Date: July 2022

Program manager: Director, Centre for Population Health Data
Director General, Health, Justice, Diversity and Inclusion

Reference to Personal Information Bank (PIB)

Personal information collected through the voluntary Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is described in Statistics Canada's "Health Surveys" Personal Information Bank. The Personal Information Bank refers to information collected through Statistics Canada's health surveys and includes a variety of topics and information such as: name, contact information, citizenship status, education, employment, financial, language, health and medical information (from blood, urine samples), place of birth, pregnancy, breastfeeding, sleep habits, sexual behavior, nutrition, alcohol, e-cigarette/cigarette use, medication/drug use, physical attributes, physical activity, neighborhood environment, health, COVID-19, and medical information using blood, saliva, and urine samples.

The "Health Surveys" PIB (Bank number: StatCan PPU 806) is published on the Statistics Canada website under the latest Information about programs and Information Holdings chapter.

Description of statistical activity

Statistics Canada, under the authority of the Statistics Act^{Footnote 1}, conducts the voluntary Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). The CHMS aims to collect important health information through a household interview and direct physical measures at a mobile examination centre (MEC), sometimes referred to as a mobile clinic. The main objective of the survey is to gather information that helps improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, as well as promote the health and wellness of Canadians. In addition, this survey helps shed light on illnesses and reveal the extent to which many diseases may be undiagnosed among Canadians, and enables health professionals and researchers to address public health challenges.

Fundamentally, the value of the data lies in analysis and interpretation. Demographic, socio-economic, and health characteristics such as age, sex and gender, marital status, ethnic origin, eating habits, physical activity and chronic diseases become especially meaningful when analyzed in relation to one another.

Aggregate survey results are published in the Daily (the Agency's official release bulletin) summarizing the survey findings in the form of profiles and cross-tabulations, anonymized public use microdata files (PUMFs)^{Footnote 2}, and analytical reports. These data are fully anonymized and non-confidential, without any direct personal identifiers, which prevents the possibility of identifying individuals. Through a data sharing agreement, and as permitted by section 17(2) of the Statistics Act, Health Canada (HC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) have access to the data, with all personal identifiers removed, in the Research Data Centres^{Footnote 3} and are only permitted to release aggregate results, which are fully anonymized and non-confidential. They will use these data to: establish Canadian health reference ranges, identify the prevalence of health indicators (e.g., diabetes) and monitor trends, examine relationships between health indicators (e.g., blood pressure, cardiovascular disease), and provide insight on fitness and health.

To ensure the continued relevance of the CHMS, Statistics Canada conducts formal consultations at the start of each new survey cycle. Data users and stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on what information they use, for what purpose and what, if any, data gaps Statistics Canada should consider addressing in the next cycle. The most recent consultation has led to the following changes to the seventh cycle of data collection which is scheduled for 2022:

1. Addition of a new age group (1 to 2 Year Old)

   The CHMS survey sample is being extended to include 1 to 2 year-olds. The legal parent or guardian responds to the CHMS household interview on behalf of the child, and must be present with the child at the MEC and provide written consent for the child to participate in the tests which include height and weight, bone health via DXA and blood collection.

2. Addition of a new musculoskeletal health measures (DXA)

   Body composition and bone health will now be evaluated by anthropometry and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans of the whole body, femur, and anterior-posterior (AP) lumbar spine.

3. Re-introduction of the oral health component

   An oral health component was included in CHMS Cycle 1 (2007-2009); it was planned at that time to conduct the same oral health measurements every fifteen years. This component is essential in identifying oral health trends in Canada and provide evidence to support informed policy and program development at all levels of government.

4. Change of device (physical activity)

   The current device (Actical) used to collect physical activity measures is not well-suited for the collection of sleep data, therefore a new device (Actigraph) will be used in this cycle. The collection of sleep data will establish 24-hour movement behaviours and their association with health conditions and risk factors.

5. Change of device (blood pressure)

   The device used to measure blood pressure in Cycles 1 to 6 of the survey was provided by BPTru™ which has since ceased its operations. Therefore, a new device (OMRON) which is validated and highly recommended by experts will be used in this cycle.

6. COVID-19 Screening Strategy

   In order to ensure a safe work environment for the MEC staff, protect the health of respondents, and mitigate the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during collection, the CHMS will include a COVID-19 screening strategy for both MEC staff, respondents, and any other person who could be required to access the MEC (e.g., contractor, family member).

All other personal information collected through the survey remains the same as in previous cycles and is described in previous Canadian Health Measures Survey PIAs^{Footnote 4} as well as in the Generic PIA for Statistics Canada's Statistical Programs. Health Canada (HC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) Research Ethics Board have reviewed Cycle 7 content.

Reason for supplement

While the Generic Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) addresses most of the privacy and security risks related to statistical activities conducted by Statistics Canada, this supplement describes any potential new risks associated with the changes introduced in this survey cycle. This supplement also presents an analysis of the necessity and proportionality of these new elements. As is the case with all PIAs, Statistics Canada's privacy framework ensures that elements of privacy protection and privacy controls are documented and applied.

Necessity and proportionality

The changes in the collection and use of personal information for Cycle 7 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey can be justified against Statistics Canada's Necessity and Proportionality Framework:

1. Necessity

1. Addition of a new age group (1 to 2 Year Old)

   The personal information collected for this age group will provide reliable information on the health and wellness of young Canadians. There is substantial interest for information on this age group as there is currently limited data available for this population in Canada. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) will be conducted in partnership with the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and the environmental measures will be analyzed with the support of Health Canada. Exposure to environmental chemicals during these critical development years can have a lasting impact on the child's future health outcomes^{Footnote 5}.

   The personal identifiers for the children included in the survey, as well as for all other respondents (full name, date of birth, and provincial or territorial health card number) are collected for linkage purposes. Personal identifiers are removed from the data file and stored separately and securely, once the linkage has been performed. Statistics Canada's microdata linkage and related statistical activities were assessed in Statistics Canada's Generic Privacy Impact Assessment^{Footnote 6}. All data linkage activities are subject to established governance^{Footnote 7}, and are assessed against the privacy principles of necessity and proportionality^{Footnote 8}. All approved linkages are published on Statistics Canada's website^{Footnote 9}.

   The addition of this age group was submitted for review to the Public Health Agency of Canada-Health Canada Research Ethics Board to solicit their health and medical expertise in order to ensure ethical issues were considered, to ensure that internationally recognized ethical standards for human research were met and maintained, and to ensure minimal respondent burden while maximizing the data potential.

2. Addition of a new instrument (DXA)

   The information collected with the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) will fill a gap in quality national estimates of body composition and bone density. It will help address a wide range of priority policy questions pertaining to bone health which cannot currently be addressed with accuracy. The DXA will allow the investigation of health-related topics including osteoporosis, obesity and cardiovascular disease risk.

   Body composition and bone health will be evaluated using anthropometry and DXA scans of the whole body, femur, and anterior-posterior (AP) lumbar spine. The information provided by the scans will allow: nationally representative data on total and regional bone mineral content, lean mass, fat mass, and percent fat overall and for age, gender, and racial/ethnic groups; estimates of obesity, defined as an excess of body fat; data to study the association between body composition and other health conditions and risk factors, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, physical activity, and dietary patterns; estimates of the prevalence of osteoporosis and low bone mass; and the first estimates of the prevalence of vertebral fractures and abdominal aortic calcification.

3. Re-introduction of the Oral Health component

   The oral health component is Canada's only complete overview of the current oral health status of Canadians. The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is the best survey to conduct data collection for these measures as it combines both clinical measurements and a household questionnaire.

   The objectives of the oral health component are to evaluate the association of oral health with major health concerns such as diabetes, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. It will help determine relationships between oral health and certain risk factors such as poor nutrition, environmental factors such as levels of fluorides in water, and socioeconomic factors related to low income levels and education.

4. Change of device (physical activity)

   In order to remain relevant and meet current and foreseeable future research needs, Statistics Canada will measure all respondent activities within a 24-hour period, including sleep, as opposed to only waking hours. The current device (Actical) is not well-suited for the collection of sleep data, therefore Statistics Canada will be using the Actigraph wGT3X-BT for use in future cycles of the survey.

   This new monitor captures and records high resolution, raw acceleration data, which is converted into a variety of objective activity and sleep measures using publicly available algorithms developed and validated by members of the academic research community. The high quality, timely and relevant data collected will determine the degree to which the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines^{Footnote 10} are being met and allow to measures the health benefits and potential risk of developing diseases. Available historical data will also allow for the monitoring of trends.

   The Canadian 24-hour Movement Guidelines, created by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), provide guidance on the optimal amount of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep, and the best combination of these behaviours, for Canadians of all ages. Evidence suggests that people who follow these guidelines can improve their health. Benefits include lower risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer, improved bone health, and enhanced psychosocial health.

   Currently, there is an information gap at the national level concerning the percentage of the Canadian population that meets these guidelines. In partnership with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, Statistics Canada will use the information collected from the CHMS to evaluate the 24-hour movement behaviours and their association with health conditions and risk factors.

5. Change of device (blood pressure)

   During Cycle 6 collection of the CHMS, the company BPTru™ which provided the device for the collection of blood pressure measures ceased its operations.

   To replace the device, Statistics Canada has opted for the OMRON HEM-907-XL which is highly recommended by experts, and is used for other national studies and major trials such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, USA). It was also validated by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and the International Protocol of the European Society of Hypertension^{Footnote 11}.

6. COVID-19 Screening Strategy

   In order to ensure a safe work environment for the MEC staff, protect the health of respondents, and mitigate the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during collection, Statistics Canada is planning on implementing a COVID-19 screening strategy for both MEC staff and respondents.

   During the MEC appointment reminder phone call (24-48 hours before the appointment), the Centre Coordinator will confirm verbally with the respondent that they are not symptomatic, and understands that they will have to undergo COVID-19 screening measures upon their arrival at the MEC to participate in the MEC visit. If the respondent is symptomatic or refuses to follow the protocols their appointment will be cancelled.

