 and 127-0003 will continue to be produced but will have minor changes.

For Table 127-0002, the changes include the grouping of conventional steam turbine, internal combustion turbine and combustion turbine into one category - total electricity production from combustible fuels.

For table 127-0003, the changes include the removal of categories pertaining to total firm deliveries, total non-firm deliveries, total other deliveries to the United States and other receipts from the United States.

Despite the changes to the existing tables, they will continue to remain available beyond the 2016 reference year for historical reference purposes. Consequently, users will have to use caution when comparing the information in the existing tables with the new tables that will be published later in the year.

How can I obtain for more information on changes to the monthly electricity supply and disposition survey?

This document highlights key changes to the survey and its impacts for end users. For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this survey, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).

Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP)

Reporting Guide

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the 2016 Annual Greenhouse, Sod and Nursey Survey. If you need more information, please call the Statistics Canada Help Line at the number below.

Help Line:

1-877-949-9492

TTY 1-855-382-7745

Your answers are confidential.

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act.

Statistics Canada will use information from this survey for statistical purposes.

Table of Contents

Skip to text

• Reporting Instructions
• Type of production
• Greenhouse products
• Greenhouse products - Fruits and vegetables
• Greenhouse products - Indoor and outdoor potted plants
• Greenhouse products - Cuttings and tree seedlings
• Greenhouse products - Bedding plants/transplants - Vegetable and/or ornamental
• Greenhouse products - Cut flowers
• Greenhouse products - Flowers and plants
• Christmas trees
• Nursery products - Nursery stocks
• Gross sales of stock grown
• Gross sales for immediate resale
• Sales distribution of nursery stocks (total gross sales)
• Operating expenses
• Sod operations - Area and sales

Text begins

Reporting instructions

• Please print in ink.
• Report dollar amounts in Canadian dollars.
• Exclude sales tax.
• Percentages should be rounded to whole numbers.
• When precise figures are not available, please provide your best estimates.
• Consult the reporting guide at www.statcan.gc.ca/guides-e for further information.

Type of production

Q1. Greenhouse products: Seedlings, potted plants, bedding plants, cuttings and other propagating material, vegetables and fruit grown for sale in a permanent, artificially heated enclosed structure made of plastic, plexiglass, poly-film or glass.

Any plants that you start cultivating in a greenhouse but are finished before sales in a nursery should be considered a nursery product.

Q1. Nursery products: A diverse range of non-edible, living plant material grown 'in field' or in containers outdoors and sold with their root system intact.

Include annual and perennial plants ranging from woody plants to bedding plants (transplants) and outdoor flowers. Plants range from seedlings to full-grown trees.

Exclude field-grown cut flowers from this category.

Q1. Field-grown cut flowers: should be reported in its own category only, not in the 'nursery products' category. Cut flowers produced in, and sold from, a greenhouse should be reported in the 'greenhouse products' category.

Q1. Christmas trees:

Include only the Christmas trees that were cut during the year.

Exclude Christmas trees that were grown in a container with their root systems intact.

Q1. Sod: Grass or turf, which has its roots intact. Sod is grown 'in field' and sold as a single product.

Q5. Greenhouse products

For this survey, we are only interested in flowers, plants, vegetables, fruit and seedlings grown in, and sold from, the greenhouse. Production of vegetables and fruits covered by cold frames or covering tunnels should not be included in the greenhouse section of the survey.

Q5. Cut flowers: Include only cut flowers produced in, and sold from, a greenhouse. Exclude field-grown cut flowers and dried cut flowers.

Q5. Fruit and Vegetables: Include products grown to completion in a greenhouse and sold from the greenhouse. Exclude greenhouse vegetables and/or fruit that are transplanted for field crops. Bedding plants (transplants) grown in a greenhouse that will be planted in your own fields so that they can be sold as fully grown harvested vegetables at a later date should be excluded; they are reported in Statistics Canada’s annual Fruit and Vegetable Survey.

Q5. Potted Plants – indoor or outdoor: Any plants grown and sold in a pot from the greenhouse. Exclude Christmas trees sold in pots. Pots take many forms and sizes, such as baskets (wicker), peat pots, moss pots and plastic pots or ceramic pots.

Q5. Cuttings, tree seedlings and other propagating material: Plants (or sections of a plant) capable of developing into a greater number of plants or spreading out and affecting a greater area. Examples include Chrysanthemums, Poinsettias, Begonias, Petunias and shrubs.

Q5. Bedding plants, transplants or plugs – ornamental or vegetable: Young plants that are bought and then transplanted into a garden, field, container or basket by the purchaser. These include ornamental bedding plants and vegetable bedding plants. For this survey, the term "ornamental" refers to flowers or plants cultivated for their beauty rather than use.

