1. Agenda

1. Introductory comments
   • Approval of record from previous meeting (October 6, 2010)
   • Review of agenda
   • Overview of recent activities and developments in the Energy Statistics Program
2. Energy statistics renewal
3. Use of administrative data to replace or supplement survey data: tax, electricity and petroleum
4. Advanced Petroleum Indicators: Responding to an urgent request from the International Energy Agency
5. Harmonizing Statistics Canada energy data: Upcoming workshop
6. Round table discussions: Reports on recent initiatives in the energy area

2. Minutes

The meeting minutes have been provided to the committee members for distribution within their jurisdiction.

1. Agenda

1. Opening remarks and status report
2. Update on dwelling classification study methods
3. Update on reverse record check sampling
   • Status of 2011 reverse record check sampling
   • Evaluation of Canada Child Tax Benefits as a frame for the reverse record check sample of intercensal births
4. Status report on coverage studies
5. Status report on census overcoverage study
6. Update on analysis and projections program
7. Update on projections of the Aboriginal population using microsimulation
8. Update on demographic estimates program
9. Update on development of new methods of interprovincial migration
10. Project to centralize demographic estimates for the household surveys program
11. Alberta Shadow Population Project
12. Provincial/territorial round table
13. Discussion of upcoming priorities
14. Closing remarks

2. Minutes

The meeting minutes have been provided to the committee members for distribution within their jurisdiction.

1. Agenda

1. Opening remarks
   • Introduction of members
   • Adoption of the agenda
2. The Chief Statistician's report
3. Round table discussion (feedback on the Chief Statistician's report)
4. Census and Operations
   • Update on the 2011 Census and the National Household Survey
   • Update on the 2016 Census strategy
5. The role of representatives from provincial and territorial statistical agencies
   • The role of focal points and their engagement with Statistics Canada
   • Focal points' support for the 2011 Census – Round table
6. National Accounts and Analytical Studies
   • Update on the environment statistics initiative
7. Social, Health and Labour Statistics
   • Update on key program activities
   • Alberta's Shadow Population Pilot Study
8. Business and Trade Statistics
   • Update on Consumer Price Index and Census of Agriculture
9. Corporate Services
   • New dissemination model for Statistics Canada
10. Concluding remarks

2. Minutes

The meeting minutes have been provided to the committee members for distribution within their jurisdiction.

1. Agenda

1. Opening remarks
2. Round table
3. Post-mortem on provincial accounts release
4. Industry Accounts Division report and response to focal points
5. Income and Expenditure Accounts Division report and response to focal points
6. Public Sector Statistics Division report and response to focal points
7. Branch 10-year investment plan
8. Historical revision update
9. Gross domestic product by city
10. Closing remarks

2. Minutes

The meeting minutes have been provided to the committee members for distribution within their jurisdiction.

Consultation objectives

In October and November 2012, Statistics Canada consulted with key stakeholders and data users to ensure the content of the Census of Agriculture remains relevant and satisfies the requirements of data users.

Consultation method

Statistics Canada sought input and feedback regarding questionnaire content from public and private stakeholders and users of Census of Agriculture data through consultation workshops held in various Canadian cities and the submission of written of proposals.

How to get involved

The consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a consultation may contact Statistics Canada by sending an email to consultations@statcan.gc.ca.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

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

Over 460 consultation invitations were sent out and recipients were encouraged to forward the invitations to other interested users and stakeholders of Census of Agriculture data. A total of 168 participants attended 1 of 13 consultation workshops held across Canada in October 2012. Participants included agricultural community stakeholders representing producer associations, farm organizations and advisory groups, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, provincial agricultural departments, university researchers, other federal government departments and other divisions within Statistics Canada.

As well, more than 200 submissions for content changes were received and more than 1,000 comments and suggestions were evaluated. Recommendations that met the basic acceptance criteria moved on to testing with farm operators. Proposed questions were tested through seven focus groups and 248 one-on-one interviews with farm operators.

For more information about the 2016 Census of Agriculture consultation process and results, the Census of Agriculture: Content Consultations publication is available from the Browse by key resource module of our website under Publications.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the agency's content development and ensure that the final products meet users' expectations.

Consultation objectives

During the 2012/2013 fiscal year, Statistics Canada's Statistical Information Service (SIS) was evaluated to assess its ability to meet the information needs of its clients.

This evaluation allowed clients who use this service to provide feedback and to express their level of satisfaction with the services they received. Feedback is to be used in planning future improvements to the services.

Consultation method

Statistics Canada contacted a sample of SIS users through email or by telephone to invite them to complete an online questionnaire. Participation was voluntary, and a total of 325 users participated, representing a 23% response rate.

