Canadian Economic News, November 2024 Edition

This module provides a concise summary of selected Canadian economic events, as well as international and financial market developments by calendar month. It is intended to provide contextual information only to support users of the economic data published by Statistics Canada. In identifying major events or developments, Statistics Canada is not suggesting that these have a material impact on the published economic data in a particular reference month.

All information presented here is obtained from publicly available news and information sources, and does not reflect any protected information provided to Statistics Canada by survey respondents.

Resources

  • Colorado-based Ovintiv Inc. announced it had entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire certain Montney assets from Paramount Resources Ltd. of Calgary in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $3.325 billion. Ovintiv said the transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and customary closing adjustments.
  • Calgary-based TC Energy Corporation announced four new growth projects, totaling approximately $1.5 billion of gross capital expenditures, including two projects on the company's Columbia Gulf System: the USD $0.4 billion Pulaski Project and the USD $0.4 billion Maysville Project to facilitate full coal-to-gas conversion at two existing power plants; the USD $0.3 billion Southeast Virginia Energy Storage Project, an LNG peaking facility in southeast Virginia; and approximately $175 million in Ontario's Bruce Power.
  • Colorado-based Newmont Corporation announced it had agreed to sell its Musselwhite operation in Northwestern Ontario to Orla Mining Ltd of Vancouver for up to USD $850 million in total consideration. Newmont said the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

B.C. and Montreal Port strikes

  • The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) announced on November 4th that it had locked out forepersons and other Local 514 members until further notice.
  • The Port of Montreal announced that on November 10th, the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) declared a lockout, bringing port activities to a complete halt at almost all Port of Montreal terminals and that the terminals would be closed until further notice.
  • On November 12th, the Government of Canada announced it had directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations and functions at the ports of British Columbia, Montreal, and Quebec, and to assist the parties by imposing final and binding arbitration.

Economic and fiscal updates

  • The Government of Quebec released its fall economic and financial update on November 21st, which included investments to increase support for the forestry sector, promote access to housing, support public transit, and ensure the safety of Quebecers. The Government forecasts an $8.8 billion deficit for 2024-25 and real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.2% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025.
  • The Government of Alberta released its 2024-25 Second Quarter Fiscal Update and Economic Statement on November 21st. The Government is projecting a $4.6 billion surplus in 2024-25 and real GDP growth of 3.0% in 2024 and 2.7% in 2025.
  • The Government of Saskatchewan released its 2024-25 Mid-Year Report on November 28th. The Government forecasts a $743.5 million deficit in 2024-25 and real GDP growth of 1.4% in 2024 and 1.7% in 2025.

Other news

  • The Government of Canada on November 7th announced two new measures to help unlock more homes across the country:
    • The launch of the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund's (CHIF) $1 billion direct delivery stream which will provide communities across Canada with funding to build or improve critical infrastructure;
    • the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario has begun accepting applications for the Regional Homebuilding Innovation Initiative (RHII). The Government said that through RHII, Canada's Regional Development Agencies are investing $50 million over two years, beginning this year, to provide support to the residential home construction sector and its supply chain.
  • The Government of Canada announced on November 21st that it would be introducing legislation in Parliament that would:
    • Provide for a two-month Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) break, from December 14, 2024 to February 15, 2025, for groceries and holiday essentials; and
    • Provide for the delivery of a new $250 Working Canadians Rebate to 18.7 million Canadians in early spring 2025.
  • The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced it was adding to its affordability measures by matching the Government of Canada's recently announced GST/HST tax break on essentials.
  • The Government of New Brunswick announced it had introduced legislative amendments to the Petroleum Products Pricing Act that would, if approved, remove the cost of the carbon adjuster from the price of gasoline and diesel. The Government said the change would take effect in mid-December. The Government also said it is implementing a provincial rent cap and that as of February 1, 2025, rent increases will be capped at 3% annually.
  • Montreal-based BCE Inc. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bell Canada (Bell), had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ziply Fiber of Washington State, an Internet provider in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, for approximately $5.0 billion in cash and the assumption of outstanding net debt of approximately $2.0 billion. Bell said the acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to certain customary closing conditions and the receipt of certain regulatory approvals.
  • Belgium-based Umicore N.V. announced that as part of its ongoing strategic review of its Battery Materials business, the company had decided to continue to pause the construction of a new battery materials plant in Loyalist, Ontario. Umicore said it has not drawn on the incentives from the Governments of Canada and Ontario for the Loyalist plant.
  • On November 15th, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced it was beginning a nationwide strike.
  • Toronto-based CI Financial Corp. announced it had entered into a definitive agreement with an affiliate of Mubadala Capital of Abu Dhabi to take CI private in a transaction that values CI's equity at approximately $4.7 billion. CI said the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to shareholder and court approvals, regulatory clearances, and other customary closing conditions.