   Upon arrival, every individual entering the MEC will be required to follow the COVID-19 screening protocols established in collaboration with Statistics Canada Occupational Health and Safety group. They will be provided with a consent form (Appendix A) for the COVID-19 Screening Protocols, which will consist of a screening questionnaire (Appendix B) and temperature check (not recorded). The form and questionnaire will have the name of the individual, the date and the CLINIC ID of the respondent and will be stored in a secured drawer in the administrative room in the MEC. During the day, the secured drawer is accessible using a key by all deemed Statistics Canada MEC employees (approximately 20) for them to put the respondents file away after the appointment. The drawer is locked when the MEC is closed and the Site Manager, Team Leaders (2) and Clinic Coordinators (2) have access to the key. All respondent files are shipped to Head Office at the end of every MEC collection site (MEC changes site every 5-6 weeks) in a Versapack (same shipping procedure as previous cycles; the Versapack is the secure method used by Statistics Canada to ship confidential packages from the MEC to Statistics Canada's Head Office). At Head Office they are stored in a locked filing cabinet until they can be sent to Statistics Canada's Operations Integration team to be scanned and stored electronically. The documents will be stored and retained/destroyed as per Statistics Canada's retention standards. In this case, COVID-19 screening material is considered "work files in support of design and collection", making them transitory files with a retention requirement described as, "Delete as soon as they have served their use or purpose, within a year of the end of collection." with discretion also given to the responsible manager according to the following criteria:

   Respondents who do not consent to COVID-19 screening will be informed that they are ineligible to participate in the direct measures component of the survey.

   The COVID-19 Screening Strategy will be subject to change depending on the evolution of the pandemic, recommendations from the Occupational Health and Safety group (that will be consulted regularly through collection) and provincial public health guidelines. Should any of those changes have a privacy impact, an amendment to this Sought PIA will be created.

   • "In determining the appropriate level of additional documentation required, the responsible manager's decision should be based on the use of statistical microdata files and their expected retention. The following are suggested criteria that could be considered in making this determination:

     Use:

     Retention:

     • intended use or purpose
     • types of uses (one specific use versus multiple widespread usage)
     • number of users
     • type of users (e.g., IT professionals only, internal project staff only, researchers external to the project or to Statistics Canada)
     • a one-time event or part of an ongoing repeated process
     • length of time the information is retained"

2. Effectiveness - Working assumptions

The CHMS is carefully designed to produce relevant, high priority, statistically meaningful information. Although a great deal of health knowledge can be obtained through survey interviews and administrative databases, the most accurate information that is relevant to the present and future health of the population can only be obtained through direct measures of physical characteristics.

1. Addition of a new age group (1 to 2-Year-Old)

   A sample size of 670 1-2-year-olds has been assessed as necessary by methodologists to produce statistics of sufficient quality for that age group. The total sample size for the survey is therefore consequentially increasing from 5700 to 6370. Data analysis and reporting will not be modified and will follow approved guidelines used in previous cycles.

2. Addition of a new instrument (DXA)

   Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is a clinically proven, accurate, and reproducible method of measuring bone mineral density in the lumbar spine, proximal femur, and whole body. Body composition and bone health will be evaluated starting in Cycle 7 of the CHMS by anthropometry and DXA scans of the whole body, femur, and anterior-posterior (AP) lumbar spine.

   All respondents will be asked to undergo scans. The final report will only summarize group results, and no individual, personal or confidential information will be shared.

3. Re-introduction of the Oral Health component

   The oral health component is Canada's only complete overview of the current oral health status of Canadians. The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is the best survey to conduct data collection for these measures as it combines both clinical measurements and a household questionnaire.

4. Change of device (physical activity)

   The Actigraph will measure raw acceleration, activity counts, energy expenditure, MET rates, steps taken, physical activity intensity, activity bouts, sedentary bouts, body position, sleep latency, total sleep time, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency, and ambient light. Raw data will be stored using participant numbers as identifiers.

   The final report will only summarize group results, and no individual, personal or confidential information will be shared.

5. Change of device (blood pressure)

   The decision was made to use the OMRON HEM-907-XL because it was highly recommended by experts and it is used in other national studies and major trials such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, USA). It has also been validated by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and the International Protocol of the European Society of Hypertension^{Footnote 12}.

   The final report will only summarize group results, and no individual, personal or confidential information will be shared.

6. COVID-19 Screening Strategy

   COVID-19 screening strategies will evolve through survey collection to ensure they are following the provincial and federal health & safety guidelines at the minimum. They will also be reviewed by Statistics Canada's Occupational Health and Safety group to ensure that all necessary precautions to protect employees and survey respondents are taken. COVID-19 screening results will not be retained nor shared.

3. Proportionality

The data collected will contain only the variables required to achieve the statistical goals of the CHMS. Statistics Canada directives and policies with respect to data collection and publication will be followed to ensure the confidentiality of the data. Individual responses will be grouped with those of others when reporting results. Individual responses and results for very small groups will never be shared with government departments or agencies.

The benefits of the findings, which are expected to support services aimed at improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and to promote the health and wellness of Canadians, are believed to be proportional to the potential risks to privacy.

4. Alternatives

The CHMS is one of the only sources of information for small geographic areas, based on the same statistical concepts for the entire country, and the only source of information for many health characteristics.

Data linkages are used between CHMS data and other sources of information for statistical analyses; to evaluate data quality, to assist with data processing, and for direct replacement of data when the quality is deemed appropriate.

Mitigation factors

Some questions and measurements contained in the CHMS are considered sensitive as they relate to an individual's health and wellness; however, the overall risk of harm to the survey respondents has been deemed manageable with existing Statistics Canada safeguards that are described in Statistics Canada's Generic Privacy Impact Assessment, including, but not limited to the following:

Consent

For the household interview portion of the CHMS, participants will be informed in the invitation letter that their participation is voluntary and before being asked any questions. For the direct physical measures element, participants will also be informed of the voluntary nature of the CHMS and the topic of each component before participating. Finally, prior to entering the MEC, participants will be informed that the COVID-19 screening is voluntary, yet is necessary to proceed with the clinical component of the survey.

Confidentiality

Variables that directly identify respondents will be separated from the data files in the first stage of data processing and placed in a secure location with controlled access. Variables that might indirectly identify respondents are examined and modified as necessary in order to protect the privacy and confidentiality of respondents. Individual responses will be grouped with those of others when reporting results. Individual responses and results for very small groups will never be published or shared with government departments or agencies. Careful analysis of the data will be performed prior to the publication and sharing of aggregate data to ensure that marginalized and vulnerable communities are not disproportionally impacted.

Data linkage

The linkage of CHMS data with other sources of information will be used in statistical studies to evaluate data quality and the impact of non-response, to improve and assist with data editing and imputation, and for direct replacement of data in presence of partial non-response when the quality is deemed appropriate. The linkage files will be used only within Statistics Canada for methodological research, development and processing.

Security measures for linkage keys and administrative files respect the policies, directives and guidelines for information technology security at Statistics Canada. When linkage is required, it is done using anonymized statistical identifiers ("linkage keys") and, as a result, no linked file contains personal identifiers such as name, phone number and address (excluding postal code). These anonymized statistical identifiers are used to link to other sources of information for statistical purposes only. The personal identifiers obtained are removed from the rest of the information and securely stored with restricted access with an approved operational requirement to access them, and whose access is removed when no longer required.

Transparency

It is the policy of Statistics Canada to provide all respondents with information about: the purpose of a survey (including the expected uses and users of the statistics to be produced from the survey), the authority under which the survey is taken, the mandatory or voluntary nature of the survey, confidentiality protection, the record linkage plans and the identity of the parties to any agreements for sharing of the information provided by those respondents, where applicable.

For Cycle 7 of the CHMS, this information is provided in the letter of invitation, in the survey's consent form, and in Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) accessible through the CHMS website^{Footnote 13}.

Conclusion

This assessment concludes that, with the existing Statistics Canada safeguards, any remaining risks are such that Statistics Canada is prepared to accept and manage the risk.

Formal approval

This Supplementary Privacy Impact Assessment has been reviewed and recommended for approval by Statistics Canada's Chief Privacy Officer, Director General for Modern Statistical Methods and Data Science, and Assistant Chief Statistician for the Enterprise Statistics Field.

The Chief Statistician of Canada has the authority for section 10 of the Privacy Act for Statistics Canada and is responsible for the Agency's operations, including the program area mentioned in this Supplementary Privacy Impact Assessment.

This Privacy Impact Assessment has been approved by the Chief Statistician of Canada.

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Poverty graphic (JPG, 1.84 MB)

It used to be that Statistics Canada didn't measure poverty. Not exactly. Poverty is complex, and there wasn't a single definition that everyone agreed on. So while StatCan did measure low income and other income inequality indicators, it didn't measure poverty per se. That is, until 2018, when the government chose to use the Market Basket Measure, or MBM, as Canada's Official Poverty Line. That means that the government now uses the MBM to track its poverty reduction targets.

But something strange happened during the pandemic: in 2020 the poverty rate fell. And it fell quite a bit. In fact, the poverty rate dropped in one year almost as much as it had in the four preceding years.

But why? What happened? Will the poverty rate continue to fall? And what happens if it hits zero? How would health outcomes change? Education outcomes? People's general happiness and well-being?

Has there ever been a time and place in Canada where the poverty rate was zero? The closest may be the Mincome Experiment of the 1970s in Manitoba. Many Canadians have never heard of this guaranteed income experiment, but it offers a glimpse at what eliminating poverty might look like.

To learn more we spoke with Burton Gustajtis, an economist from Statistics Canada, Evelyn Forget, a Professor of Economics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba and Kevin Milligan, a Professor of Economics in the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia.

Host

Tegan Bridge

Guests

Burton Gustajtis, Evelyn Forget, and Kevin Milligan

Listen to audio

In October 2022, questions measuring the Labour Market Indicators were added to the Labour Force Survey as a supplement.

Question wording within the collection application is controlled dynamically based on responses provided throughout the survey.

Labour Market Indicators

ENTRY_Q01 / EQ1 – From the following list, please select the household member that will be completing this questionnaire on behalf of the entire household.