Participation profile

Participants came from a number of sectors, with education accounting for 27%, government 26% and business 24%. Non-profit organizations represented 10% of participants, and retired employees 6%.

How to get involved

This consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in consultations should contact Statistics Canada through the Statistical Information Service.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

Results

Method of communication

According to consultation results, nearly three-quarters of SIS users contacted the service via email, while the remainder did so by telephone.

Topics of interest

SIS clients sought information on a number of topics. Demography/population was the most popular, as 12% of clients requested information on this topic.

Clients were also interested in information on income, pensions, spending and wealth (7%), families, households and housing (7%), labour (5%), education, training and learning (5%), and ethnic diversity and immigration (5%).

Type of information sought

Among SIS users, 60% were looking for data or information on a specific topic for a specific geographic region.

Other common reasons for using the service included looking for help to interpret data (11%), seeking information on jobs at Statistics Canada (10%), needing help navigating the website (10%) and obtaining a product or service (5%).

Success rate

Overall, 83% of SIS clients obtained what they were looking for. Success rates varied according to how users communicated with the service, with email achieving an 80% success rate and telephone an 89% success rate.

Overall client satisfaction

Clients who contacted the SIS by telephone were likelier to express overall satisfaction with the service they received, as 88% reporting being very satisfied or satisfied compared with 78% of clients who communicated via email.

Timeliness of service

People who contacted the service by telephone were also likelier to express satisfaction with respect to the timeliness of the service (89% versus 82% of those who used email).

Clear communications

How users contacted the SIS also had an impact on communication success. Overall, 85% of clients who contacted the SIS by telephone reported being very satisfied or satisfied with the ability of SIS staff to understand their needs, compared with 75% of those who used email.

In addition, 88% of clients who contact the SIS via telephone claimed to be very satisfied or satisfied with the clarity of communications with SIS staff, compared with 79% of those who used email.

Use of official language

Nearly 90% of clients expressed satisfaction over the language in which they were served.

General observations

SIS users who participated in the survey generally provided positive feedback, indicating that the service was timely and useful, and that SIS staff were courteous, pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable.

Recommendations

Some SIS users also provided recommendations for improvement, such as increasing the timeliness of responses to requests sent through email and enhancing access to information agents via telephone.

Statistics Canada is taking steps to implement the recommendations.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the Agency's web development and ensure that the final products meet users' expectations.

Consultation objectives

As part of the broader content determination process, Statistics Canada conducted user consultation on the questionnaire content for the 2016 Census Program¹ September 1 to November 16, 2012.

The objectives of the 2016 Census Program content consultation were to:

• confirm information needs and identify data gaps
• establish data priorities
• understand how Census Program data are used.

Consultation method

Data users and interested parties (which traditionally include federal, provincial and territorial governments, municipalities and regions, non-profit organizations and community groups, academia, private industry, Statistics Canada’s advisory committees and the general public) were invited to participate in the 2016 Census Program content consultation.

Online questionnaires and in-person meetings were used to gather feedback. Participants also sent their comments and suggestions by email, mail or fax.

How to get involved

This consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a consultation should contact Statistics Canada through the Statistical Information Service.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

Results

Results of the consultation will be published online when available.

Note

1. The term ‘Census Program’ is used to refer in a general way to the Census of Population and, if applicable, any accompanying survey conducted at the time of the census, such as the 2011 National Household Survey.

Consultation objectives

In October and November 2012, Statistics Canada consulted Canadians on the design of a new website homepage, modified to be compliant to the web usability standard. The objective of the consultation was to determine whether website users can easily navigate through the new design.

Consultation methodology

Statistics Canada held in-person usability consultations in Ottawa. Participants were asked to complete 12 tasks using one of two test designs and to provide feedback on its ease of use.

How to get involved

This consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in consultations should contact Statistics Canada through the Statistical Information Service.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

Results

First design

What worked

Participants liked the uncluttered appearance of the new homepage design when compared with the website’s current home page. The menu bar and Browse by subject feature were popular, while some participants appreciated the short length of the page.

What did not work

Participants did not find the presentation of the page’s features clear enough, and some noted that the placement of certain page components, such as the Latest indicators feature and the About us module, hard to find.

Although most participants found the social media links quickly and easily, they wanted to see the symbols for each link rather than the text version.

Second design

What worked

The second homepage design was generally preferred to the first one. Participants liked having the features presented in colours. They also preferred the placement of components on this home page, particularly the Latest indicators, and indicated that the Browse by subject feature worked very well. Participants also liked the overall appearance of this home page design, finding it both uncluttered and familiar.

What did not work

While participants preferred the second homepage design, they noted that the Subjects and Resources features offered the same, or nearly the same, function. Participants also generally ignored the Key resource component, and overlooked The Daily as a source of information.

