This record linkage project brings together health survey data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) - Annual Component for the periods from 2003 to 2014, the CCHS Focus Content for 2002 (Mental Health and Well-being) and 2012 (Mental Health), and immigration and income (tax) data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) starting in 1980.

The purpose of the linkage project is to better understand the health, social and economic outcomes of immigrants in different immigration classes and categories.

The Data

Canadian Community Health Survey

The annual component of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) includes cross-sectional information about the health, health behaviours and health care use of the non-institutionalized household population aged 12 and older. The CCHS focus content surveys are designed to provide cross-sectional, provincial level results on specific health topics. Two focus content cycles were used in this linkage project. The Mental Health and Well-being (2002) and Mental Health (2012) include information about mental disorders, mental health system use, and disability associated with mental health problems among the household population aged 15 and older.

The CCHS records eligible for linkage were respondents who had given consent to both share their survey information with provincial and federal ministries of health and to link their responses to administrative data. The first cycle of the CCHS (cycle 1.1) was excluded from this linkage because the question asking respondents for their consent to link and share their survey data did not allow for the linkage to non-health databases. The CCHS questionnaires are available on the Statistics Canada website or through your RDC Analyst. Non-confidential information about the CCHS is available through the data liberation initiative, through your local RDC Analyst, or can be requested through Health Statistics Division Client Services (statcan.hd-ds.statcan@statcan.gc.ca). Once approval to access the RDC files has been granted, user guides, questionnaires and other confidential documentation will be accessible in the RDC.

Immigrant Landing File

The Immigrant Landing File (ILF) is a database produced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and provided to Statistics Canada on an annual basis. The ILF is an administrative census of immigrants who have landed in Canada since 1980, and contains information on the demographic (e.g., age, sex, country of birth), program (e.g., immigrant admission category, intended occupation, intended destination) and characteristics (e.g., education, knowledge of official languages) of all individuals who have landed in Canada during this time period. The ILF has no health-related information. The ILF used in this linkage project includes all immigrants who have landed in Canada from 1980 to 2013, including tax filers and non-tax filers. The ILF includes the non-permanent resident file (NRF) as well as the integrated permanent and non-permanent resident file (PNRF).

Longitudinal Immigration Database

The Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) is a comprehensive source of data on the economic behaviour of the immigrant tax-filer population in Canada. A person is included in the IMDB if they obtained permanent resident status since 1980. The IMDB combines an administrative Immigrant Landing File (ILF) and a Non-Permanent Resident Permit File (NRF-Permit) with the T1 Family File (T1FF) through exact matching record linkage techniques. It includes one file for each tax year since 1982, two files containing immigration characteristics at the person al level and one permit file for non-permanent residents. For information about the analytical variables included in the IMDB, researcher should consult the IMDB documentation available from your RDC analyst.

File structure, layout

All variables from the CCHS share files are available for analysis. Please see appropriate data dictionaries for relevant CCHS cycles, available from your RDC analyst. For CCHS respondents who linked to the ILF, all variables from the IMDB are available for analysis by merging the linked file to the IMDB. Instructions for merging files are provided in the user guide. Before merging the CCHS with the IMDB, the researcher should determine which variables are required by consulting the appropriate documentation.

Content differences over the cycles

The CCHS is a cross-sectional survey that collects information related to health status, health care utilization and health determinants for the Canadian population. In addition to sociodemographic and administrative data, the CCHS includes four content components, each of which addresses a different need: the Core, Theme, Optional, and Rapid Response. The CCHS core content component includes questions asked of respondents in all provinces and territories (unless otherwise specified). The theme content is asked of all survey respondents and comprises modules, or in some cases groups of questions within modules, that are related to a specific topic. There are two types of theme collected annually: two-year theme modules which are asked over a period of two years and one-year theme modules that are asked over a one year period. Themes are reintroduced in the survey every two, four or six years, if required. This component enables CCHS to better plan its content in the medium term. The optional content component is designed to give provinces and territories the opportunity to select content that addresses their own public health priorities. The rapid response component is offered on a cost-recovery basis to organizations interested in obtaining national estimates on an emerging or specific topic related to the health of the population.