WFH_Q01 / EQ2 – At the present time, in which of the following locations (do/does) (Respondent’s name/this person/you) usually work as part of (his/her/their/your) main job or business?

WFH_Q02 / EQ3 – Last week, what proportion of (his/her/their/your) work hours did (Respondent name/this person/you) work at home as part of (his/her/their/your) main job or business?

INF_Q01 / EQ4 – Over the last month, that is since September 15 to today, how many hours of voluntary ( /paid) overtime or ( /paid) extra hours did (respondent’s name/this person/you) decide to work at any (business/businesses/job/jobs) in response to the recent increase in the cost of living?

INF_Q02 / EQ5 – When did (respondent’s name/this person/you) last receive a raise in (his/her/their/your) main job?

CHS_Q01 / EQ6 – Over the last month, that is since September 15 to today, how difficult or easy was it for your household to meet its financial needs in terms of transportation, housing, food, clothing and other necessary expenses?

CHS_Q02 / EQ7 – Today, could your household cover an unexpected expense of $500 from your household's resources?

In October 2022, the following questions measuring the Labour Market and Socioeconomic Indicators were added to the Labour Force Survey as a supplement.

The purpose of this survey is to identify changing dynamics within the Canadian labour market, and measure important socioeconomic indicators by gathering data on topics such as type of employment, quality of employment, support payments and unmet health care needs.

Question wording within the collection application is controlled dynamically based on responses provided throughout the survey.

Labour Market and Socio-economic Indicators

ENTRY_Q01 / EQ 1 - From the following list, please select the household member that will be completing this questionnaire on behalf of the entire household.

Employee Block

LMI_Q01 / EQ 2 - Is (respondent name's/this person's/your) main job permanent?

LMI_Q02 / EQ 3 - In what way is (respondent name's/this person's/your) main job not permanent?

LMI_Q03 / EQ 4 - In (his/her/their/your) main job, (are/is) (respondent name/this person/you) paid by a private employment or placement agency that is different from the company (he/she/this person/you) work(s) for?

LMI_Q04 / EQ 5 - What is the total duration of (respondent name's/this person's/your) contract or agreement in (his/her/their/your) main job?

LMI_Q05 / EQ 6 - In (respondent name's/this person's/your) main job, (is/are) (he/she/they/you) guaranteed a minimum number of work hours per pay period?

LMI_Q06 / EQ 7 - What would you say best describes (respondent name's/this person's/your) current situation in (his/her/their/your) main job?

Self-employed Block

LMI_Q07 / EQ 8 – What is the main reason why (respondent name/this person/you) (are/is) self-employed in (his/her/their/your) (main/other) job?

LMI_Q08 / EQ 9 – (Does/do) (respondent name/this person/you) have any partners or co-owners in (his/her/their/your) (main/side) business?

LMI_Q09 / EQ 10 – (Does/Do) (respondent name/this person/you) or (his/her/their/your) (partners/company/partners or company) own or lease a building or space dedicated to (his/her/their/your) (main/side) business?

LMI_Q10 / EQ 11 - In (respondent name's/this person's/your) (main/side) business, is/are (he/she/they/you) required to belong to a professional association or regulatory college to do (his/her/their/your) job?

LMI_Q11 / EQ 12 - Does (respondent name's/this person's/your) (main/side) business operate…?

LMI_Q12 / EQ 13 - What is the current mix of clients in (respondent name's/this person's/your) main business?

LMI_Q13 / EQ 14 - Would (respondent name/this person/you) be able to continue operating (his/her/their/your) main business for the next five years based on returning or existing clients alone?

LMI_Q14 / EQ 15 – To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
In normal times, it is easy for [Respondent's name/this person/you] to find new clients in [his/her/their/your] main business.

LMI_Q15 / EQ 16 – (Does/Do) (respondent name/this person/you) or (his/her/their/your) (partners/company/partners or company) currently have any contracts with businesses, government agencies, or non-profit organizations as part of (his/her/their/your) main business?

LMI_Q16 / EQ 17 - Thinking of (respondent name's/this person's/your) largest contract, what is the total duration of that contract?

LMI_Q17 / EQ 18 – During the last 12 months, did (respondent name/this person/you) have any full days with no clients or work in (his/her/their/your) main business even though (he/she/they/you) wanted to work?

LMI_Q18 / EQ 19 – What would you say is (respondent name's/this person's/your) plan with (his/her/their/your) main business over the next 12 months?

LMI_Q19 / EQ 20 - What is the main reason (respondent name/this person/you) expect(s) to stop working or close (his/her/their/your) main business?

LFI-CHECK1 / EQ 21 - Last week, did (he/she/this person/you) work at a job or business?

LFI-CHECK2 / EQ 22 - Last week, did (he/she/this person/you) have a job or business from which (he/she/this person/you) (were/was) absent?

LFI-CHECK3 / EQ 23 - Did (he/she/this person/you) have more than one job or business last week?

LFI-CHECK4 / EQ 24 - Was this because (he/she/this person/you) changed employers?

LFI-CHECK5 / EQ 25 - (Has/Have) (respondent name/this person/you) ever worked at a job or business?

LFI-CHECK6 / EQ 26 - When did (respondent name/this person/you) last work?

LMI_Q20 / EQ 27 - Excluding (his/her/their/your) main job or business, (has/have) (respondent's name/this person/you) earned any money by freelancing, doing a paid gig, or completing a short-term job or task during the last 12 months?

LMI_Q21 / EQ 28 - Was this freelancing, paid gig, or short-term task or job one of the jobs (respondent's name/this person/you) had last week, or something else entirely?

LMI_Q22 / EQ 29 - You mentioned earlier that (respondent name/this person/you) had a job or a business during the last 12 months.

In addition to the jobs or businesses (he/she/this person/you) had during this period, did (respondent name/this person/you) earn any money by freelancing, doing a paid gig, or completing any other short-term job or task during the last 12 months?

LMI_Q23 / EQ 30 – (You mentioned earlier that (respondent name/this person/you) did not have a job or a business during the last 12 months.)

(Has/Have) (respondent name/this person/you) earned any money by freelancing, doing a paid gig, or completing any other short-term job or task during the last 12 months?

LMI_Q24 / EQ 31 - When was the last time (respondent name/this person/you) freelanced, did a paid gig, or got paid to do a short-term task or job?

SCC1_Q05 / EQ 32 - In the last 12 months, did (respondent's name/you) receive support payments from a former spouse or partner?

SCC1_Q10 / EQ 33 - What is your best estimate of the amount of support payments (he/she/this person/you) received in the last 12 months?

SCC2_Q05 / EQ 34 - In the last 12 months, did (respondent's name/you) make support payments to a former spouse or partner?

SCC2_Q10 / EQ 35 - What is your best estimate of the total amount (he/she/this person/you) paid in support payments in the last 12 months?

SCC3_Q05 / EQ 36 - In the last 12 months, did (respondent's name/you) pay for child care, so that (he/she/they/you) could work at a paid job?

SCC3_Q10 / EQ 37 - What is your best estimate, of the total amount (he/she/this person/you) paid for child care in the last 12 months?

DSQ_Q01 / EQ 38 - (Do/Does) (respondent's name/you) have any difficulty seeing?

DSQ_Q02 / EQ 39 - (Do/Does) (he/she/this person/you) wear glasses or contact lenses to improve (respondent name's/this person's/your) vision?

DSQ_Q03 / EQ 40 - (Which/With (respondent name's/this person's/your) glasses or contact lenses, which) of the following best describes (respondent's name/your) ability to see?

DSQ_Q04 / EQ 41 - How often does this (difficulty seeing/seeing condition) limit (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q05 / EQ 42 - (Do/Does) (respondent's name/you) have any difficulty hearing?

DSQ_Q06 / EQ 43 - (Do/Does) (he/she/this person/you) use a hearing aid or cochlear implant?

DSQ_Q07 / EQ 44 - (Which/With) (respondent name's/this person's/your) hearing aid or cochlear implant, which) of the following best describes (respondent's name/your) ability to hear?

DSQ_Q08 / EQ 45 - How often does this (difficulty hearing/hearing condition) limit (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q09 / EQ 46 - (Do/Does) (respondent's name/you) have any difficulty walking, using stairs, using (his/her/their/your) hands or fingers or doing other physical activities?

DSQ_Q10 / EQ 47 - How much difficulty (do/does) (he/she/this person/you) have walking on a flat surface for 15 minutes without resting?

DSQ_Q11 / EQ 48 - How much difficulty (do/does) (he/she/this person/you) have walking up or down a flight of stairs, about 12 steps without resting?

DSQ_Q12 / EQ 49 - How often (does this difficulty walking/does this difficulty using stairs/do these difficulties) limit (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q13 / EQ 50 - How much difficulty (do/does) (respondent's name/you) have bending down and picking up an object from the floor?

DSQ_Q14 / EQ 51 - How much difficulty (do/does) (he/she/this person/you) have reaching in any direction, for example, above (his/her/their/your) head?

DSQ_Q15 / EQ 52 - How often (does this difficulty bending down and picking up an object/does this difficulty reaching/do these difficulties) limit (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q16 / EQ 53 - How much difficulty (do/does) (respondent's name/you) have using (his/her/their/your) fingers to grasp small objects like a pencil or scissors?

DSQ_Q17 / EQ 54 - How often does this difficulty using (his/her/their/your) fingers limit (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q18 / EQ 55 - (Do/Does) (respondent's name/you) have pain that is always present?

DSQ_Q19 / EQ 56 - (Do/Does) (he/she/this person/you) ( /also) have periods of pain that reoccur from time to time?

DSQ_Q20 / EQ 57 - How often does this pain limit (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q21 / EQ 58 - When (respondent's name/you) (are/is) experiencing this pain, how much difficulty (do/does) (he/she/they/you) have with (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q22 / EQ 59 - (Do/Does) (respondent's name/you) have any difficulty learning, remembering or concentrating?