Q6. Greenhouse products - Fruits and vegetables

Greenhouse vegetables and fruit are edible and ready to eat at the time of sale. They were grown into sellable products in a greenhouse, not in a field; and sold from the greenhouse by the producer. Field vegetable and fruit farmers should report their production in the Fruit and Vegetable Survey.

Exclude tobacco, ginseng, asparagus, mushrooms, ornamental and vegetable bedding plants (young plants that are bought and transplanted into a garden, field, container or basket by the purchaser; also known as transplants).

A number of greenhouses are expanding to the United States. For this survey, report Canadian production only.

If you produced multiple crop of the same greenhouse vegetable or fruit in the same greenhouse space, report the area only once. For example, if 1,000 square feet were used for the first tomato crop planting and then the same space was later used for the second tomato crop planting, you would report 1,000 square feet (not 2,000 square feet).

If you produced two or more different types of vegetables or fruit in the same greenhouse space, you would count that area for each type of crop produced.

For example, if you used 2,000 square feet to grown tomatoes for your first crop planting, and then switched to growing cucumbers in that same space half-way through the summer, you would report a total area of 4,000 square feet (2,000 square feet for growing tomatoes, plus 2,000 square feet for growing cucumbers).

Q8. Sales distribution of greenhouse vegetables and fruit (total gross sales)

The sales of greenhouse vegetables and fruit that the operation produced and sold.

Please report the value of nursery stocks sales in percentage (%).  The sum of different markets should be equal to 100%.

Wholesaler:

The organisation primarily engaged as the intermediary in the distribution of merchandise. Meaning that a wholesaler is a reseller of manufactured goods in whole (without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise).

A wholesaler provides the warehousing and trade abilities the manufacturer does not want to provide. It also prefers to sell batches, truckloads, pallets, etc. of goods. Often offers discounts as quantity increases. As a result, many wholesalers are therefore organized to sell merchandise in large quantities to retailers, and business and institutional clients.

In addition, wholesalers may frequently perform one of the following related function; breaking bulk, providing delivery services to customers, or operating warehouse facilities for storage of goods they sell, or marketing and support services such as packaging and labelling, inventory management, shipping, handling of warranty claims, in-store or co-op promotions and training.

Value of sales to other channels could include sales to co-ops in this category.

Q9. Greenhouse products - Indoor and outdoor potted plants

Include all ornamental potted plants (annuals, biennials and perennials) and all potted vegetable, fruit and herb plants that were produced and sold from your greenhouse in Canada.

Plants grown in containers outdoors should be reported in the 'nursery products' category.

Exclude anything produced outside Canada.

Exclude Christmas trees sold in pots; bedding plants or plugs sold in cell packs, flats or trays; and other nursery stock (non-edible, living plant material grown outdoors ‘in field' or in containers outdoors and sold with their root system intact).

Any plant grown in a pot from the greenhouse with the intention of selling to the final consumer can be classified as a finished potted plant (including hanging potted plants, such as baskets (wicker), peat pots, moss pots and plastic pots or ceramic pots). Any plant sold in a pot before it has fully matured or is intended to be grown to maturity at another facility can be classified as a prefinished potted plant.

Q11. Greenhouse products - Cuttings and tree seedlings

Cuttings are sections of a plant stem capable of developing into a whole plant. Examples of species that may be sold as cuttings include murrayas, grevilleas, fuchsias, and gardenias.

Exclude ornamental and vegetable bedding plants, also known as transplants, which are young plants that are bought and then transplanted into a garden, field, container or basket by the purchaser.

Tree seedlings

A tree seedling is a young tree grown from a seed in a nursery for transplanting typically at one or two years of age.

Include tree seedlings produced only inside a greenhouse. Do not report tree seedlings produced in cold frames or covering tunnels.

Q15. Greenhouse products - Bedding plants/transplants - Vegetable and/or ornamental

Bedding plants, also known as transplants, are young plants that are bought and then transplanted into a garden, field, container or basket by the purchaser. Ornamental bedding plants are cultivated for their flowers and beauty, rather than their use. Vegetable bedding plants are not yet edible at the time of sale from your greenhouse.

Bedding plants may be sold in various containers, including plugs, cell packs, flats or trays. Report the number of individual plants. If this number is unknown, please estimate it by multiplying the number of trays by the average number of plants per tray.

Exclude vegetable and herb plants not sold directly from the greenhouse (for example, plants being transplanted from the greenhouse to the field by the producer).

Q16. Greenhouse products - Cut flowers

Include only cut flowers that were produced in, and sold from, a greenhouse in Canada.

Exclude cut flowers that were initially cultivated in a greenhouse but then grown into sellable products in a field; these should be reported in the 'field-grown cut flowers' section, which is its own category in this survey. Some operators may start seeds in their greenhouse but transplant the flowers in the field in May or June and cut and dry them in August.

Exclude cut flower purchases for immediate resale from other producers.