Some mentioned wanting the About us component and contact information to be more prominently displayed.

Here again, participants remarked that social media links would be more visible if they appeared along with their traditional symbols.

Recommendations

In general, participants preferred the second home page design to the first one. Furthermore, they unanimously preferred both designs to the current home page, describing them as up-to-date, straightforward, clear and easy to use.

Some recommendations were suggested to further improve the second design:

• Place the Latest indicators feature at the top of the page
• Add more indicators to the Latest indicators feature
• Make the information available in the Browse by Subject feature more accessible (adding subheadings, a mouseover function, etc...)
• Add content to the About us link
• Redesign the Information for... component.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the Agency’s web development and ensure that the final products meet users’ expectations.

Consultation objectives

In December 2010, Statistics Canada launched the 2016 Census Strategy Project as part of its customary statistical program review. The 2016 Census Strategy Project studied various census-taking options to provide the federal government with a recommendation on the methodology for the 2016 Census Program¹.

The 2016 Census Strategy Project comprised the development of a content determination framework, including criteria for inclusion of content in the Census Program. To achieve this objective, Statistics Canada gathered information on high priority Census Program data uses and requirements directly from data users.

Consultation method

Between the spring and fall of 2011, Statistics Canada solicited information from data users, on

• explicit uses of Census Program data, i.e., where census is explicitly mentioned as the source of data in a legislation, regulation, policy or program
• implicit uses of Census Program data, i.e., where census is not explicitly mentioned, but where it has been the traditional source of data, and
• other uses of Census Program data.

Data users were invited to participate in the 2016 Census Strategy Project by completing the Data Uses and Requirements questionnaire. Online questionnaires, electronic questionnaires and written submissions were used to gather feedback.

Data users included

• federal government departments and agencies
• provincial/territorial governments via the statistical focal points
• municipal organizations
• national Aboriginal organizations
• organizations representing official language minority communities
• umbrella and non-profit organizations
• business sector, including secondary distributors.

How to get involved

This consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a consultation should contact Statistics Canada through the National Contact Centre.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

Results

Findings of the 2016 Census Strategy Project are available in the census module.

Note

1. The term 'Census Program' is used to refer in a general way to the Census of Population and, if applicable, any accompanying survey conducted at the time of the census.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the Agency’s web development and ensure that the final products meet users’ expectations.

Consultation objectives

In June 2011, Statistics Canada conducted an evaluation of its website to seek feedback from website visitors on a number of topics, including

• task completion success rates
• overall level of satisfaction with the website
• priorities for improving the website
• recent changes to the website, namely the Latest Census Data pages and Statistics by Subject

Consultation methodology

Statistics Canada used an intercept technology deployed across the website to invite all visitors to participate by completing a short questionnaire with optional content.

Almost 5,800 visitors participated, corresponding to a 4% response rate.

How to get involved

This consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a consultation should contact Statistics Canada through the National Contact Centre.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

Results

Information sought and planned use

Consultation results show that 38% of visitors were looking mostly for data and data tables on a specific topic, while 16% searched for studies, articles or publications on a specific topic.

Among participants, 12% sought information on prices, making this the most popular topic; 11% looked for information on population/demography, 10% searched for information on health and 8% sought data on labour. Nearly half of participants looked for social statistics.

Participants planned to use the information primarily for

• Personal interest (22%)
• Academic purposes and school assignments (14%)
• Policy research, development, analysis and/or evaluation (13%)
• Economic/financial research, analysis and planning (9%)
• Business development or analysis (7%)

Task completion success

In 2011, 74% of participants completed their task successfully, up from 65% in 2010. About 80% of the frequent visitors were successful in completing their task. The rate was highest for participants looking for information in The Daily (93%).

The top topics of interest all recorded success rates at or above 70%. Nearly 80% of successful participants took less than 5 minutes to find the information they were seeking, with around 75% of successful participants reporting that finding information was easy.

Overall satisfaction

In 2011, 68% of consultation participants expressed overall satisfaction, slightly up from 65% in 2010.

Suggestions for improvement

Ease of access to data (search engine, navigation and website organization) and website content (information availability) remain the major areas for improvement.

Consultation participant profile

Participants came principally from three main sectors: government (26%), business (22%) and education (21%), similar to website evaluation results in previous years. Among participants, just over half were infrequent visitors.

Participants were also asked to indicate which methods they most often used to access the website: 70% of them reported accessing the website via a desktop, 58% used a laptop or notebook and 6% use a mobile device. Although still relatively small, the proportion of participants using a mobile device to access the website is growing.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the Agency’s web development and ensure that the final products meet users’ expectations.