DSQ_Q23 / EQ 60 - Do you think (respondent's name/you) (has/have) a condition that makes it difficult in general for (him/her/them/you) to learn? This may include learning disabilities such as dyslexia, hyperactivity, attention problems, etc.

DSQ_Q24 / EQ 61 - Has a teacher, doctor or other health care professional ever said that (respondent's name/you) had a learning disability?

DSQ_Q25 / EQ 62 - How often are (his/her/their/your) daily activities limited by this condition?

DSQ_Q26 / EQ 63 - How much difficulty (do/does) (respondent's name/you) have with (his/her/their/your) daily activities because of this condition?

DSQ_Q27 / EQ 64 - Has a doctor, psychologist or other health care professional ever said that (respondent's name/you) had a developmental disability or disorder? This may include Down syndrome, autism, Asperger syndrome, mental impairment due to lack of oxygen at birth, etc.

DSQ_Q28 / EQ 65 - How often are (respondent's name/your) daily activities limited by this condition?

DSQ_Q29 / EQ 66 - How much difficulty (do/does) (respondent's name/you) have with (his/her/their/your) daily activities because of this condition?

DSQ_Q30 / EQ 67 - (Do/Does) (he/she/this person/you) have any ongoing memory problems or periods of confusion?

DSQ_Q31 / EQ 68 - How often are (his/her/their/your) daily activities limited by this problem?

DSQ_Q32 / EQ 69 - How much difficulty (do/does) (respondent's name/you) have with (his/her/their/your) daily activities because of this problem?

DSQ_Q33 / EQ 70 - (Do/Does) (respondent's name/you) have any emotional, psychological or mental health conditions?

DSQ_Q34 / EQ 71 - How often are (his/her/their/your) daily activities limited by this condition?

DSQ_Q35 / EQ 72 - When (respondent's name/you) (are/is) experiencing this condition, how much difficulty (do/does) (he/she/they/you) have with (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q36 / EQ 73 - (Do/Does) (respondent's name/you) have any other health problem or long-term condition that has lasted or is expected to last for six months or more?

DSQ_Q37 / EQ 74 - How often does this health problem or long-term condition limit (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q38 / EQ 75 - (Do/Does) (respondent's name/you) have pain that is always present?

DSQ_Q39 / EQ 76 - (Do/Does) (he/she/this person/you) ( /also) have periods of pain that reoccur from time to time?

DSQ_Q40 / EQ 77 - How often does this pain limit (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

DSQ_Q41 / EQ 78 - When (respondent's name/you) (are/is) experiencing this pain, how much difficulty (do/does) (he/she/they/you) have with (his/her/their/your) daily activities?

UNC_Q005 / EQ 79 - During the past 12 months, was there ever a time when (respondent's name/you) felt that (he/she/they/you) needed health care, other than homecare services, but (he/she/they/you) did not receive it?

UNC_Q010 / EQ 80 - Thinking of the most recent time (respondent's name/you) felt this way, why didn't (he/she/they/you) get care?

UNC_Q015 / EQ 81 - Again, thinking of the most recent time, what was the type of care that was needed?

UNC_Q020 / EQ 82 - Did (he/she/this person/you) actively try to obtain the health care that was needed?

UNC_Q025 / EQ 83 - Where did (he/she/this person/you) try to get the service (he/she/they/you) (was/were) seeking?

Business or organization information

1. Which of the following categories best describes this business or organization?

• Government agency
• Private sector business
• Non-profit organization
  • Who does this organization primarily serve?
    • Households or individuals
      e.g., child and youth services, community food services, food bank, women's shelter, community housing services, emergency relief services, religious organization, grant and giving services, social advocacy group, arts and recreation group
    • Businesses
      e.g., business association, chamber of commerce, condominium association, environment support or protection services, group benefit carriers (pensions, health, medical)
• Don't know

Business or organization information

2. In what year was this business or organization first established?

Please provide the year this business or organization first began operations.
Year business or organization was first established:
OR
Don't know

3. Over the last 12 months, did this business or organization conduct any of the following international activities?

Select all that apply.

• Export or sell goods outside of Canada
  Include both intermediate and final goods.
• Export or sell services outside of Canada
  Include services delivered virtually and in person.
  e.g., software, cloud services, legal services, environmental services, architectural services, digital advertising
• Make investments outside of Canada
• Sell goods to businesses or organizations in Canada who then resold them outside of Canada
• Import or buy goods from outside of Canada
  Include both intermediate and final goods.
• Import or buy services from outside of Canada
  Include services received virtually and in person.
  e.g., software, cloud services, legal services, environmental services, architectural services, digital advertising
• Relocate any business or organizational activities or employees from another country into Canada
• Exclude temporary foreign workers.
• Engage in other international business or organizational activities
  OR
• None of the above

4. Over the next three months, how are each of the following expected to change for this business or organization?

Exclude seasonal factors or conditions.

• Number of employees
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Vacant positions
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Sales of goods and services offered by this business or organization
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Selling price of goods and services offered by this business or organization
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Demand for goods and services offered by this business or organization
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Imports
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Exports
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Operating income
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Operating expenses
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Profitability
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Cash reserves
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Capital expenditures
  e.g., machinery, equipment
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Training expenditures
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Marketing and advertising budget
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know
• Expenditures in research and development
  • Increase
  • Stay about the same
  • Decrease
  • Not applicable
  • Don't know

Business or organization obstacles

5. Over the next three months, which of the following are expected to be obstacles for this business or organization?

Select all that apply.

• Shortage of labour force
• Recruiting skilled employees
• Retaining skilled employees
• Shortage of space or equipment
• Rising cost of inputs
  An input is an economic resource used in a firm's production process.
  e.g., labour, capital, energy and raw materials
• Rising costs in real estate, leasing or property taxes
• Rising inflation
• Rising interest rates and debt costs
  e.g., borrowing fees, interest payments
• Difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies from within Canada
• Difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies from abroad
• Maintaining inventory levels
• Insufficient demand for goods or services offered
• Fluctuations in consumer demand
• Attracting new or returning customers
• Cost of insurance
• Transportation costs
• Obtaining financing
• Increasing competition
• Challenges related to exporting or selling goods and services outside of Canada
• Maintaining sufficient cash flow or managing debt
• Other
  • Specify other:
  OR
• None of the above

Flow condition: If "Recruiting skilled employees" or "Retaining skilled employees" is selected in Q5, go to Q6. Otherwise, go to Q7.

Labour challenges

6. Compared with 12 months ago, how would this business or organization describe its challenges with recruiting and retaining staff?

• More challenging than 12 months ago
• About the same
• Less challenging than 12 months ago
• Don't know

Flow condition: If "Difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies from within Canada", "Difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies from abroad", or "Maintaining inventory levels" is selected in Q5, go to Q7. Otherwise, go to Q12.

Supply chain challenges

7. How long does this business or organization expect the following to continue to be an obstacle?

• Difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies from within Canada
  • Less than 3 months
  • 3 months to less than 6 months
  • 6 months to less than 12 months
  • 12 months or more
  • Don't know
• Difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies from abroad
  • Less than 3 months
  • 3 months to less than 6 months
  • 6 months to less than 12 months
  • 12 months or more
  • Don't know
• Maintaining inventory levels
  • Less than 3 months
  • 3 months to less than 6 months
  • 6 months to less than 12 months
  • 12 months or more
  • Don't know

8. Over the last three months, how have supply chain challenges experienced by this business or organization changed?

Supply chain challenges include difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies from within Canada or abroad and difficulty maintaining inventory levels.
Exclude seasonal factors or conditions.

• Supply chain challenges have worsened
  • Which of the following factors have contributed to these challenges?
    Select all that apply.
    • Increased prices of inputs, products or supplies
    • Increased delays in deliveries of inputs, products or supplies
    • Supply shortages resulted in fewer inputs, products or supplies being available
    • Supply shortages resulted in no inputs, products or supplies available
    • Other
      • Specify other:
      OR
    • Don't know
• Supply chain challenges have remained about the same
• Supply chain challenges have improved

9. Over the next three months, how does this business or organization expect supply chain challenges to change?

Supply chain challenges include difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies from within Canada or abroad and difficulty maintaining inventory levels.
Exclude seasonal factors or conditions.

• Supply chain challenges are expected to worsen
• Supply chain challenges are expected to remain about the same
• Supply chain challenges are expected to improve

Supply chain

10. Over the next 12 months, does this business or organization plan to make any of the following adjustments to its supply chain?

Select all that apply.

• Relocate supply chain activities to Canada
• Relocate supply chain activities outside of Canada
• Substitute inputs, products or supplies with alternate inputs, products or supplies
• Shift to local suppliers
• Partner with new suppliers
• Work with suppliers to improve timeliness
• Implement technological improvements
• Invest in research and development projects to identify alternate inputs, products, supplies, or production processes
• Other
  • Specify other:
  OR
• Don't know
  OR
• None of the above

Display condition: If "Maintaining inventory levels" is selected in Q5, go to Q11. Otherwise, go to Q12.

11. Over the next three months, in response to an expected difficulty maintaining inventory levels, which of the following does this business or organization plan to do?

Select all that apply.

• Raise selling prices for goods and services offered
• Accept backorders for goods or delay date of services
• Stop taking sales orders
• Increase promotion for alternative goods with greater availability
• Find alternate inputs
• Improve or speed up production process
• Improve inventory tracking to plan timing of purchases
• Other
  • Specify other:
  OR
• Don't know
  OR
• None of the above

Flow condition: If the business or organization is a private sector business or non-profit organization, go to Q12. Otherwise, go to Q13.
Display condition: If the business or organization is a non-profit organization, do not display "Transfer the business" or "Sell the business".

Expectations for the next year

12. Over the next 12 months, does this business or organization plan to do any of the following?

Select all that apply.