Q18. Greenhouse products - Flowers and plants

Sales distribution of greenhouse flowers and plants (total gross sales)

The sales of greenhouse flowers and plants that the operation produced and purchased for immediate resales.

Please report the value of greenhouse flowers and plants sales in percentage (%). The sum of different markets should be equal to 100%.

Wholesaler: the organisation primarily engaged as the intermediary in the distribution of merchandise. Meaning that a wholesaler is a reseller of manufactured goods in whole (without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise).

A wholesaler provides the warehousing and trade abilities the manufacturer does not want to provide. It also prefers to sell batches, truckloads, pallets, etc. of goods. Often offers discounts as quantity increases. As a result, many wholesalers are therefore organized to sell merchandise in large quantities to retailers, and business and institutional clients.

In addition, wholesalers may frequently perform one of the following related function; breaking bulk, providing delivery services to customers, or operating warehouse facilities for storage of goods they sell, or marketing and support services such as packaging and labelling, inventory management, shipping, handling of warranty claims, in-store or co-op promotions and training.

Q21. Christmas trees

When reporting the area, include the total area used to grow Christmas trees, regardless of whether the trees were cut or not. Include naturally established or planted areas, regardless of stage of growth that are pruned or managed with the use of fertilizer or pesticides.

When reporting the number of cut trees, exclude any Christmas trees that were grown in a container with their root systems intact.

Conversions

1 arpent = 0.9986 acres

1 acre = 1.0014 arpent

1 acre = 0.41 hectares

1 hectare = 2.47 acres

Q24. Nursery products - Nursery stock

A tree seedling is a young tree grown from a seed in a nursery for transplanting typically at one or two years of age.

Include only tree seedlings produced in a nursery.

Exclude tree seedlings produced in and sold from a greenhouse. Note: that tree seedlings may be reported as a nursery products if they were conditioned outside for part of the production cycle, after having been cared for inside the greenhouse first.

Q25. Gross sales of stock grown

Exclude any nursery stock that was purchased for immediate resale; Christmas trees without the root system intact; any greenhouse production; unsold inventory; and value received for landscaping services.

Field-grown includes all bailed and burlapped, bare root field potted stock.

Container-grown includes all containers sizes of less than one gallon; one gallon; two gallons; and greater than two gallons.

Balled and burlapped is a method of transplanting that minimizes root disturbance. The tree is dug with a ball of soil around it and wrapped in burlap (method generally used for evergreens and deciduous plants in leaf).

Bare root describes plants dug up, with the soil shaken off (method generally used for deciduous plants in a dormant condition).

Field-potted describes stock which is grown in the field and placed into a pot when dug up for sale. Please report stock that was potted up from the field for a maximum of one full growing season; if potted up for greater more than one growing season, report under container.

Container-grown is nursery stock grown in a container for a minimum of one growing season before time of sale.

Q26. Gross sales for immediate resale

Nursery stock for immediate resale is any nursery stock you purchased from other growers to re-sell from your own operation within a short period of time with minimal maintenance e.g., watering. Please enter your total sales of the nursery stock you purchased from other operations.

Examples of stock that may be ready for immediate resale:

Plants, flowers, bulbs, trees, shrubs, etc.

Q28. Sales distribution of nursery stocks (total gross sales)

The sales of nursery stocks that the operation produced and purchased for immediate resales. Please report the value of nursery stocks sales in percentage (%). The sum of different markets should be equal to 100%.

Q33., Q34., Q35. Operating expenses

Growing on is a term used by operators when stock is cultivated in the greenhouse or the nursery for the purpose of growing it to greater proportions. The operators will plant a seed or seedling in their greenhouse and care for it, by maintaining it (transplanting, fertilizing, etc.) until it becomes a sellable product.

Exclude any plant materials you may have purchased from other growers for immediate resale from your own operation (please report these purchases in row c).

Q36. Sod operations - Area and sales

Conversions

1 arpent = 0.9986 acres

1 acre = 1.0014 arpent

1 acre = 0.41 hectares

1 hectare = 2.47 acres

Sod is grass or turf, which has its roots intact at the time of sale. Sod is grown in field and sold as a single product.

Report all the area of land used for growing and maintaining sod.

Include any sod grown that was not intended for sale within the survey year (the past calendar year).

Report the area of sod intended to be sold within the survey year (the past calendar year).

The area of sod grown for sale may be less than or equal to the total area of sod reported in the previous question.

Objectives, uses and users
Concepts, variables and classifications
Coverage and frames
Sampling
Questionnaire design
Response and non-response
Data collection and capture operations
Editing
Imputation
Estimation
Revisions and seasonal adjustment
Data quality evaluation
Disclosure control

1. Objectives, uses and users

1.1. Objective

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) provides information on the performance of the retail trade sector on a monthly basis, and when combined with other statistics, represents an important indicator of the state of the Canadian economy.