United States and other international news

  • The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.50% to 4.75%. The last change in the target range was a 50 basis points cut in September 2024. The Committee also said it will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities.
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the cash rate target unchanged at 4.35%. The last change in the cash rate target was a 25 basis points increase in November 2023.
  • The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to reduce the Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%. The last change in the Bank Rate was a 25 basis points cut in August 2024.
  • The Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee of Norway's Norges Bank left the policy rate unchanged at 4.5%. The last change in the policy rate was a 25 basis points increase in December 2023.
  • The Executive Board of Sweden's Riksbank lowered the repo rate by 50 basis points to 2.75%. The last change in the repo rate was a 25 basis points reduction in September 2024.
  • The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) lowered the Official Cash Rate (OCR), its main policy rate, by 50 basis points to 4.25%. The last change in the OCR was a 50 basis points cut in October 2024.
  • The Organization of the Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) announced that  Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023, announced they had agreed to extend the November 2023 voluntary production adjustments of 2.2 million barrels per day for one month until the end of December 2024.
  • The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) announced on November 4th that 33,000 frontline workers at Boeing voted to ratify a new union contract with the company following a strike that began on September 13th.
  • Florida-based Spirit Airlines, Inc. announced it had entered into a restructuring support agreement that will be implemented by way of a prearranged Chapter 11 process in the United States. Spirit said existing bondholders are providing USD $300 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and that it expects to continue operating its business in the normal course throughout this process.
  • Japan-based Nissan Motor Co. announced it was implementing measures to lower expenses, including cutting global production capacity by 20% and reducing its global workforce by 9,000.
  • Sweden-based Northvolt AB announced that it and certain of its subsidiaries had voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in the United States. Northvolt said that one of its existing customers had committed to provide $100 million in new financing to support Northvolt's business operations in the form of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and that Northvolt will continue to operate as usual during the reorganization.

Financial market news

  • West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at USD $68.00 per barrel on November 29th, down from a closing value of USD $69.49 at the end of October. Western Canadian Select crude oil traded in the USD $55 to $61 per barrel range throughout October. The Canadian dollar closed at 71.38 cents U.S. on November 29th, down from 71.86 cents U.S. at the end of October. The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 25,648.00 on November 29th, up from 24,156.87 at the end of October.

Stocks of Frozen and Chilled Meats Survey - 2025

Why are we conducting this survey?

The purpose of this survey is to produce statistics on the stocks of frozen and chilled meat held in warehouses registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

These data will be aggregated with data from other sources to produce estimates of national and provincial stocks. These estimates are used by government and the private sector to make policy and investment decisions.

Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

Your participation in this survey is required under the authority of the Statistics Act.

Other important information

Authorization to collect this information

Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

Confidentiality

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

Record linkages

To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine the acquired data with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Data-sharing agreements

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

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

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations.

Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and mailing it to the following address:

Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Enterprise Statistics Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6

You may also contact us by email at statcan.esd-helpdesk-dse-bureaudedepannage.statcan@canada.ca or by fax at 613-951-6583.

For this survey, there is a Section 12 agreement with the Prince Edward Island statistical agency.

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Business or organization and contact information

1. Verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

Note: Legal name modifications should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

Note: Press the help button (?) for additional information.

Legal Name

The legal name is one recognized by law, thus it is the name liable for pursuit or for debts incurred by the business or organization. In the case of a corporation, it is the legal name as fixed by its charter or the statute by which the corporation was created.

Modifications to the legal name should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

To indicate a legal name of another legal entity you should instead indicate it in question 3 by selecting 'Not currently operational' and then choosing the applicable reason and providing the legal name of this other entity along with any other requested information.

Operating Name

The operating name is a name the business or organization is commonly known as if different from its legal name. The operating name is synonymous with trade name.

