Consulting Canadians

Statistics Canada regularly engages with Canadians to seek input on projects and initiatives, and test the usability of website, web tools, and mobile applications.

We collect feedback through discussion tables, usability testing, and online questionnaires.

Statistics Canada's engagement activities, findings and results are published on this webpage. Please visit the Government of Canada's Consulting with Canadians website for a complete list of government engagement activities.

Consultative engagement activity types

Discussion tables
This type of consultative engagement activity collects feedback and input of stakeholder groups and/or the general public on Statistics Canada products.
Usability testing
Usability testing helps Statistics Canada ensure its products are functional, intuitive, and meet user needs. This type of consultative engagement activity usually involves one-on-one interviews or group discussions.

Consultative engagement activities

Recent consultative engagement activities are listed below. For the complete list of consultative engagement activities conducted by Statistics Canada please click here.

Open consultative engagement activities
Closed consultative engagement activities
  • Share your feedback on the Special Edition issue of Insights on Canadian Society
    Virtual group discussions will be held to seek feedback on the utility and accessibility of the Special Edition issue of Insights on Canadian Society, and to better understand its relevance and value to readers.
    Closed: March 2025
  • Share your input on Statistics Canada’s Direct Health Measures Programs
    Statistics Canada invites directly measured health data users and stakeholders to share their feedback on the Direct Health Measures Programs. The goal of the engagement activity is to identify data needs and gaps, raise awareness of Statistics Canada data holdings, learn from your subject matter expertise and explore potential collaboration.
    Closed: March 2025
  • Share your input on Statistics Canada’s service to the accessibility and disability community
    The purpose of this engagement activity is to understand the perspective of persons with lived experience with disability, external partners, and stakeholders. These perspectives will help Statistics Canada better design its products and services to serve the accessibility and disability community in Canada. The goal is to help identify, prevent, and eliminate any barriers persons with disabilities may experience to access and use Statistics Canada’s services and products.
    Closed: March 2025
  • Share your input on Statistics Canada's AI "IntelliStatCan" tool
    The purpose of this engagement activity is to conduct usability testing with a targeted audience such as researchers who would benefit from this AI tool (i.e., librarians, academic researchers, and AI collaborative networks). This engagement activity will gather user feedback to further inform the development of the tool.
    Closed: December 2024
  • Share your input on the Survey of Household Spending (SHS)
    We would like to thank all participants who provided feedback that helped Statistics Canada better understand how SHS users and stakeholders use the data.
    Closed: December 2024
  • Missing Persons Data Standards Consultative Engagement
    Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) has partnered with Statistics Canada to initiate a consultative engagement process in response to Call for Justice 9.5.v, one of the 231 Calls for Justice outlined in the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: Reclaiming Power and Place.
    Closed: December 2024
  • Share your feedback on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) Supplements Program
    Statistics Canada invites stakeholders and LFS users to provide feedback on the LFS Supplements Program. Feedback will be used to evaluate potential adjustments to data collection intervals and/or topics covered in the program
    Closed: October 2024
  • Share your input on a series of portraits for select racialized population groups
    To support Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy and the Disaggregated Data Action Plan, Statistics Canada’s Diversity and Sociocultural Statistics (DSS) Division is creating a series of portrait reports on the following 6 racialized population groups: Black, South Asian, Filipino, Chinese, Latin American, and Arab.
    Closed: September 2024
  • Market Basket Measure of poverty (2023-base) consultative engagement
    From Spring 2023 to Winter 2024, Statistics Canada will conduct consultation activities to gather input from Canadians to help validate how we measure poverty. These activities will be key to informing the Third Comprehensive Review of the Market Basket Measure (MBM).
    Closed: April 2024
  • Statistics Canada is seeking input on the improved Standards, data sources and methods hub
    We want to thank all participants who provided their feedback which has helped influence and shape the future of data standards services in Canada.
    Closed: April 2024
  • 2026 Census of Agriculture dissemination consultative engagement
    Statistics Canada is conducting consultative engagement activities to obtain user feedback on the Census of Agriculture dissemination strategy and products.
    Closed: April 2024
Recent results of consultative engagement activities

Participate in consultative engagement

To participate in future consultative engagement activities and help improve Statistics Canada's website, products and services, please complete the form below!

Frequently asked questions

1. What is a consultative engagement activity?

A consultative engagement activity collects feedback from Canadians on specific topics which directly support the development of Statistics Canada projects and programs. These activitiesare executed through discussion tables, usability testing, and online questionnaires.

Consultative engagement activities have now shifted to virtual-only platforms to allow Statistics Canada to collect input fromparticipants across Canada.