1.2. Uses

The estimates provide a measure of the health and performance of the retail trade sector. Information collected is used to estimate level and monthly trend for retail sales. At the end of each year, the estimates provide a preliminary look at annual retail sales and performance.

1.3. Users

A variety of organizations, sector associations, and levels of government make use of the information. Retailers rely on the survey results to compare their performance against similar types of businesses, as well as for marketing purposes. Retail associations are able to monitor industry performance and promote their retail industries. Investors can monitor industry growth, which can result in better access to investment capital by retailers. Governments are able to understand the role of retailers in the economy, which aids in the development of policies and tax incentives. As an important industry in the Canadian economy, governments are able to better determine the overall health of the economy through the use of the estimates in the calculation of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

2. Concepts, variables and classifications

2.1. Concepts

The retail trade sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in retailing merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise.

The retailing process is the final step in the distribution of merchandise; retailers are therefore organized to sell merchandise in small quantities to the general public. This sector comprises two main types of retailers, that is, store and non-store retailers. The MRTS covers only store retailers. Their main characteristics are described below. Store retailers operate fixed point-of-sale locations, located and designed to attract a high volume of walk-in customers. In general, retail stores have extensive displays of merchandise and use mass-media advertising to attract customers. They typically sell merchandise to the general public for personal or household consumption, but some also serve business and institutional clients. These include establishments such as office supplies stores, computer and software stores, gasoline stations, building material dealers, plumbing supplies stores and electrical supplies stores.

In addition to selling merchandise, some types of store retailers are also engaged in the provision of after-sales services, such as repair and installation. For example, new automobile dealers, electronic and appliance stores and musical instrument and supplies stores often provide repair services, while floor covering stores and window treatment stores often provide installation services. As a general rule, establishments engaged in retailing merchandise and providing after sales services are classified in this sector. Catalogue sales showrooms, gasoline service stations, and mobile home dealers are treated as store retailers.

2.2. Variables

Sales are defined as the sales of all goods purchased for resale, net of returns and discounts. This includes commission revenue and fees earned from selling goods and services on account of others, such as selling lottery tickets, bus tickets, and phone cards. It also includes parts and labour revenue from repair and maintenance; revenue from rental and leasing of goods and equipment; revenues from services, including food services; sales of goods manufactured as a secondary activity; and the proprietor’s withdrawals, at retail, of goods for personal use. Other revenue from rental of real estate, placement fees, operating subsidies, grants, royalties and franchise fees are excluded.

Trading Location is the physical location(s) in which business activity is conducted in each province and territory, and for which sales are credited or recognized in the financial records of the company. For retailers, this would normally be a store.

Constant Dollars: The value of retail trade is measured in two ways; including the effects of price change on sales and net of the effects of price change. The first measure is referred to as retail trade in current dollars and the latter as retail trade in constant dollars. The method of calculating the current dollar estimate is to aggregate the weighted value of sales for all retail outlets. The method of calculating the constant dollar estimate is to first adjust the sales values to a base year, using the Consumer Price Index, and then sum up the resulting values.

2.3. Classification

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey is based on the definition of retail trade under the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). NAICS is the agreed upon common framework for the production of comparable statistics by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. The agreement defines the boundaries of twenty sectors. NAICS is based on a production-oriented, or supply based conceptual framework in that establishments are groups into industries according to similarity in production processes used to produce goods and services.

Estimates appear for 21 industries based on special aggregations of the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industries. The 21 industries are further aggregated to 11 sub-sectors.

Geographically, sales estimates are produced for Canada and each province and territory.

3. Coverage and frames

Statistics Canada’s Business Register ( BR) provides the frame for the Monthly Retail Trade Survey. The BR is a structured list of businesses engaged in the production of goods and services in Canada. It is a centrally maintained database containing detailed descriptions of most business entities operating within Canada. The BR includes all incorporated businesses, with or without employees. For unincorporated businesses, the BR includes all employers with businesses, and businesses with no employees with annual sales that have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) or annual revenue that declares individual taxes.  annual sales greater than $30,000 that have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) account (the BR does not include unincorporated businesses with no employees and with annual sales less than $30,000).

The businesses on the BR are represented by a hierarchical structure with four levels, with the statistical enterprise at the top, followed by the statistical company, the statistical establishment and the statistical location. An enterprise can be linked to one or more statistical companies, a statistical company can be linked to one or more statistical establishments, and a statistical establishment to one or more statistical locations.

The target population for the MRTS consists of all statistical establishments on the BR that are classified to the retail sector using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) (approximately 200,000 establishments). The NAICS code range for the retail sector is 441100 to 453999. A statistical establishment is the production entity or the smallest grouping of production entities which: produces a homogeneous set of goods or services; does not cross provincial boundaries; and provides data on the value of output, together with the cost of principal intermediate inputs used, along with the cost and quantity of labour used to produce the output. The production entity is the physical unit where the business operations are carried out. It must have a civic address and dedicated labour.