• Expand current location of this business or organization
• Expand operations of this business or organization internationally
• Expand operations of this business or organization into a new province or territory within Canada
• Move operations of this business or organization to another province or territory within Canada entirely
• Expand this business or organization to other locations within the same province
• Expand this business or organization without increasing physical space
  i.e., hiring more staff who will work remotely
• Restructure this business or organization
• Restructuring involves changing the financial, operational, legal or other structures of the business or organization to make it more efficient or more profitable.
• Acquire other businesses, organizations or franchises
• Invest in other businesses or organizations
• Merge with other businesses or organizations
• Scale down operations of this business or organization to within a single province or territory within Canada
• Transfer the business
• Sell the business
  OR
• Close the business or organization
  OR
• Don't know
  OR
• None of the above

Input costs

13. Over the next 12 months, how likely is this business or organization to pass on any increases in its costs to customers?

e.g., costs related to increases in wages, inputs, products, supplies, taxes, rents, and carbon prices.

• Very likely
• Somewhat likely
• Somewhat unlikely
• Very unlikely
• Don't know

Retirement

14. What percentage of employees does this business or organization expect to voluntarily retire over the next 12 months?

Exclude layoffs.
Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.
Percentage of employees expected to retire over the next 12 months:
OR
Don't know

Flow condition: If the percentage of employees expected to retire over the next 12 months is greater than 0% in Q14, go to Q15. Otherwise, go to Q16.

15. Does this business or organization have plans in place to address expected retirements?

e.g., hiring staff to fill vacancies due to retirements, training staff to take over responsibilities of retiring staff

• Yes
• No
• Don't know

Wages

16. Over the next 12 months, does this business or organization expect the average wages paid to change?

• Average wages are expected to increase
  • By what percentage are average wages expected to increase?
    Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.
    • Percentage:
      OR
    • Don't know
• Average wages are expected to decrease
  • By what percentage are average wages expected to decrease?
    Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.
    • Percentage:
      OR
    • Don't know
• Average wages are expected to stay approximately the same
• Not applicable
  e.g., This business or organization does not pay wages

17. To what extent does this business or organization consider inflation when setting wages and salaries?

• A large extent
• A medium extent
• A small extent
• Not at all
• Don't know

Recruitment, retention and training

18. Does this business or organization currently do or plan to do any of the following over the next 12 months?

Select all that apply.

• Increase wages offered to new employees
• Increase wages offered to existing employees
• Increase benefits offered to new employees
• Increase benefits offered to existing employees
• Offer signing bonuses or incentives to new employees
• Offer option to work remotely
• Offer flexible scheduling
• Apply for learning and development programs provided by governments in order to upskill or reskill current employees
• Work with education and training institutions to offer work-integrated learning programs such as co-ops, internships, and apprenticeships
• Provide tuition support to employees to take courses or programs
• Provide employees with paid time to engage in learning and development programs
• Provide training to employees to take other positions within this business or organization
• Encourage employees to participate in on-the-job training
• Encourage employees to acquire micro-credentials which help individuals develop job-related competencies
  Micro-credentials are short, concentrated groups of courses that are based on industry needs. They are generally offered in shorter or more flexible timespans and tend to be more narrowly focused in comparison with traditional degrees and certificates. Some micro-credentials may be stackable and can be combined to form a part of a larger credential.
  OR
• None of the above

Volunteering

19. Does this business or organization have, or intend to recruit, volunteers?

• Yes
  • Which of the following is this business or organization facing in volunteer recruitment and retention?
    Select all that apply.
    • Shortage of new volunteers
    • Volunteer retention
    • Volunteers not able to commit long term
    • High volunteer burnout and stress
    • Lack of time or resources for this business or organization to recruit volunteers
    • Other
      • Specify other:
      OR
    • No issues – No new volunteers are required
      OR
    • No issues – While some previous volunteers have not returned, this business or organization has been successful in recruiting new volunteers for all available roles
      OR
    • Don't know
• No
• Don't know

Display condition: If "Yes" is selected in Q19, go to Q20. Otherwise, go to Q21.

20. Volunteer recruitment and retention challenges have had which of the following impacts or expected impacts on this business or organization?

Select all that apply.

• Paid employees working increased hours to take on volunteer roles
• Employee burnout
• Reduction of programs and services offered
• Cancellation of programs and services offered
• Adapting current volunteer tasks to meet operational requirements
  e.g., volunteers take on more responsibilities
• Other
  • Specify other:
  OR
• Don't know
  OR
• There has been no impact on this business or organization

Technology and automation

21. Over the next 12 months, does this business or organization plan to adopt or incorporate any of the following technologies?

Exclude technologies already adopted.
Select all that apply.

• Software or hardware using artificial intelligence
  e.g., machine learning, predictive technology, virtual personal assistants, online customer support bots, image or speech recognition
• Robotics
• Automation of certain tasks
  e.g., through the use of robots or computer algorithms
• Cloud computing
  Cloud computing: services that are used over the internet to access software, computing power, or storage capacity.
  e.g., Microsoft 365®, Google Cloud™, Dropbox™
• Collaboration tools
  e.g., Zoom™, Microsoft Teams™, Slack™
• Security software tools
  e.g., anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware, firewalls
• Software or databases for purposes other than telework and online sales
• Digital technology to move business operations or sales online (for purposes other than teleworking or remote working)
• Other
  • Specify other:
  OR
• None of the above

Flow condition: If at least one technology or "Other" is selected in Q21, go to Q22. Otherwise, go to Q23.

22. Using a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means "not at all challenging" and 5 means "extremely challenging", how challenging are the following for this business or organization when adopting or incorporating technologies?

• Reorienting business strategy and processes
  • 1 – Not at all challenging
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5 – Extremely challenging
  • Not relevant
• Retraining employees with skills to use new technologies and processes
  • 1 – Not at all challenging
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5 – Extremely challenging
  • Not relevant
• Hiring workers with skills in technologies
  • 1 – Not at all challenging
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5 – Extremely challenging
  • Not relevant
• Finding suitable hardware or software vendors
  • 1 – Not at all challenging
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5 – Extremely challenging
  • Not relevant
• Ensuring high-speed connectivity
  • 1 – Not at all challenging
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5 – Extremely challenging
  • Not relevant
• Integrating new digital technologies into this business' or organization's existing technology infrastructure
  • 1 – Not at all challenging
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5 – Extremely challenging
  • Not relevant
• Having access to financial resources to invest in new technologies
  • 1 – Not at all challenging
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5 – Extremely challenging
  • Not relevant
• Ensuring security and privacy of data
  • 1 – Not at all challenging
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5 – Extremely challenging
  • Not relevant

Lending

23. Over the last 12 months, did this business or organization apply for a new line of credit, a new term loan, a new non-residential mortgage, or refinancing of an existing non-residential mortgage?

Include commercial mortgages.
Exclude residential mortgages.

• Yes
  • Was the largest request made approved, either fully or partially?
    • Yes
    • No
      • What reasons were given by the credit provider for turning down the request?
        Select all that apply.
        • Insufficient sales or cash flow
        • Insufficient collateral
        • Poor or lack of credit experience or history
        • Project was considered too risky
        • Business or organization operates in an unstable industry
        • Other
          OR
        • No reason given by credit provider
          OR
        • Don't know
    • This business or organization is still waiting for the outcome
    • The request was withdrawn by the business or organization
    • Don't know
• No
  • Which of the following were reasons this business or organization did not apply for a business loan?
    Select all that apply.
    • This business or organization did not require a loan
    • Thought the request would be turned down
    • Interest rates or cost of borrowing are too high
    • Concern about the economy or inflation
    • Applying for financing is too difficult or time consuming
    • Unaware of financing sources (private or government) that are available to this business or organization
    • Other
      OR
    • Don't know
• Don't know

Liquidity

24. Does this business or organization have the cash or liquid assets required to operate for the next three months?

• Yes
• No
  • Will this business or organization be able to acquire the cash or liquid assets required?
    • Yes
    • No
    • Don't know
• Don't know

Debt

25. Over the next three months, does this business or organization plan to apply for a new line of credit, a new term loan, a new non-residential mortgage, or refinancing of an existing non-residential mortgage?

Include commercial mortgages.
Exclude residential mortgages.

• Yes
• No
  • Does this business or organization have the ability to take on more debt?
    • Yes
    • No
      • For which of the following reasons is this business or organization unable to take on more debt?
        Select all that apply.
        • Cash flow
        • Lack of confidence or uncertainty in future sales
        • Request would be turned down
        • Too difficult or time consuming to apply
        • Interest rates are unfavourable
        • Payment terms are unfavourable
        • Credit rating
        • Other
          • Specify other:
          OR
        • Don't know
    • Don't know
• Don't know

26. Which of the following best describes the current debt level of this business or organization?

• Greater than the debt level just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
• About the same as it was just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Below the debt level just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Don't know
• Not applicable
  e.g., The business or organization did not exist prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

27. Over the next 12 months, to what extent does this business or organization foresee challenges in repaying funding received from repayable government support programs put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Examples of repayable government support programs include the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) or the Indigenous Business Initiative (sometimes referred to as the Emergency Loan Program (ELP), issued through an Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFI) or Métis Capital Corporations (MCCs)).

• Not a challenge
• A minor challenge
• A major challenge
• Don't know
• This business or organization did not receive any repayable funding from government support programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic

Working arrangements

28. Over the next three months, what percentage of the employees of this business or organization is anticipated to do each of the following?

Exclude staff that are primarily engaged in providing driving or delivery services or staff that primarily work at client premises.

Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.
If the percentages are unknown, leave the question blank.

• Work on-site exclusively
  Percentage of employees:
• Work on-site most hours
  Percentage of employees:
• Work the same amount of hours on-site and remotely
  Percentage of employees:
• Work remotely most hours
  Percentage of employees:
• Work remotely exclusively
  Percentage of employees:

Future outlook

29. Over the next 12 months, what is the future outlook for this business or organization?

• Very optimistic
• Somewhat optimistic
• Somewhat pessimistic
• Very pessimistic
• Don't know

Flow condition: If the business or organization is a private sector business, go to Q30. Otherwise, go to "Contact person".

Ownership

(i) The groups identified within the following questions are included in order to gain a better understanding of businesses owned by members of various communities across Canada.

30. What percentage of this business or organization is owned by women?

Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.