Researchers should be aware that optional modules are not available for each CCHS cycle and are only selected by some provinces and territories. To obtain a copy of the provincial and territorial selection of the Canadian Community Health Survey – Annual Component, contact Client Services (613-951-1746 or statcan.hd-ds.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).

2015 Redesign of the Canadian Community Health Survey – Annual Component

In an ongoing effort to ensure data produced from the Canadian Community Health Survey – Annual Component remains relevant, is of the highest quality and is collected as effectively and efficiently as possible, major redesigns for the survey are planned every 6 to 8 years. In 2012, work began on the second major redesign (the first being in 2007) for the 2015 cycle of the CCHS. Part of this work included consultations held with federal, provincial and territorial share partners, health region authorities and academics. This resulted in major changes for the 2015 CCHS including changes to content, methodology and collection strategies. The first release of redesigned CCHS annual data was in March, 2017.

Impacts on the User - Comparability between past cycles and the 2015 redesign:

A major redesign is an opportunity to make significant changes to improve a survey. Changes to the 2015 CCHS include the use of higher quality frames, the adoption of more efficient collection and sample allocation strategies and updated and modernised content. These changes will help the survey produce higher quality data while making the survey more efficient, however these changes impact the analytical use of previous CCHS data sets.

As a result of the changes from the 2015 CCHS redesign, combining cycles of CCHS data from before and after the redesign (e.g., combining 2014 and 2015 annual files) is not recommended, and caution should be taken when comparing estimates across those years. Even estimates derived from content that has remained unchanged, are subject to the potential impacts of the other major changes to the survey (i.e. new survey frames and collection methods) and may not necessarily be comparable with past cycles. It would be very difficult to ascertain whether any changes or consistencies between estimates pre and post redesign are a reflection of the true population characteristic being examined, or the effect of the significant methodological and operational changes made to the survey.

Status

The variant of the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada for agricultural goods has been approved as a departmental standard. The first agricultural goods variant was based on NAPCS Canada 2012, yet it was not implemented. A new updated variant has now been developed and adapted to NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 and has been approved on November 27, 2017.

Transition to NAPCS Canada 2017

In the past, the standard classification for agricultural goods was not used by the Agriculture Division. An existing classification that included agriculture goods in the Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM 2004 – List of Goods), did not meet the needs of the Agriculture Division's programs. At the same time, the standard classification of NAPCS Canada did not have enough detail to meet the needs of all the Agriculture Division programs. Thus, an extension variant for agricultural goods has been developed to meet those specific needs. This variant is generally an extension of the four levels of the standard NAPCS Canada. However, some of the higher levels of the standard classification were adjusted in order to be aligned with various data tables from Agriculture division. For example, class 11411-Fresh fruit and nuts, is decomposed into 11411A-Fresh fruit and 11411B-Nuts. In addition, the scope of some groups has been modified, e.g., 213-Cannabis products was changed to 213A-Cannabis seeds, vegetative plants and flowering tops (including leaves). These to account only for agricultural-type cannabis products.

This variant will continue to be updated as agriculture data form part of Statistics Canada's Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP).

The standard NAPCS Canada has been adopted by most Statistics Canada programs that have a product dimension.

There are several benefits to converting to NAPCS Canada:

1. Most Statistics Canada programs with a product dimension will adopt NAPCS Canada. As a result, Statistics Canada data will be coherent and consistent.
2. Some products produced in Canada today did not exist a few years ago. Converting to a new classification system will allow products to be classified more accurately.
3. By using NAPCS Canada, we insure alignment with the macro-economic accounts, the prices programs and the merchandise accounts.
4. Statistical programs in the United States and Mexico may also release data based on NAPCS. In these cases, international comparisons of product data will be easier.

NAPCS Canada variant for agricultural goods

The NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 contains 158 groups (3-digits), of which only 8 groups are related to agricultural goods. These groups from code 111 to 121 and group 213 are included in this variant; in most cases these goods represent farm output. Processed agricultural goods are not included in the variant. However, the variant does include unprocessed fishery products.