The exclusions to the target population are ancillary establishments (producers of services in support of the activity of producing goods and services for the market of more than one establishment within the enterprise, and serves as a cost centre or a discretionary expense centre for which data on all its costs including labour and depreciation can be reported by the business), future establishments, establishments with a missing or a zero gross business income (GBI) value on the BR and establishments in the following non-covered NAICS:

• 4541 (electronic shopping and mail-order houses)
• 4542 (vending machine operators)
• 45431 (fuel dealers)
• 45439 (other direct selling establishments)

4. Sampling

The MRTS sample consists of 10,000 groups of establishments (clusters) classified to the Retail Trade sector selected from the Statistics Canada Business Register. A cluster of establishments is defined as all establishments belonging to a statistical enterprise that are in the same industrial group and geographical region. The MRTS uses a stratified design with simple random sample selection in each stratum. The stratification is done by industry groups (the mainly, but not only four digit level NAICS), and the geographical regions consisting of the provinces and territories, as well as three provincial sub-regions. We further stratify the population by size.

The size measure is created using a combination of independent survey data and three administrative variables: the annual profiled revenue, the GST sales expressed on an annual basis, and the declared tax revenue (T1 or T2). The size strata consist of one take-all (census), at most, two take-some (partially sampled) strata, and one take-none (non-sampled) stratum. Take-none strata serve to reduce respondent burden by excluding the smaller businesses from the surveyed population. These businesses should represent at most ten percent of total sales. Instead of sending questionnaires to these businesses, the estimates are produced through the use of administrative data.

The sample was allocated optimally in order to reach target coefficients of variation at the national, provincial/territorial, industrial, and industrial groups by province/territory levels. The sample was also inflated to compensate for dead, non-responding, and misclassified units.

MRTS is a repeated survey with maximisation of monthly sample overlap. The sample is kept month after month, and every month new units are added (births) to the sample.  MRTS births, i.e., new clusters of establishment(s), are identified every month via the BR’s latest universe. They are stratified according to the same criteria as the initial population. A sample of these births is selected according to the sampling fraction of the stratum to which they belong and is added to the monthly sample. Deaths occur on a monthly basis. A death can be a cluster of establishment(s) that have ceased their activities (out-of-business) or whose major activities are no longer in retail trade (out-of-scope). The status of these businesses is updated on the BR using administrative sources and survey feedback, including feedback from the MRTS. Methods to treat dead units and misclassified units are part of the sample and population update procedures.

5. Questionnaire design

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey incorporates the following sub-surveys:

Monthly Retail Trade Survey - R8

Monthly Retail Trade Survey (with inventories) – R8

Survey of Sales and Inventories of Alcoholic Beverages

The questionnaires collect monthly data on retail sales and the number of trading locations by province or territory and inventories of goods owned and intended for resale from a sample of retailers. The items on the questionnaires have remained unchanged for several years. For the 2004 redesign, the general questionnaires were subject to cosmetic changes only. The questionnaire for Sales and Inventories of Alcoholic Beverages underwent more extensive changes. The modifications were discussed withstakeholders and the respondents were given an opportunity to comment before the new questionnaire was finalized. If further changes are needed to any of the questionnaires, proposed changes would go through a review committee and a field test with respondents and data users to ensure its relevancy.

6. Response and non-response

6.1. Response and non-response

Despite the best efforts of survey managers and operations staff to maximize response in the MRTS, some non-response will occur. For statistical establishments to be classified as responding, the degree of partial response (where an accurate response is obtained for only some of the questions asked a respondent) must meet a minimum threshold level below which the response would be rejected and considered a unit non-response.  In such an instance, the business is classified as not having responded at all.

Non-response has two effects on data: first it introduces bias in estimates when non-respondents differ from respondents in the characteristics measured; and second, it contributes to an increase in the sampling variance of estimates because the effective sample size is reduced from that originally sought.

The degree to which efforts are made to get a response from a non-respondent is based on budget and time constraints, its impact on the overall quality and the risk of non-response bias.

The main method to reduce the impact of non-response at sampling is to inflate the sample size through the use of over-sampling rates that have been determined from similar surveys.

Besides the methods to reduce the impact of non-response at sampling and collection, the non-responses to the survey that do occur are treated through imputation. In order to measure the amount of non-response that occurs each month, various response rates are calculated. For a given reference month, the estimation process is run at least twice (a preliminary and a revised run). Between each run, respondent data can be identified as unusable and imputed values can be corrected through respondent data. As a consequence, response rates are computed following each run of the estimation process.