  • Legal name
  • Operating name (if applicable)

2. Verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where needed.

Note: The designated contact person is the person who should receive this questionnaire. The designated contact person may not always be the one who actually completes the questionnaire.

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Title
  • Preferred language of communication
    • English
    • French
  • Mailing address (number and street)
  • City
  • Province, territory or state
  • Postal code or ZIP code
  • Country
    • Canada
    • United States
  • Email address
  • Telephone number (including area code)
  • Extension number (if applicable)
    The maximum number of characters is 10.
  • Fax number (including area code)

3. Verify or provide the current operational status of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

  • Operational
  • Not currently operational
    Why is this business or organization not currently operational?
    • Seasonal operations
      • When did this business or organization close for the season?
        Date
      • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
        Date
    • Ceased operations
      • When did this business or organization cease operations?
        Date
      • Why did this business or organization cease operations?
        • Bankruptcy
        • Liquidation
        • Dissolution
        • Other
          Specify the other reasons why the operations ceased
    • Sold operations
      • When was this business or organization sold?
        Date
      • What is the legal name of the buyer?
    • Amalgamated with other businesses or organizations
      • When did this business or organization amalgamate?
        Date
      • What is the legal name of the resulting or continuing business or organization?
      • What are the legal names of the other amalgamated businesses or organizations?
    • Temporarily inactive but will re-open
      • When did this business or organization become temporarily inactive?
        Date
      • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
        Date
      • Why is this business or organization temporarily inactive?
    • No longer operating due to other reasons
      • When did this business or organization cease operations?
        Date
      • Why did this business or organization cease operations?

4. Verify or provide the current main activity of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

Note: The described activity was assigned using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

This question verifies the business or organization's current main activity as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS , are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.

The target entity for which NAICS is designed are businesses and other organizations engaged in the production of goods and services. They include farms, incorporated and unincorporated businesses and government business enterprises. They also include government institutions and agencies engaged in the production of marketed and non-marketed services, as well as organizations such as professional associations and unions and charitable or non-profit organizations and the employees of households.

The associated NAICS should reflect those activities conducted by the business or organizational units targeted by this questionnaire only, as identified in the 'Answering this questionnaire' section and which can be identified by the specified legal and operating name. The main activity is the activity which most defines the targeted business or organization's main purpose or reason for existence. For a business or organization that is for-profit, it is normally the activity that generates the majority of the revenue for the entity.

The NAICS classification contains a limited number of activity classifications; the associated classification might be applicable for this business or organization even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business or organization's main activity.

Please note that any modifications to the main activity through your response to this question might not necessarily be reflected prior to the transmitting of subsequent questionnaires and as a result they may not contain this updated information.

The following is the detailed description including any applicable examples or exclusions for the classification currently associated with this business or organization.

Description and examples

  • This is the current main activity
  • This is not the current main activity

Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's main activity

e.g., breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development

Main activity

5. You indicated that is not the current main activity. Was this business or organization's main activity ever classified as: ?

  • Yes
    When did the main activity change?
    Date
  • No

6. Search and select the industry classification code that best corresponds to this business or organization's main activity.

Select this business or organization's activity sector (optional)

  • Farming or logging operation
  • Construction company or general contractor
  • Manufacturer
  • Wholesaler
  • Retailer
  • Provider of passenger or freight transportation
  • Provider of investment, savings or insurance products
  • Real estate agency, real estate brokerage or leasing company
  • Provider of professional, scientific or technical services
  • Provider of health care or social services
  • Restaurant, bar, hotel, motel or other lodging establishment
  • Other sector

7. You have indicated that the current main activity of this business or organization is:
Main activity
Are there any other activities that contribute significantly (at least 10%) to this business or organization's revenue?

  • Yes, there are other activities
  • No, that is the only significant activity

Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's secondary activity

e.g., breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development

8. Approximately what percentage of this business or organization's revenue is generated by each of the following activities?

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimates.

Approximately what percentage of this business or organization's revenue is generated by each of the following activities?
  Percentage of revenue
Main activity  
Secondary activity  
All other activities  
Total percentage  

Location of stocks

1. Are the stocks located at the following address?

  • Yes
  • No

Please report the address where the stocks are located.