2. Why does Statistics Canada consult with Canadians?

Statistics Canada regularly holds consultative engagement activities with allies, stakeholders and the general public to continually improve Statistics Canada products and ensure their usability, and seek their input on programs and initiatives.

3. How do I contact the Consultative Engagement team?

Questions or comments? Please contact Statistic Canada’s Consultive Engagement Team at consultativeengagement-mobilisationconsultative@statcan.gc.ca.

4. Is participation in a consultative engagement activity voluntary or mandatory?

Participation is voluntary. However, Statistics Canada strongly encourages Canadians to take part in its consultative engagement activities as it provides an opportunity to contribute constructive feedback.

5. Can anyone take part in a consultative engagement activity?

If you would like to get involved in a consultative engagement activity, please refer to the page Participate in consultative engagement. Individuals and/or organizations are carefully selected according to the requirements of the project.

6. Are the results of consultative engagement activities available to the public?

Yes. Consultative engagement findings are available to the public on the consultative engagement activities page.

Consultative engagement results are also posted on the Consulting with Canadians government website, a portal that provides links to the consultation results of all federal departments.

 

New Dissemination Model - Home page, Navigation and Data Tables

Archived information

Archived information is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Archived

This page has been archived on the Web.

Consultation objectives

In April 2012, Statistics Canada launched its three-year New Dissemination Model project with the goal to modernize the methods and framework for disseminating data on its website. The key objective is to create a user-centric website and to increase coherency, consistency and simplicity in dissemination activities.

As part of this project, Statistics Canada consulted Canadians in January and February 2014. The consultation was designed to evaluate the website's ease of navigation, its usefulness and user satisfaction with the new design. Evaluation sessions tested the intuitiveness of the redesigned home page; the ease of website navigation, including the filters, data table titles and new product information; and whether the design of the data tables and complex datasets is useful and intuitive.

Consultation methodology

Statistics Canada held in-person usability consultations. Participants were asked to complete a series of tasks and to provide feedback on the proposed website.

How to get involved

The consultation is now closed.

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

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

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

Results

What worked

Most participants successfully completed tasks on all three versions of the home page in either the mobile view or the desktop view. Participants liked aspects of each home page version. The Survey door on the main menu was intuitive.

The navigation within the subject listing on the left-hand side bar worked well on the subject landing page, as did the filters on the data landing page. The drop-down menus in the tables were intuitive to use and participants successfully found data in the more complex tables as well.

Areas for improvement

  • In mobile view, some home page tasks did not work.
  • 'Custom tabulations' was confused with 'Custom Surveys', 'Customized Services' and 'Contact Us'.
  • Participants searched for city or community data under Key statistics, which contains only provincial data.
  • The 'All data' link on the subject landing page and 'All tables' link on the data landing page were not intuitive for half of the participants in both the English and French versions of the site.
  • The 'Dataset' button to go from the simple table to a complex table was not intuitive.
  • The 'Build a table' customization feature was only used with prompting and was not intuitive.
  • Participants looked for geography cues in the data product titles. Previous testing had indicated that participants preferred the lowest level of geography in the title, with the remaining geographies listed in the description.
  • The Surveys and Methods areas of the site were not intuitive.

Recommendations

  • A hybrid of the three home page versions is recommended.
  • 'Information for survey participants' should be included under the 'Survey' door.
  • The filters should remain on the left-hand side bar.
  • Drop-downs menus in simple tables should be kept to a minimum and the initial layout should provide as much data as possible.
  • The picklist with the table customization feature requires further development and testing.
  • A default layout of complex tables should be provided to users with the 'Build a table' function as an advanced feature.
  • The preferred label for the Methods door often included 'Reference' or 'Methods.'

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

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Public consultation and notices - Instructional program classifications

Permanent consultation process for CIP Canada 2027 and beyond

Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada

CIP Canada 2021 Version 1.0

CIP Canada 2016

CIP Canada 2011

CIP Canada 2000

About StatCan

To accommodate Canadians' preferences, Statistics Canada is now using text messaging, in addition to phone calls and email, to remind selected survey participants to complete their online questionnaire. This will help to ensure we have high participation rates for our surveys, which will allow us to continue to produce high-quality data. Our text message short code is 782-782. Standard message rates may apply.

Services and resources

Directive on Conducting Privacy Impact Assessments

[  RTF Version (RTF, 257.95 KB)  |  PDF Version (PDF, 38.03 KB)  ]

1. Directive on Conducting Privacy Impact Assessments

1.1 This directive takes effect on March 6, 2012.

2. Application

2.1 This directive applies to all divisions that manage statistical and non-statistical programs that involve the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information.