Percentage:
OR
Don't know

31. What percentage of this business or organization is owned by First Nations, Métis or Inuit peoples?

Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.

Percentage:
OR
Don't know

32. What percentage of this business or organization is owned by immigrants to Canada?

Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.

Percentage:
OR
Don't know

33. What percentage of this business or organization is owned by persons with a disability?

Include visible and non-visible disabilities.

Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.

Percentage:
OR
Don't know

34. What percentage of this business or organization is owned by LGBTQ2 individuals?

The term LGBTQ2 refers to persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or two-spirited.

Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.

Percentage:
OR
Don't know

35. What percentage of this business or organization is owned by members of visible minorities?

A member of a visible minority in Canada may be defined as someone (other than an Indigenous person) who is non-white in colour or race, regardless of place of birth.

Provide your best estimate rounded to the nearest percentage.

Percentage:
OR
Don't know

Flow condition: If more than 50% of this business or organization is owned by members of visible minorities, go to Q36. Otherwise, go to "Contact person".

36. It was indicated that at least 51% of this business or organization is owned by members of visible minorities. Please select the categories that describe the owner or owners.

Select all that apply.

• South Asian
  e.g., East Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan
• Chinese
• Black
• Filipino
• Latin American
• Arab
• Southeast Asian
  e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai
• West Asian
  e.g., Afghan, Iranian
• Korean
• Japanese
• Other group
  • Specify other group:
  OR
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If this is the first time you're hearing about Sylvia Ostry, buckle up.

Ostry was appointed Canada's first and only female chief statistician in 1972, but she didn't get there by playing by the rules. She was ambitious but grew up in a world where many thought that it was shameful to be female and have a career.

Sylvia was a Jewish woman in economics, and even after she earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, she was denied a job with the United Nations because of her gender. Nevertheless, she had a storied career, becoming the Chairman of the Economic Council of Canada then the Chief Economist at the OECD. But we're not focusing on her career highlights. We're going behind the scenes to look at how she challenged herself to succeed, becoming both a respected economist and mother, and how she handled setbacks, and discrimination, all while staying true to herself and demonstrating the integrity for which she's remembered today.

We're celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sylvia Ostry's appointment as chief statistician. In this episode of Eh Sayers, featuring interviews with her sons, Adam Ostry and Jonathan Ostry, we are pleased to introduce you to this remarkable woman and to share with you eight pieces of advice inspired by her life.

Host

Tegan Bridge

Guests

Adam Ostry, Jonathan Ostry

Listen to audio

Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the accompanying financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2022, and all information contained in these statements rests with the management of Statistics Canada (the agency). These financial statements have been prepared by management using the Government of Canada's accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the information in these financial statements. Some of the information in the financial statements is based on management's best estimates and judgment, and gives due consideration to materiality. To fulfill its accounting and reporting responsibilities, management maintains a set of accounts that provides a centralized record of the agency's financial transactions. Financial information submitted in the preparation of the Public Accounts of Canada, and included in the agency's Departmental Results Report, is consistent with these financial statements.

Management is also responsible for maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) designed to provide reasonable assurance that financial information is reliable, that assets are safeguarded, and that transactions are properly authorized and recorded in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and other applicable legislation, regulations, authorities and policies.

Management seeks to ensure the objectivity and integrity of data in its financial statements through careful selection, training and development of qualified staff; through organizational arrangements that provide appropriate divisions of responsibility; through communication programs aimed at ensuring that regulations, policies, standards, and managerial authorities are understood throughout the agency and through conducting an annual risk-based assessment of the effectiveness of the system of ICFR.

The system of ICFR is designed to mitigate risks to a reasonable level based on an ongoing process to identify key risks, to assess the effectiveness of associated key controls, and to make any necessary adjustments.

A risk-based assessment of the system of ICFR for the year ended March 31, 2022 was completed in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Financial Management and the results and action plans are summarized in the annex, which can be found at the end of the notes to these financial statements.

The effectiveness and adequacy of the agency's system of internal control is reviewed by the work of internal finance staff, who conduct periodic assessments of different areas of the agency's operations, and by the Departmental Audit Committee (DAC), who provide advice to the Chief Statistician on the adequacy and effectiveness of the agency's risk management, control and governance frameworks and processes.

The financial statements of Statistics Canada have not been audited.

Statement of Financial Position (Unaudited)
As at March 31
(in thousands of dollars)

	2022	2021
Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (note 4)	77,932	89,631
Vacation pay and compensatory leave	47,857	53,069
Deferred revenue (note 5)	67	149
Employee future benefits (note 6)	16,669	18,070
Total net liabilities	142,525	160,919
Financial assets
Due from Consolidated Revenue Fund	60,417	71,876
Accounts receivable and advances (note 7)	9,063	6,571
Total gross financial assets	69,480	78,447
Financial assets held on behalf of Government
Accounts receivable and advances (note 7)	-2,401	-1,305
Total Financial assets held on behalf of Government	-2,401	-1,305
Total net financial assets	67,079	77,142
Departmental net debt	75,446	83,777
Non-financial assets
Prepaid expenses	5,686	7,934
Consumable supplies	1,723	1,931
Tangible capital assets (note 8)	163,499	160,365
Total non-financial assets	170,908	170,230
Departmental net financial position	95,462	86,453
Contractual obligations and contractual rights (note 9) Contingent liabilities and contingent assets (note 10) The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31
(in thousands of dollars)

	2022 Planned Results	2022	2021
Expenses
Statistical Information	977,075	1,003,974	763,439
Internal services	71,099	94,882	88,974
Total expenses	1,048,174	1,098,856	852,413
Revenues
Special statistical services	138,000	150,045	140,726
Other revenues	100	28	28
Revenues earned on behalf of Government	-18,100	-22,083	-20,507
Total revenues	120,000	127,990	120,247
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	928,174	970,866	732,166
Government funding and transfers
Net cash provided by Government of Canada		891,098	603,079
Change in due from Consolidated Revenue Fund		-11,459	16,003
Services provided without charge by other federal government departments (note 11a)		100,165	92,622
Transfer of the transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears		0	-2
Transfer of assets to other federal government departments		71	151
Net cost (revenue) of operations after government funding and transfers		-9,009	20,313
Departmental net financial position - Beginning of year		86,453	106,766
Departmental net financial position - End of year		95,462	86,453
Segmented information (note 12) The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31
(in thousands of dollars)

	2022	2021
Net cost (revenue) of operations after government funding and transfers	-9,009	20,313
Change due to tangible capital assets
Acquisition of tangible capital assets (note 8)	29,540	29,018
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 8)	-26,209	-31,457
Net loss on disposal of tangible capital assets including adjustments	-197	-433
Transfer of tangible capital assets to other federal government departments	0	0
Total change due to tangible capital assets	3,134	-2,872
Change due to consumable supplies	-208	370
Change due to prepaid expenses	-2,248	2,083
Net increase (decrease) in departmental net debt	-8,331	19,894
Departmental net debt - Beginning of year	83,777	63,883
Departmental net debt - End of year	75,446	83,777
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31
(in thousands of dollars)

	2022	2021
Operating activities
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	970,866	732,166
Non-cash items:
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 8)	-26,209	-31,457
Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets	-197	-433
Services provided without charge by other federal government departments (note 11a)	-100,165	-92,622
Transfer of emergency salary advances to other federal government departments	-71	-152
Transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears	0	2
Variations in Statement of Financial Position:
Increase (decrease) in accounts receivable and advances	1,397	-5,816
Increase (decrease) in prepaid expenses	-2,248	2,083
Increase (decrease) in consumable supplies	-208	370
Decrease (increase) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities	11,699	-14,600
Decrease (increase) in vacation pay and compensatory leave	5,212	-18,395
Decrease in deferred revenue	82	465
Decrease in employee future benefits	1,401	2,450
Cash used in operating activities	861,559	574,061
Capital investing activities
Acquisitions of tangible capital assets, excluding capital leases (note 8)	29,540	29,018
Cash used in capital investing activities	29,540	29,018
Financing activities
Payments of lease obligation for tangible capital assets	0	0
Cash used in financing activities	0	0
Net cash provided by Government of Canada	891,099	603,079
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Notes to the Financial Statements (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31

1. Authority and objectives

Statistics Canada (the agency) was established in 1918, pursuant to the Statistics Act. The agency received full departmental status by order-in-council in 1965.

The agency is a division of the public service named in Schedule I.1 of the Financial Administration Act. The minister responsible for Statistics Canada is the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, who represents the agency in Parliament and in Cabinet.

The agency's mandate derives primarily from the Statistics Act. The act requires the agency — under the direction of the minister — to collect, compile, analyze, and publish statistical information on the economic, social, and general conditions of the country and its citizens. Statistics Canada has a mandate to coordinate and manage the country's statistical system.

The agency's mandate has two primary objectives:

• Provide statistical information and analysis of the economic and social structure and functioning of Canadian society as a basis for the development, operation and evaluation of public policies and programs. This information is used for public and private decision-making, and for the general benefit of all Canadians.
• Promote the quality, coherence, and international comparability of Canada's statistics through collaboration with other federal departments and agencies, with the provinces and territories, and in accordance with sound scientific standards and practices.

The agency reports on the two core responsibilities described below.

Statistical information - The agency has a responsibility to produce objective high-quality statistical information for the whole of Canada. The statistical information produced relates to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic, environmental and general activities and conditions of the people of Canada.

Internal services - Internal services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies

These financial statements have been prepared using the agency's accounting policies stated below, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. The presentation and results using the stated accounting policies do not result in any significant differences from Canadian public sector accounting standards.

The significant accounting policies are as follows:

(a) Parliamentary authorities

The agency is financed by the Government of Canada through Parliamentary authorities. Financial reporting of authorities provided to the agency do not parallel financial reporting according to generally accepted accounting principles since authorities are primarily based on cash flow requirements. Consequently, items recognized in the Statement of Financial Position and in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position are not necessarily the same as those provided through authorities from Parliament. Note 3 provides a reconciliation between the bases of reporting. The planned results amounts in the "Expenses" and "Revenues" sections of the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position are the amounts reported in the Future-oriented Statement of Operations included in the 2021-22 Departmental Plan. Planned results are not presented in the "Government funding and transfers" section of the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and in the Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt because these amounts were not included in the 2021-22 Departmental Plan.