  • Address (number and street):
  • City:
  • Province or territory:
    • Alberta
    • British Columbia
    • Manitoba
    • New Brunswick
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
    • Northwest Territories
    • Nova Scotia
    • Nunavut
    • Ontario
    • Prince Edward Island
    • Quebec
    • Saskatchewan
    • Yukon
  • Postal code:

Products in storage

2. Which of the following products were in storage at this location on ?

Select all that apply.

  • Pork - Domestic and imported
  • Beef - Domestic and imported
  • Veal - Domestic and imported
  • Mutton and lamb - Domestic and imported
  • Fancy meats
  • None of the above

All meat categories include brains, livers, sweetbreads, tongues, stomachs, kidneys, lungs and other glands for pharmaceuticals.
Beef, veal, and lamb include tails, headmeat, weasand meat, gullets, neck trim and blood plasma.

Pork - Domestic and imported

3. What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following domestic and imported pork products?

Include:

  • stocks held at this site only, regardless of ownership
  • smoked pork products
  • stocks held for export.

Exclude:

  • stocks held at another site
  • meat that has been further processed such as sausages, meat in soups or prepared dinners
  • back fat or rendered fat.

Conversion: 1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds, 1 pound = 0.4536 kilograms
Enter zero '0' if there are no stocks.

What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following domestic and imported pork products?
  Total stocks (kg)
Hams  
Loins  
Bellies  
Butts  
Picnics  
Ribs  
Backs and shoulders  
Trimmings  
Unclassified - other pork cuts and sundries not elsewhere listed  
Total domestic and imported pork products  

Beef - Domestic and imported

4. What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following domestic and imported beef products?

Include:

  • stocks held at this site only, regardless of ownership
  • stocks held for export.

Exclude:

  • stocks held at another site
  • meat that has been further processed such as sausages, meat in soups or prepared dinners
  • back fat or rendered fat.

Conversion: 1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds, 1 pound = 0.4536 kilograms
Enter zero '0' if there are no stocks.

What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following domestic and imported beef products?
  Total stocks (kg)
Bone-in domestic  
Bone-in imported  
Boneless domestic  
Boneless imported  
Total domestic and imported beef products  

Veal - Domestic and imported

5. What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following domestic and imported veal products?

Include:

  • stocks held at this site only, regardless of ownership
  • stocks held for export.

Exclude:

  • stocks held at another site
  • meat that has been further processed such as sausages, meat in soups or prepared dinners
  • back fat or rendered fat.

Conversion: 1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds, 1 pound = 0.4536 kilograms
Enter zero '0' if there are no stocks.

What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following domestic and imported veal products?
  Total stocks (kg)
Bone-in domestic  
Bone-in imported  
Boneless domestic  
Boneless imported  
Total domestic and imported veal products  

Mutton and lamb - Domestic and imported

6. What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following domestic and imported mutton and lamb products?

Include:

  • stocks held at this site only, regardless of ownership
  • stocks held for export.

Exclude:

  • stocks held at another site
  • meat that has been further processed such as sausages, meat in soups or prepared dinners
  • back fat or rendered fat.

Conversion: 1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds, 1 pound = 0.4536 kilograms
Enter zero '0' if there are no stocks.

What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following domestic and imported mutton and lamb products?
  Total stocks (kg)
Domestic mutton and lamb  
Imported mutton  
Imported lamb  
Total domestic and imported mutton and lamb products  

Fancy meats

7. What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following fancy meat products?

Include:

  • brains, livers, sweetbreads, tongues, stomachs, kidneys, lungs, other glands for pharmaceuticals
  • stocks held at this site only, regardless of ownership
  • stocks held for export.

Exclude:

  • stocks held at another site
  • meat that has been further processed such as sausages, meat in soups or prepared dinners
  • back fat or rendered fat.

Conversion: 1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds, 1 pound = 0.4536 kilograms
Enter zero '0' if there are no stocks.

What was the total stocks in kilograms (kg) of the following fancy meat products?
  Total stocks (kg)
Pork  
Beef  
Veal  
Lamb  
Total fancy meats products  

Changes or events

8. Indicate any changes or events that affected the reported values for this business or organization, compared with the last reporting period.

Select all that apply.