For the MRTS, two types of rates are calculated (un-weighted and weighted). In order to assess the efficiency of the collection process, un-weighted response rates are calculated. Weighted rates, using the estimation weight and the value for the variable of interest, assess the quality of estimation. Within each of these types of rates, there are distinct rates for units that are surveyed and for units that are only modeled from administrative data that has been extracted from GST files.

To get a better picture of the success of the collection process, two un-weighted rates called the ‘collection results rate’ and the ‘extraction results rate’ are computed. They are computed by dividing the number of respondents by the number of units that we tried to contact or tried to receive extracted data for them. Non-monthly reporters (respondents with special reporting arrangements where they do not report every month but for whom actual data is available in subsequent revisions) are excluded from both the numerator and denominator for the months where no contact is performed.

In summary, the various response rates are calculated as follows:

Weighted rates:

Survey Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status i / Sum of survey weighted sales

where i = units that have either reported data that will be used in estimation or are converted refusals, or have reported data that has not yet been resolved for estimation.

Admin Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status ii / Sum of administrative weighted sales

where ii = units that have data that was extracted from administrative files and are usable for estimation.

Total Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status i or response status ii / Sum of all weighted sales

Un-weighted rates:

Survey Response rate (collection) =
Number of questionnaires with response status iii/ Number of questionnaires with response status iv

where iii = units that have either reported data (unresolved, used or not used for estimation) or are converted refusals.

where iv = all of the above plus units that have refused to respond, units that were not contacted and other types of non-respondent units.

Admin Response rate (extraction) =
Number of questionnaires with response status vi/ Number of questionnaires with response status vii

where vi = in-scope units that have data (either usable or non-usable) that was extracted from administrative files

where vii = all of the above plus units that have refused to report to the administrative data source, units that were not contacted and other types of non-respondent units.

(% of questionnaire collected over all in-scope questionnaires)

Collection Results Rate =
Number of questionnaires with response status iii / Number of questionnaires with response status viii

where iii = same as iii defined above

where viii = same as iv except for the exclusion of units that were contacted because their response is unavailable for a particular month since they are non-monthly reporters.

Extraction Results Rate =
Number of questionnaires with response status ix / Number of questionnaires with response status vii

where ix = same as vi with the addition of extracted units that have been imputed or were out of scope

where vii = same as vii defined above

(% of questionnaires collected over all questionnaire in-scope we tried to collect)

All the above weighted and un-weighted rates are provided at the industrial group, geography and size group level or for any combination of these levels.

Use of Administrative Data

Managing response burden is an ongoing challenge for Statistics Canada. In an attempt to alleviate response burden and survey costs, especially for smaller businesses, the MRTS has reduced the number of simple establishments in the sample that are surveyed directly and instead derives sales data for these establishments from Goods and Service Tax (GST) files using a statistical model. The model accounts for differences between sales and revenue (reported for GST purposes) as well as for the time lag between the survey reference period and the reference period of the GST file.

For more information on the methodology used for modeling sales from administrative data sources, refer to ‘Monthly Retail Trade Survey: Use of Administrative Data’ under ‘Documentation’ of the IMDB.

Table 1 contains the weighted response rates for all industry groups as well as for total retail trade for each province and territory. For more detailed weighted response rates, please contact the Marketing and Dissemination Section at (613) 951-3549, toll free: 1-877-421-3067 or by e-mail at retailinfo@statcan.

6.2. Methods used to reduce non-response at collection

Significant effort is spent trying to minimize non-response during collection. Methods used, among others, are interviewer techniques such as probing and persuasion, repeated re-scheduling and call-backs to obtain the information, and procedures dealing with how to handle non-compliant (refusal) respondents.

If data are unavailable at the time of collection, a respondent's best estimates are also accepted, and are subsequently revised once the actual data become available.

To minimize total non-response for all variables, partial responses are accepted. In addition, questionnaires are customized for the collection of certain variables, such as inventory, so that collection is timed for those months when the data are available.

Finally, to build trust and rapport between the interviewers and respondents, cases are generally assigned to the same interviewer each month. This action establishes a personal relationship between interviewer and respondent, and builds respondent trust.

7. Data collection and capture operations

Collection of the data is performed by Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices.

Weighted Response Rates

Respondents are sent a questionnaire or are contacted by telephone to obtain their sales and inventory values, as well as to confirm the opening or closing of business trading locations. Collection of the data begins approximately 7 working days after the end of the reference month and continues for the duration of that month.

New entrants to the survey are introduced to the survey via an introductory letter that informs the respondent that a representative of Statistics Canada will be calling. This call is to introduce the respondent to the survey, confirm the respondent's business activity, establish and begin data collection, as well as to answer any questions that the respondent may have.

8. Editing

Data editing is the application of checks to detect missing, invalid or inconsistent entries or to point to data records that are potentially in error. In the survey process for the MRTS, data editing is done at two different time periods.