(b) Net cash provided by Government

The agency operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by the agency is deposited into the CRF, and all cash disbursements made by the agency are paid from the CRF. The net cash provided by the Government is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements, including transactions between federal government departments.

(c) Amounts due from or to the CRF

Amounts due from or to the CRF are the result of timing differences at year-end between the time when a transaction affects authorities and when it is processed through the CRF. Amounts due from the CRF represent the net amount of cash that the agency is entitled to draw from the CRF without further authorities to discharge its liabilities.

(d) Revenues

• Revenues received for special statistical services are recorded as deferred revenue upon receipt. These amounts are recognized as revenue in the period in which the services are rendered and related expenses are incurred.
• Other revenues are recognized in the period the event giving rise to the revenues occurred.
• Revenues that are non-respendable are not available to discharge the agency's liabilities. While the Chief Statistician; is expected to maintain accounting control, he has no authority regarding the disposition of non-respendable revenues. As a result, non-respendable revenues are considered to be earned on behalf of the Government of Canada and are therefore presented as a reduction of the entity's gross revenues.

(e) Expenses

• Transfer payments are recorded as an expense in the year the transfer is authorized and all eligibility criteria have been met by the recipient.
• Vacation pay and compensatory leave are accrued as the benefits are earned by employees under their respective terms of employment.
• Services provided without charge by other federal government departments for accommodation, employer contributions to the health and dental insurance plans, and workers' compensation are recorded as operating expenses at their carrying value.

(f) Employee future benefits

1. Pension benefits — Eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multi-employer pension plan administered by the Government. The agency's contributions to the Plan are charged to expenses in the year incurred and represent the total departmental obligation to the Plan. The agency's responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan's sponsor.
2. Severance benefits — The accumulation of severance benefits for voluntary departures ceased for applicable employee groups. The remaining obligation for employees who did not withdraw benefits is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the Government as a whole.

(g) Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable are initially recorded at cost. When necessary, an allowance for valuation is recorded to reduce the carrying value of accounts receivable to amounts that approximate their net recoverable value.

(h) Non-financial assets

• All tangible capital assets and leasehold improvements having an initial cost of $10,000 or more are recorded at their acquisition cost. Tangible capital assets do not include immovable assets located on reserves as defined in the Indian Act, works of art, museum collection and Crown land to which no acquisition cost is attributable; and intangible assets.
• Consumable supplies include items held for future program delivery and are not intended for resale. These supplies are recorded at the acquisition cost. If there is no longer a service potential, the supplies are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value.

(i) Contingent liabilities

Contingent liabilities are potential liabilities which may become actual liabilities when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. If the future event is likely to occur or fail to occur, and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made, a provision is accrued and an expense recorded to other expenses. If the likelihood is not determinable or an amount cannot be reasonably estimated, the contingency is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

(j) Contingent assets

Contingent assets are possible assets which may become actual assets when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. If the future even is likely to occur or fail to occur, the contingent asset is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

(k) Transactions involving foreign currencies

Transactions involving foreign currencies are translated into Canadian dollar equivalents using rates of exchange in effect at the time of those transactions. Gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions are reported on the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position according to the activities to which they relate.

(l) Measurement uncertainty

The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported and disclosed amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes at March 31. The estimates are based on facts and circumstances, historical experience, general economic conditions and reflect the Government's best estimate of the related amount at the end of the reporting period. The most significant items where estimates are used are the liability for employee future benefits and the useful life of tangible capital assets. Actual results could significantly differ from those estimated. Management's estimates are reviewed periodically and, as adjustments become necessary, they are recorded in the financial statements in the year they become known.

(m) Related party transactions

Related party transactions, other than inter-entity transactions, are recorded at the exchange amount. Inter-entity transactions are transactions between commonly controlled entities. Inter-entity transactions, other than restructuring transactions, are recorded on a gross basis and are measured at the carrying amount, except for the following:

1. Services provided on a recovery basis are recognized as revenues and expenses on a gross basis and measured at the exchange amount.
2. Certain services received on a without charge basis are recorded for departmental financial statement purposes at the carrying amount.

3. Parliamentary authorities

The agency receives most of its funding through annual parliamentary authorities. Items recognized in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and the Statement of Financial Position in one year may be funded through parliamentary authorities in prior, current, or future years. Accordingly, the agency has different net results of operations for the year on a government funding basis than on an accrual accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables:

(a) Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year authorities used

Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year authorities used

	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	970,866	732,166
Adjustments for items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities:
Amortization of tangible capital assets	-26,209	-31,457
Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets	-197	-433
Services provided without charge by other federal government departments	-100,165	-92,622
Decrease (increase) in vacation pay and compensatory leave	5,212	-18,394
Decrease in employee future benefits	1,401	2,450
Refund of prior years' expenditures	2,716	1,091
Increase in respendable revenues	398	0
Consumption of prepaid expenses	-12,285	-12,020
Consumption of supplies	-208	0
Bad debt expense	-1	-13
Increase in accrued salary receivable	864	195
Total items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities	-128,474	-151,203
Adjustments for items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities:
Acquisition of tangible capital assets, excluding capital leases	29,540	29,018
Decrease in respendable accounts receivable	0	-3,754
Acquisition of prepaid expenses	10,037	14,103
Acquisition of consumable supplies	0	370
Increase in salary receivable	1,378	513
Increase in salary advances	17	7
Transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears	0	2
Payments for pay equity settlement	19	97
Total items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities	40,991	40,356
Current year authorities used	883,383	621,319

(b) Authorities provided and used

Authorities provided and used

	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Authorities provided:
Vote 1 - Operating expenditures	854,035	588,445
Statutory amounts	90,714	83,531
Total authorities provided	944,749	671,976
Less:
Lapsed: Operating expenditures	-61,366	-50,657
Current year authorities used	883,383	621,319

4. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

The following table presents details of the agency's accounts payable and accrued liabilities:

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accounts payable - Other federal government departments and agencies	13,306	11,666
Accounts payable - External parties	30,238	41,672
Accrued salaries and wages	34,388	36,293
Total accounts payables and accrued liabilities	77,932	89,631

5. Deferred revenue

The agency has the authority to expend revenue received during the fiscal year. Deferred revenue represents the balance at year-end of unearned revenues stemming from amounts received from external parties, which are restricted for specific statistical services. Revenue is recognized in the period in which these expenditures are incurred or in which the service is performed. Details of the transactions related to this account are as follows:

Deferred revenue

	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Opening balance	149	614
Amount received	149,963	140,261
Revenues recognized	-150,045	-140,726
Net closing balance	67	149

6. Employee future benefits

(a) Pension benefits

The agency's employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan ("the Plan"), which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2 percent per year of pensionable service, times the average of the best five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Québec Pension Plan benefits and they are indexed to inflation.

Both the employees and the agency contribute to the cost of the Plan. Due to the amendment of the Public Service Superannuation Act following the implementation of provisions related to Economic Action Plan 2012, employee contributors have been divided into two groups – Group 1 relates to existing plan members as of December 31, 2012, and Group 2 relates to members who joined the Plan as of January 1, 2013. Each group has a distinct contribution rate.

The 2021-2022 expense amounts to $61,274 thousand ($56,996 thousand in 2020-2021). For Group 1 members, the expense represents approximately 1.01 times (1.01 times in 2020-2021) the employee contributions and, for Group 2 members, approximately 1.00 times (1.00 times in 2020-2021) the employee contributions.

The agency's responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan's sponsor.

(b) Severance benefits

Severance benefits provided to the agency's employees were previously based on an employee's eligibility, years of service and salary at termination of employment. However, since 2011 the accumulation of severance benefits for voluntary departures progressively ceased for substantially all employees. Employees subject to these changes were given the option to be paid the full or partial value of benefits earned to date or collect the full or remaining value of benefits upon departure from the public service. By March 31, 2022, substantially all settlements for immediate cash out were completed. Severance benefits are unfunded and, consequently, the outstanding obligation will be paid from future authorities.

The changes in the obligations during the year were as follows:

Severance benefits

	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accrued benefit obligation - Beginning of year	18,070	20,520
Expense or adjustment for the year	172	-380
Benefits paid during the year	-1,573	-2,070
Accrued benefit obligation - End of year	16,669	18,070

7. Accounts receivable and advances

The following table presents details of the agency's accounts receivable and advances balances:

Accounts receivable and advances

	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Receivables - Other federal government departments and agencies	2,554	2,896
Receivables - External parties	6,194	3,501
Employees advances	317	174
Subtotal	9,065	6,571
Allowance for doubtful accounts on receivables from external parties	-2	-1
Gross accounts receivable and advances	9,063	6,570
Accounts receivable held on behalf of Government	-2,401	-1,305
Net accounts receivable and advances	6,662	5,265

8. Tangible capital assets

Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows:

Amortization of tangible capital assets

Asset class	Amortization period
Computer hardware	5 years
Computer software	5 years
Other equipment	5 years
Motor vehicles	7 years
Leasehold improvements	25 years
Assets under construction	Once available for use
Software under development	Once available for use

Assets under construction and software assets under development are recorded in the applicable asset class in the year that they become available for use and are not amortized until they are available for use.