3. Legal Context

3.1 The purpose of the Privacy Act is to ensure the protection of the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by a government institution and the provision that individuals have a right of access to that information.

In support of the Privacy Act, a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is an evaluation process which allows those involved in the collection, use or disclosure of personal information to assess and evaluate privacy, confidentiality or security risks associated with these activities, and to develop measures intended to mitigate or eliminate identified risks.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)'s Directive on Privacy Impact Assessment outlines the required steps for conducting PIAs.

4. Definitions

4.1 Definitions to be used to interpret this directive are in Appendix A.

5. Directive statement

5.1 Objective

5.1.1 Statistics Canada will develop and maintain a generic PIA to assess the privacy risks associated with a standard statistical program.

5.1.2 Statistics Canada will conduct a specific privacy impact assessment for all new and significantly redesigned collections, uses or disclosures of personal information that raise privacy, confidentiality or data security risks if a generic, or already existing, PIA does not adequately address the risks.

5.2 Expected results

5.2.1 A generic PIA provides an efficient mechanism to address standard risks associated with statistical programs.

5.2.2 By conducting a privacy impact assessment for all new and significantly redesigned collections, uses or disclosures of personal information that raise privacy, confidentiality or data security risks, Statistics Canada is performing due diligence in the protection of personal information as well as being compliant with the TBS Directive.

5.2.3 In cases where substantially similar collections, uses or disclosures of personal information occur in statistical programs, the generic Statistics Canada privacy impact assessment will apply so as to ensure compliance with the TBS Directive.

6. Requirements

Director, Information Management Division (IMD)

The Director, Information Management Division (IMD) has been delegated responsibility for ensuring compliance with the Treasury Board Secretariat Directive on Privacy Impact Assessment. The director has responsibility to direct privacy specialists in the division to:

6.1.1 Provide advice and assistance to program areas on the requirements of the TBS PIA Directive, PIA guidelines and related legislation.

6.1.2 Provide a copy of PIAs to TBS and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) following the approval by the Chief Statistician.

6.1.3 Post a summary of every approved PIA on the Statistics Canada web site.

6.1.4 Assist other divisions in reviewing and updating PIAs that have been previously conducted, when and if required.

6.1.5 Develop and register personal information banks (PIB) with Treasury Board Secretariat and include them in the Statistics Canada chapter of Info Source if the PIA is for personal information not linked to a current PIB.

6.2 Senior managers (Directors and above)

In directing managers in a division, the director is responsible for:

6.2.1 Reviewing all new and significantly redesigned collections, uses and disclosures of personal information to determine whether the proposed program or system conforms to a generic or already existing PIA;

6.2.2 Developing, at an early stage in the planning process, a specific privacy impact assessment with support from the privacy specialists in Information Management Division, in cases where a generic PIA does not address all the risks related to privacy, confidentiality and security;

6.2.3 Inform the privacy officers in the Information Management Division of any new program or activity (or any substantial modification to an existing program or activity) where personal information is being collected or used. This will alert them to the possibility of the requirement for a new or modified PIA or PIB (personal information bank).

Note: Operational details related to privacy impact assessments are provided in Appendix B.

6.3 Director General, Informatics Branch

The Director General, Informatics Branch is responsible for directing staff to:

6.3.1. Assist in the conduct of the IT threat and risk assessment for specific PIAs, if required, and providing advice on mitigation measures related to IT security.

6.4 Assistant Chief Statisticians

As advisors to the Chief Statistician, Assistant Chief Statisticians:

6.4.1 Recommend the approval by the Chief Statistician of specific Privacy Impact Assessments conducted within their fields.

6.5 Chief Statistician

The Chief Statistician:

6.5.1 Approves the Statistics Canada generic Privacy Impact Assessment, including all modifications to it, and all specific Privacy Impact Assessments conducted in Statistics Canada.

6.6 Chief Audit Executive

As the officer responsible for the internal audit functions in Statistics Canada, the Chief Audit Executive:

6.6.1 Assures, on a regular and ongoing basis, compliance with this directive through risk-based compliance audits.

7. Consequences

7.1 Consequences of non-compliance with this directive can include informal follow-up and requests from the Director, Information Management Division, internal audits or formal direction from Statistics Canada senior management on corrective measures.

7.2 Consequences of non-compliance with the TBS Directive on privacy impact assessment would be reflected in TBS's assessment of Statistics Canada under the Management Accountability Framework program.