  • Strike or lock-out
  • Exchange rate impact
  • Price changes in goods or services sold
  • Contracting out
  • Organizational change
  • Price changes in labour or raw materials
  • Natural disaster
  • Recession
  • Change in product line
  • Sold business or business units
  • Expansion
  • New or lost contract
  • Plant closures
  • Acquisition of business or business units
  • Other
    Specify the other changes or events:
  • No changes or events

Contact person

9. Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information.
Is the provided given names and the provided family name the best person to contact?

  • Yes
  • No

Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?

  • First name:
  • Last name:
  • Title:
  • Email address:
  • Telephone number (including area code):
  • Extension number (if applicable):
    The maximum number of characters is 5.
  • Fax number (including area code):

Feedback

10. How long did it take to complete this questionnaire?

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

  • Hours:
  • Minutes:

11. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?

Annual Greenhouse, Sod and Nursery Survey - 2025

Why are we conducting this survey?

This survey collects up-to-date information on the production and value of greenhouse plants and vegetables, and on the production of nursery stock and sod in Canada.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, producer associations, and provincial agriculture departments use the data to perform market trend analysis and to study domestic production and imports. The data are also used to calculate farm cash receipts.

Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

Your participation in this survey is required under the authority of the Statistics Act.

Other important information

Authorization to collect this information

Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

Confidentiality

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

Record linkages

To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the response burden, Statistics Canada may combine the acquired data with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Data sharing agreements

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

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

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations.

Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and mailing it to the following address:

Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Enterprise Statistics Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6

You may also contact us by email at statcan.esd-helpdesk-dse-bureaudedepannage.statcan@statcan.gc.ca or by fax at 613-951-6583.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the Prince Edward Island Statistical Agency as well as with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as with the Manitoba Department of Agriculture.

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Business or organization and contact information

1. Verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

Note: Legal name modifications should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

Legal Name

The legal name is one recognized by law, thus it is the name liable for pursuit or for debts incurred by the business or organization. In the case of a corporation, it is the legal name as fixed by its charter or the statute by which the corporation was created.

Modifications to the legal name should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

To indicate a legal name of another legal entity you should instead indicate it in question 3 by selecting 'Not currently operational' and then choosing the applicable reason and providing the legal name of this other entity along with any other requested information.

Operating Name

The operating name is a name the business or organization is commonly known as if different from its legal name. The operating name is synonymous with trade name.

  • Legal name
  • Operating name (if applicable)

2. Verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where needed.

Note: The designated contact person is the person who should receive this questionnaire. The designated contact person may not always be the one who actually completes the questionnaire.

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Title
  • Preferred language of communication
    • English
    • French
  • Mailing address (number and street)
  • City
  • Province, territory or state
  • Postal code or ZIP code
  • Country
    • Canada
    • United States
  • Email address
  • Telephone number (including area code)
  • Extension number (if applicable)
    The maximum number of characters is 10.
  • Fax number (including area code)

3. Verify or provide the current operational status of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

  • Operational
  • Not currently operational
    Why is this business or organization not currently operational?
    • Seasonal operations
      • When did this business or organization close for the season?
        Date
      • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
        Date
    • Ceased operations
      • When did this business or organization cease operations?
        Date
      • Why did this business or organization cease operations?
        • Bankruptcy
        • Liquidation
        • Dissolution
        • Other
          Specify the other reasons why the operations ceased
    • Sold operations
      • When was this business or organization sold?
        Date
      • What is the legal name of the buyer?
    • Amalgamated with other businesses or organizations
      • When did this business or organization amalgamate?
        Date
      • What is the legal name of the resulting or continuing business or organization?
      • What are the legal names of the other amalgamated businesses or organizations?
    • Temporarily inactive but will re-open
      • When did this business or organization become temporarily inactive?
        Date
      • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
        Date
      • Why is this business or organization temporarily inactive?
    • No longer operating due to other reasons
      • When did this business or organization cease operations?
        Date
      • Why did this business or organization cease operations?

4. Verify or provide the current main activity of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

Note: The described activity was assigned using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

This question verifies the business or organization's current main activity as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS , are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.

The target entity for which NAICS is designed are businesses and other organizations engaged in the production of goods and services. They include farms, incorporated and unincorporated businesses and government business enterprises. They also include government institutions and agencies engaged in the production of marketed and non-marketed services, as well as organizations such as professional associations and unions and charitable or non-profit organizations and the employees of households.