First of all, editing is done during data collection. Once data are collected via the telephone, or via the receipt of completed mail-in questionnaires, the data are captured using customized data capture applications. All data are subjected to data editing. Edits during data collection are referred to as field edits and generally consist of validity and some simple consistency edits. They are used to detect mistakes made during the interview by the respondent or the interviewer and to identify missing information during collection in order to reduce the need for follow-up later on. Another purpose of the field edits is to clean up responses. In the MRTS, the current month’s responses are edited against the respondent’s previous month’s responses and/or the previous year’s responses for the current month. Field edits are also used to identify problems with data collection procedures and the design of the questionnaire, as well as the need for more interviewer training.

Follow-up with respondents occurs to validate potential erroneous data following any failed preliminary edit check of the data. Once validated, the collected data is regularly transmitted to the head office in Ottawa.

Secondly, editing known as statistical editing is also done after data collection and this is more empirical in nature. Statistical editing is run prior to imputation in order to identify the data that will be used as a basis to impute non-respondents. Large outliers that could disrupt a monthly trend are excluded from trend calculations by the statistical edits. It should be noted that adjustments are not made at this stage to correct the reported outliers.

The first step in the statistical editing is to identify which responses will be subjected to the statistical edit rules. Reported data for the current reference month will go through various edit checks.

The first set of edit checks is based on the Hidiriglou-Berthelot method whereby a ratio of the respondent’s current month data over historical (last month, same month last year) or auxiliary data is analyzed. When the respondent’s ratio differs significantly from ratios of respondents who are similar in terms of industry and/or geography group, the response is deemed an outlier.

The second set of edits consists of an edit known as the share of market edit. With this method, one is able to edit all respondents, even those where historical and auxiliary data is unavailable. The method relies on current month data only. Therefore, within a group of respondents, that are similar in terms of industrial group and/or geography, if the weighted contribution of a respondent to the group’s total is too large, it will be flagged as an outlier.

For edit checks based on the Hidiriglou-Berthelot method, data that are flagged as an outlier will not be included in the imputation models (those based on ratios). Also, data that are flagged as outliers in the share of market edit will not be included in the imputation models where means and medians are calculated to impute for responses that have no historical responses.

In conjunction with the statistical editing after data collection of reported data, there is also error detection done on the extracted GST data. Modeled data based on the GST are also subject to an extensive series of processing steps which thoroughly verify each record that is the basis for the model as well as the record being modeled. Edits are performed at a more aggregate level (industry by geography level) to detect records which deviate from the expected range, either by exhibiting large month-to-month change, or differing significantly from the remaining units. All data which fail these edits are subject to manual inspection and possible corrective action.

9. Imputation

Imputation in the MRTS is the process used to assign replacement values for missing data. This is done by assigning values when they are missing on the record being edited to ensure that estimates are of high quality and that a plausible, internal consistency is created. Due to concerns of response burden, cost and timeliness, it is generally impossible to do all follow-ups with the respondents in order to resolve missing responses. Since it is desirable to produce a complete and consistent microdata file, imputation is used to handle the remaining missing cases.

In the MRTS, imputation is based on historical data or administrative data (GST sales). The appropriate method is selected according to a strategy that is based on whether historical data is available, auxiliary data is available and/or which reference month is being processed.

There are three types of historical imputation methods. The first type is a general trend that uses one historical data source (previous month, data from next month or data from same month previous year). The second type is a regression model where data from previous month and same month, previous year are used simultaneously. The third type uses the historical data as a direct replacement value for a non-respondent. Depending upon the particular reference month, there is an order of preference that exists so that top quality imputation can result. The historical imputation method that was labelled as the third type above is always the last option in the order for each reference month.

The imputation method using administrative data is automatically selected when historical information is unavailable for a non-respondent. Trends are then applied to the administrative data source (monthly size) depending on whether the structure is simple, e.g. enterprises with only one establishment, or the unit has a more complex structure.

10. Estimation

Estimation is a process that approximates unknown population parameters using only part of the population that is included in a sample. Inferences about these unknown parameters are then made, using the sample data and associated survey design. This stage uses Statistics Canada's Generalized Estimation System (GES).

For retail sales, the population is divided into a survey portion (take-all and take-some strata) and a non-survey portion (take-none stratum). From the sample that is drawn from the survey portion, an estimate for the population is determined through the use of a Horvitz-Thompson estimator where responses for sales are weighted by using the inverses of the inclusion probabilities of the sampled units. Such weights (called sampling weights) can be interpreted as the number of times that each sampled unit should be replicated to represent the entire population. The calculated weighted sales values are summed by domain, to produce the total sales estimates by each industrial group / geographic area combination. A domain is defined as the most recent classification values available from the BR for the unit and the survey reference period. These domains may differ from the original sampling strata because units may have changed size, industry or location. Changes in classification are reflected immediately in the estimates and do not accumulate over time. For the non-survey portion, the sales are estimated with statistical models using monthly GST sales.