Two additional levels of detail were created below the standard four-level NAPCS Canada, to meet the needs of the Agriculture Division. The first variant level below the detail level, which is made of 8-digits codes, comprises 283 categories, while the second level, which is made of 9-digits codes, comprises 378 categories.

Two groups, classes and subclasses of the standard classification were respectively recoded and renamed to align with the scope of various data tables from Agriculture Division: 121A-Fish and shellfish and 213A-Cannabis seeds, vegetative plants and flowering tops (including leaves). Standard class 11411-Fresh fruit and nuts was decomposed in two separate classes for fresh fruit (11411A) and fresh nuts (11411B). Standard class 12111-Fish, crustaceans, shellfish and other fishery products, is also changed to 12111A-Fish and shellfish, while two standard subclasses from this later class were also changed to 121111A-Live fish and shellfish and 121113A-Shellfish (except live).

See "Hierarchical structure" for a detailed presentation of the levels and code structures of the variant.

Hierarchical structure

The structure of the NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 variant for agricultural goods is hierarchical. It is composed of six levels.

level 1: group (three-digit standard codes or four-character alphanumeric variant codes) 
level 2: class (five-digit standard codes or six-character alphanumeric variant codes) 
level 3: subclass (six-digit standard codes)
level 4: detail (seven-digit standard codes)
level 5: detail (eight-digit variant codes)
level 6: detail (nine-digit variant codes)

Consultation objectives

From October 18 to December 31, 2018, Statistics Canada conducted an online consultation to gather input from Canadians on the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics hub.

The hub serves as a focal point for data produced by the new Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics, which aims to address gaps in the availability of information by gender, sex and other intersecting identity factors, such as disability status, Indigenous identity (First Nations, Métis and Inuit), and other ethno-cultural characteristics. The hub will enable users to easily access and analyze a wealth of statistical information, relevant to the evaluation of programs, policies and initiatives from a gender, diversity and inclusion perspective.

As we continue to develop the hub, we looked to gain insights into the information needs of Canadians with respect to it, and to gender, diversity and inclusion data more broadly.

Consultation methodology

Statistics Canada conducted online consultations using the Statistics Canada crowdsourcing platform and a referral sampling approach. The intended audience was users of data related to gender, diversity and inclusion; participants were not necessarily representative of the general Canadian population as they were self-selected. The consultation was promoted through direct invitations, social media, and in-person promotion at conferences and Government of Canada training events.

Participants were asked to answer six questions and to provide feedback on their data needs.

We received 487 responses containing substantive information. Due to the nature of crowdsourced information, there is no way to determine if each response belongs to a unique respondent. There is no mechanism in the crowdsourcing platform to restrict or prevent a respondent from submitting multiple responses.

How participants got involved

This consultation is now closed, but individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a future consultation should contact Statistics Canada by sending an email to statcan.consultations-consultations.statcan@canada.ca.

Statistics Canada is committed to respecting the privacy of consultation participants. All personal information created, held or collected by the agency is protected by the Privacy Act. For more information on Statistics Canada's privacy policies, please consult the Privacy notice.

Results

Of the 487 substantive responses, 233 were submitted by government employees at all levels (48%), 105 were submitted by academics, including graduate students (26%) and 81 were submitted by employees of non-governmental organizations (17%).

At least 70% of responses identified a desire for data on each of the following six different population groups: Gender groups (80%), Ethnic & cultural groups (76%), First Nations, Métis and Inuit (74%), Immigrants (73%), Persons with disabilities (71%) and LGBTQ+ groups (70%).

At least 60% of responses desire the Centre to offer data for each of the following four key research areas: Population & Demography (67%), Education, Training & Learning (66%), Health (63%) and Society & Community (63%). Other research areas cited by a majority of responses were Income, Pensions, Spending & Wealth (57%), Labour (53%) and Families & Households (53%).

Statistics Canada thanks all those who participated in this consultation. Their input and insights will help to guide the agency's development of the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics hub and ensure that it meets users' needs.