Tangible capital assets

Capital Asset Class	Cost					Accumulated Amortization					Net Book Value
	Opening Balance	Acquisitions	Disposals and Write-Offs	AdjustmentsFootnote 1	Closing Balance	Opening Balance	Amortization	Disposals and Write-Offs	AdjustmentsFootnote 1	Closing Balance	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Computer hardware	2,629	80	-518	0	2,191	2,181	128	-487	0	1,822	369	448
Computer software	345,377	1,865	-191	31,245	378,296	268,466	24,573	-85	0	292,953	85,342	76,911
Other equipment	4,166	68	-878	0	3,356	3,129	445	-839	0	2,736	621	1,037
Motor vehicles	2,849	0	-21	0	2,828	2,654	62	-21	0	2,695	133	195
Leasehold improvements	24,987	176	0	78	25,241	10,361	1,001	0	0	11,362	13,879	14,626
Assets under construction	207	404	0	-99	512	0	0	0	0	0	512	207
Software under development	66,941	26,947	0	-31,245	62,643	0	0	0	0	0	62,643	66,941
Total	447,156	29,540	-1,608	-21	475,067	286,791	26,209	-1,432	0	311,568	163,499	160,365
Footnote 1 Included in adjustments are the following: software assets under development of $31,245 thousand that were transferred to computer software upon completion of the assets; assets under construction of $78 thousand that were transferred to leasehold improvements upon completion of construction and $21 thousand that was expensed due to projects being cancelled. Return to the first footnote 1 referrer

9. Contractual obligations and contractual rights

(a) Contractual obligations

The nature of the agency's activities may result in some large multi-year contracts and obligations whereby the agency will be obligated to make future payments when the services/goods are received. Significant contractual obligations that can be reasonably estimated are summarized as follows:

Contractual obligations

	2023	2024	2025	2026	2027 and subsequent	Total
	(in thousands of dollars)
Acquisition of goods and services	4,300	3,651	3,656	0	0	11,607
Total	4,300	3,651	3,656	0	0	11,607

(b) Contractual rights

The activities of the agency sometimes involve the negotiation of contracts or agreements with outside parties that result in the agency having rights to both assets and revenues in the future. They involve sales of goods and services. The agency does not have significant contractual rights to disclose as at March 31, 2022.

10. Contingent liabilities and contingent assets

(a) Contingent liabilities

Contingent liabilities arise in the normal course of operations and their ultimate disposition is unknown.

Claims and litigations

The agency records an allowance for claims and litigations where it is likely that there will be a future payment and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made. In 2021-2022, the agency did not have any contingent liabilities.

(b) Contingent assets

The agency discloses contingent assets that are likely to be realized. In 2021-2022, the agency did not have any contingent assets.

11. Related party transactions

The agency is related as a result of common ownership to all government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. Related parties also include individuals who are members of key management personnel or close family members of those individuals, and entities controlled by, or under shared control of, a member of key management personnel or a close family member of that individual.

The agency enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms.

(a) Common services provided without charge by other federal government departments

During the year, the agency received services without charge from certain common service organizations related to accommodation, the employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans and workers' compensation coverage. These services provided without charge have been recorded at the carrying value in the agency's Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position as follows:

Common services provided without charge by other federal government departments

	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accommodation	42,077	43,549
Employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans	58,037	49,017
Worker's compensation	51	56
Total	100,165	92,622

The Government has centralized some of its administrative activities for efficiency, cost-effectiveness purposes and economic delivery of programs to the public. As a result, the Government uses central agencies and common service organizations so that one department performs services for all other departments and agencies without charge. The costs of these services, such as the payroll and cheque issuance services provided by Public Services and Procurement Canada and audit services provided by the Office of the Auditor General are not included in the agency's Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position.

(b) Other transactions with other federal government departments and agencies

Other transactions with other federal government departments and agencies

	2022	2021
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accounts receivable	2,554	2,896
Accounts payable	13,306	11,666
Expenses	23,515	19,041
Revenues	111,601	105,272

Expenses and revenues disclosed in (b) exclude common services provided without charge, which are already disclosed in (a).

12. Segmented information

Presentation by segment is based on the agency's core responsibilities. The presentation by segment is based on the same accounting policies as described in the Summary of significant accounting policies in note 2. The following table presents the expenses incurred and revenues generated for the main core responsibilities, by major object of expense and by major type of revenue. The segment results for the period are as follows:

Segmented information

	Statistical Information	Internal services	2022 Total	2021 Total
	(in thousands of dollars)
Transfer payments
Grant to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development	0	0	0	0
Total transfer payments	0	0	0	0
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits	674,915	71,859	746,774	685,891
Accommodation	39,084	2,993	42,077	43,549
Professional and special services	159,197	7,636	166,833	38,045
Transportation and postage	60,305	1,235	61,540	10,591
Amortization	25,543	666	26,209	31,457
Repairs and maintenance	750	536	1,286	812
Materials and supplies	5,001	4,478	9,479	10,819
Rentals	21,514	5,349	26,863	23,140
Communication and printing	17,450	120	17,570	7,705
Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets	176	0	176	240
Bad debts	1	0	1	13
Other	38	10	48	151
Total operating expenses	1,003,974	94,882	1,098,856	852,413
Total expenses	1,003,974	94,882	1,098,856	852,413
Revenues
Special statistical services	150,045	0	150,045	140,726
Other revenues	28	0	28	28
Revenues earned on behalf of Government	-22,083	0	-22,083	-20,507
Total revenues	127,990	0	127,990	120,247
Net cost from continuing operations	875,984	94,882	970,866	732,166

Annex to the Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control over Financial Reporting of Statistics Canada for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 (Unaudited)

1. Introduction

This document is attached to Statistics Canada's (StatCan) Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control over Financial Reporting for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. This annex provides summary information on the measures taken by StatCan to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), including information on internal control management, assessment results and related action plans.

Detailed information on the agency's authority, mandate and core responsibilities can be found in the 2022-2023 Departmental Plan and the 2021-22 Departmental Results Report.

2. Departmental system of internal control over financial reporting

2.1 Internal control management

StatCan has a well-established governance and accountability structure to support departmental assessment efforts and oversight of its system of internal control. A departmental internal control management framework, approved by the Chief Statistician and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), is in place and includes:

• organizational accountability structures as they relate to internal control management to support sound financial management, including roles and responsibilities of senior managers for control management in their areas of responsibility;
• values and ethics considerations;
• ongoing communication and training on statutory requirements, and policies and procedures for sound financial management and control; and
• regular updates to, and monitoring at least on a semi-annual basis, of internal control management as well as the provision of related assessment results and action plans to the Chief Statistician, senior departmental management and the Departmental Audit Committee (DAC).

The DAC provides advice to the Chief Statistician on the adequacy and effectiveness of the agency's risk management, control and governance frameworks and processes.

2.2 Service arrangements relevant to financial statements

StatCan relies on other organizations for the processing certain transactions that are recorded in its financial statements, as follows:

2.2.1 Common service arrangements

• Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) centrally administers the payment of salaries, the procurement of certain goods and services, and provides accommodation services;
• Shared Services Canada (SSC) provides information technology (IT) infrastructure services;
• The Department of Justice Canada provides legal services; and
• The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) provides information on public service insurance and centrally administers payment of the employer's share of contribution toward statutory employee benefit plans.

2.2.2 Specific arrangements

• PSPC provides StatCan with the Common Departmental Financial System platform to capture and report financial and materiel management transactions.

Readers of this annex may refer to the annexes of the above-noted departments for a greater understanding of the systems of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) related to these specific services.

3. StatCan assessment results during fiscal year 2021-2022

StatCan adopted an ongoing, rotational, risk-based monitoring approach to support testing of internal control over financial reporting. In 2021, StatCan updated its Internal Control over Financial Management Risk-based Monitoring Strategy, which replaced its previous version from 2017. According to the new strategy, the ongoing monitoring cycle was extended to a four-year period and the plan is adjusted through an annual risk assessment process.

The following table summarizes the status of the ongoing monitoring activities according to the previous fiscal year's rotational plan.

Progress during the 2021-2022 fiscal year

Previous fiscal year's rotational ongoing monitoring plan for current fiscal year	Status
Financial Close and Reporting	Completed as planned; remedial actions started.
Entity Level Controls: (Fraud Controls)	Draft framework completed as planned; no remedial actions required.
Operating Expenditures	Completed as planned; no remedial actions required.
IT General Controls	On track with minor delays: operating effectiveness delayed to Q1. 2022-23.

In addition to the ongoing monitoring plan for ICFR, in 2021-2022 StatCan conducted operating effectiveness testing on Costing, Forecasting, Budgeting and CFO Attestation as part of the broader Internal Control over Financial Management (ICFM) business processes.

New or significantly amended key controls are summarized in section 3.1. The areas of the departmental system of internal controls that were reviewed this fiscal year are summarized in section 3.2.

3.1 New or significantly amended key controls

Following the risk assessment and considering the impact of the pandemic, a new sub-process was created under Capital Assets, to assess the stewardship of IT assets in employees' homes. This sub-process will be assessed in 2022-23.

3.2 Ongoing monitoring program

As part of its rotational ongoing monitoring plan, the agency completed its reassessment of Entity Level Controls (ELCs) and controls within specific business processes. Senior management received reports on the results of testing and developed action plans where necessary. For the most part, the key controls that were tested performed as intended. An example of ELCs is the fraud detection controls mentioned in s.3 above.

4. Action plan for the next fiscal year (2022-2023) and subsequent fiscal years

The table below shows the agency's rotational ongoing monitoring plan over the next three years. An annual risk assessment is conducted to validate the high-risk controls and to adjust the on-going monitoring plan as required. Action plans from previous years will be followed-up on to ensure that remedial actions have been taken.

Ongoing monitoring plan for financial reporting

Internal Control over Financial Reporting	Fiscal Year 2022–2023	Fiscal Year 2023–2024	Fiscal Year 2024–2025
Entity level controls	Yes	No	Yes
IT general controls under agency management	Yes	Yes	No
Capital assets	Yes	No	No
Financial close and reporting	Yes	Yes	No
Interviewers' payroll	No	Yes	Yes
Operating expenditures	No	No	Yes
Revenues	No	Yes	No
Payroll and benefits	Yes	No	Yes

Ongoing monitoring plan for financial management

Internal Control over Financial Management	Stage of monitoring
	Fiscal Year 2022–2023	Fiscal Year 2023–2024	Fiscal Year 2024–2025
Budgeting	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring
Costing	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring
Forecasting	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring
Payroll	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring
CFO Attestation of Cabinet and TB Submissions	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring
Investment Planning	Design & Operating Effectiveness	Ongoing Monitoring	Ongoing Monitoring