For more information on the methodology for modeling sales from administrative data sources which also contributes to the estimates of the survey portion, refer to ‘Monthly Retail Survey: Use of Administrative Data’ under ‘Documentation’ of the IMDB.

The measure of precision used for the MRTS to evaluate the quality of a population parameter estimate and to obtain valid inferences is the variance. The variance from the survey portion is derived directly from a stratified simple random sample without replacement.

Sample estimates may differ from the expected value of the estimates. However, since the estimate is based on a probability sample, the variability of the sample estimate with respect to its expected value can be measured. The variance of an estimate is a measure of the precision of the sample estimate and is defined as the average, over all possible samples, of the squared difference of the estimate from its expected value.

11. Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Revisions in the raw data are required to correct known non-sampling errors. These normally include replacing imputed data with reported data, corrections to previously reported data, and estimates for new births that were not known at the time of the original estimates.

Raw data are revised, on a monthly basis, for the month immediately prior to the current reference month being published. That is, when data for December are being published for the first time, there will also be revisions, if necessary, to the raw data for November. In addition, revisions are made once a year, with the initial release of the February data, for all months in the previous years. The purpose is to correct any significant problems that have been found that apply for an extended period. The actual period of revision depends on the nature of the problem identified, but rarely exceeds three years. The revision period can be extended when historical revisions or restratitfication are done.

Retail trade data are seasonally adjusted using the X12-ARIMA method. This consists of extrapolating a year's worth of raw data with the ARIMA model (auto-regressive integrated moving average model), and of seasonally adjusting the raw time series. Finally, the annual totals of the seasonally adjusted series are forced to the annual totals of the original series.

The seasonally adjusted data also need to be revised. In part, they need to reflect the revisions identified for the raw data. Also, the seasonally adjusted estimates are calculated using X-12-ARIMA, and are sensitive to the most recent values reported in the raw data. For this reason, with the release of each month of new data, the seasonally adjusted values for the previous three months are revised.  A seasonally adjusted time series is a time series that has been modified to eliminate the effect of seasonal and calendar influences. For this reason, the seasonally adjusted data allows for more meaningful comparisons of economic conditions from month to month.

Once a year, seasonal adjustments options are reviewed to take into account the most recent data. Revised seasonally adjusted estimates for each month in the previous years are released at the same time as the annual revision to the raw data. The actual period of revision depends on the number years the raw data was revised.

12. Data quality evaluation

The methodology of this survey has been designed to control errors and to reduce their potential effects on estimates. However, the survey results remain subject to errors, of which sampling error is only one component of the total survey error. Sampling error results when observations are made only on a sample and not on the entire population. All other errors arising from the various phases of a survey are referred to as nonsampling errors. For example, these types of errors can occur when a respondent provides incorrect information or does not answer certain questions; when a unit in the target population is omitted or covered more than once; when GST data for records being modeled for a particular month are not representative of the actual record for various reasons; when a unit that is out of scope for the survey is included by mistake or when errors occur in data processing, such as coding or capture errors.

Prior to publication, combined survey results are analyzed for comparability; in general, this includes a detailed review of individual responses (especially for large businesses), general economic conditions and historical trends.

A common measure of data quality for surveys is the coefficient of variation (CV). The coefficient of variation, defined as the standard error divided by the sample estimate, is a measure of precision in relative terms. Since the coefficient of variation is calculated from responses of individual units, it also measures some non-sampling errors.

The formula used to calculate coefficients of variation (CV) as percentages is:

CV (X) = S(X) * 100% / X
where X denotes the estimate and S(X) denotes the standard error of X.

Confidence intervals can be constructed around the estimates using the estimate and the CV. Thus, for our sample, it is possible to state with a given level of confidence that the expected value will fall within the confidence interval constructed around the estimate. For example, if an estimate of $12,000,000 has a CV of 2%, the standard error will be $240,000 (the estimate multiplied by the CV). It can be stated with 68% confidence that the expected values will fall within the interval whose length equals the standard deviation about the estimate, i.e. between $11,760,000 and $12,240,000.

Alternatively, it can be stated with 95% confidence that the expected value will fall within the interval whose length equals two standard deviations about the estimate, i.e. between $11,520,000 and $12,480,000.

Finally, due to the small contribution of the non-survey portion to the total estimates, bias in the non-survey portion has a negligible impact on the CVs. Therefore, the CV from the survey portion is used for the total estimate that is the summation of estimates from the surveyed and non-surveyed portions.

13. Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Confidentiality analysis includes the detection of possible "direct disclosure", which occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of a few respondents or when the cell is dominated by a few companies.