8. References

8.1 Relevant legislation and regulations for this directive are as follows:

Statistics Act

Privacy Act

8.2 Related policy instruments and publications are as follows:

Policy on Government Security (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Policy on Privacy Protection (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Directive on Privacy Protection (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Directive on Privacy Impact Assessment (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Directive on Privacy Requests and Correction of Personal Information (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Directive on Social Insurance Number (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Directive on Information Management Roles and Responsibilities (Treasury Board Secretariat)

Policy on Privacy and Confidentiality (Statistics Canada)

Directive on Access to Information and Privacy (Statistics Canada)

Generic Privacy Impact Assessment for Statistics Canada Surveys (Statistics Canada)

9. Enquiries

Please direct enquiries about this directive to the Director of Information Management Division.

Appendix A — Definitions

Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is a comprehensive process for determining the privacy, confidentiality and security risks associated with the collection, use or disclosure of personal information. It also defines the measures used to mitigate and, wherever possible, eliminate the identified risks. The PIA process ensures that measures intended to protect privacy and ensure the confidentiality and security of personal information are considered at the outset of any new program or service delivery initiative. A PIA also communicates to the public how their privacy is protected and how their information is kept confidential and secure from unauthorized access.

Privacy is the right to be left alone, to be free from interference, from surveillance and from intrusions. When choosing to "invade" a person's privacy, governments have obligations with respect to the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal information. Privacy generally refers to information about individual persons.

Confidentiality refers to a commitment not to release identifiable information about an individual (such as a person, business or organization). It implies a "trust" relationship between the supplier of the information and the organization collecting it; this relationship is built on the assurance that the information will not be disclosed without the individual's permission or without due legal authority.

Security is the arrangements organizations use to prevent confidential information from being obtained or disclosed inappropriately, based on assessed threats and risks. Security measures also protect the integrity, availability and value of the information assets. This includes both physical safeguards, such as restricted access to areas where the information is stored and used, and security clearances for employees, as well as technological safeguards to prevent unauthorized electronic access.

Personal Information, as defined by the federal Privacy Act (section 3), means information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form including age, date of birth, marital status, education, medical information, address, identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned only to that person.

Personal Information Bank is a description of personal information that is organized and retrievable by a person's name or by an identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned only to that person. The personal information described in the personal information bank is under the control of a government institution.

Appendix B — Procedures for conducting a privacy impact assessment

A privacy impact assessment (PIA) is an evaluation process that allows those responsible for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information to evaluate the privacy, confidentiality and security risks that may be involved and to develop mitigation measures aimed at avoiding or reducing the identified risks.

The Treasury Board Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Directive requires all federal government departments undertaking new or substantially redesigned programs that involve the collection, use or disclosure of personal information to complete a privacy impact assessment of the activity.

Because of the commonalities in procedures among surveys at Statistics Canada, the Generic Privacy Impact Assessment for Statistics Canada Surveys covers the majority of the Agency's household and business surveys, as well as the receipt and use of administrative information for statistical purposes. This generic PIA describes in detail how the Agency meets the ten privacy principles and includes a threat and risk assessment that focuses on the Agency's major data collection methodologies.

However, in cases where the generic PIA is deemed not applicable to a survey due to special or enhanced privacy risks, a specific privacy impact assessment must be produced. The specific PIA need only address risks not identified in the generic PIA.

According to the TBS PIA Directive, the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in the context of new or redesigned administrative programs and services—for example, human resources and marketing—may require that a privacy impact assessment be conducted.

The following are the procedures that both statistical and non-statistical program managers must follow.

Step 1. Determination of the need for a privacy impact assessment

A program area may contact a privacy specialist in Information Management Division to discuss the program, services or survey. If the Generic Privacy Impact Assessment for Statistics Canada Surveys is deemed to adequately address all known privacy risks, no further action is required. Alternatively an existing specific PIA may address all the known risks.

Step 2. When a privacy impact assessment is required

Using the Treasury Board template for a Core Privacy Impact Assessment, the program manager must complete a first draft of a PIA. This draft will be reviewed by a privacy specialist in Information Management Division. There will likely be various exchanges over the development period of the PIA.

Step 3. When a privacy impact assessment is finalized

Under the Treasury Board directive the head of institution is required to approve the final PIA. Therefore divisions are responsible for creating the memo from their Assistant Chief Statistician to the Chief Statistician requesting approval of the PIA.

Depending on the nature of the program covered by the PIA, the Chief Statistician may grant approval himself or, will decide that review and approval by Policy Committee is required.

Step 4. When a privacy impact assessment is approved

Information Management Division will arrange the following:

  • Copies of the approved PIA are sent to Treasury Board and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
  • A summary of the PIA is prepared and posted on the Statistics Canada web site.
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