The associated NAICS should reflect those activities conducted by the business or organizational units targeted by this questionnaire only, as identified in the 'Answering this questionnaire' section and which can be identified by the specified legal and operating name. The main activity is the activity which most defines the targeted business or organization's main purpose or reason for existence. For a business or organization that is for-profit, it is normally the activity that generates the majority of the revenue for the entity.

The NAICS classification contains a limited number of activity classifications; the associated classification might be applicable for this business or organization even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business or organization's main activity.

Please note that any modifications to the main activity through your response to this question might not necessarily be reflected prior to the transmitting of subsequent questionnaires and as a result they may not contain this updated information.

The following is the detailed description including any applicable examples or exclusions for the classification currently associated with this business or organization.

Description and examples

  • This is the current main activity
  • This is not the current main activity

Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's main activity
e.g., breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development

Main activity

5. You indicated that is not the current main activity.
Was this business or organization's main activity ever classified as: ?

  • Yes
    When did the main activity change?
    Date
  • No

6. Search and select the industry classification code that best corresponds to this business or organization's main activity.

Select this business or organization's activity sector (optional)

  • Farming or logging operation
  • Construction company or general contractor
  • Manufacturer
  • Wholesaler
  • Retailer
  • Provider of passenger or freight transportation
  • Provider of investment, savings or insurance products
  • Real estate agency, real estate brokerage or leasing company
  • Provider of professional, scientific or technical services
  • Provider of health care or social services
  • Restaurant, bar, hotel, motel or other lodging establishment
  • Other sector

7. You have indicated that the current main activity of this business or organization is: Main activity. Are there any other activities that contribute significantly (at least 10%) to this business or organization's revenue?

  • Yes, there are other activities
    • Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's secondary activity
      e.g., breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development
  • No, that is the only significant activity

8. Approximately what percentage of this business or organization's revenue is generated by each of the following activities?

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimates.

Approximately what percentage of this business or organization's revenue is generated by each of the following activities
  Percentage of revenue
Main activity  
Secondary activity  
All other activities  
Total percentage  

Type of production

1. Which of the following products did you grow for sale in 2024?

Please report Canadian production only.

Select all that apply.

Greenhouse products

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

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

Nursery products

A diverse range of non-edible, living plant material grown 'in field' or in containers outdoors and sold with their root system intact. Plants range from tree seedlings to full-grown trees.

Include annual and perennial plants.

Exclude field-grown cut flowers from this category.

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

Christmas trees

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

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

Sod

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

Greenhouse products

Include vegetables, fruits, flowers and plants grown in heated structures.

Exclude:

  • vegetables and fruit grown outdoors or in non-heated covering tunnels or cold frames
  • all cannabis production.

Christmas trees

Field-grown cut flowers

Nursery products
e.g., , trees, shrubs and plants

Sod

Did not grow any products for sale in 2024.

Greenhouse area - unit of measure

2. What unit of measure will be used to report your greenhouse area?

  • Square feet
  • Square metres
  • Acres
  • Hectares

Greenhouse area

3. What was your greenhouse area under the following materials in 2024?

Exclude non-heated covering tunnels, cold frames or any area surrounding a greenhouse.

What was your greenhouse area under the following materials in 2024?
  Unit of measure
Under glass  
Poly-film  
Rigid plastic, fibreglass or other enclosed area  
Total greenhouse area  

Greenhouse products - number of months in operation

4. How many months was your greenhouse in operation in 2024?

Report the number of months this operation was growing plants in a greenhouse.

Months

Greenhouse products

5. Which of the following greenhouse products were grown for sale in 2024?

Select all that apply.

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

Potted herbs

Plants that will be maintained in a pot by the consumer after purchase should be reported inside the 'potted plants' section. Herb plants sold in a package ready to be consumed should be reported inside the vegetable section.

Cut flowers

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

Exclude field-grown cut flowers and dried cut flowers.

Fruit and Vegetables

Include products grown to completion in a greenhouse and sold from the greenhouse.

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

Potted Plants - indoor and outdoor

Any plants grown and sold in a pot from the greenhouse.

Exclude Christmas trees sold in pots. Pots take many forms and sizes, such as baskets (wicker), peat pots, moss pots and plastic pots or ceramic pots.

Cuttings and tree seedlings

Plants (or sections of a plant) capable of developing into a greater number of plants or spreading out and affecting a greater area. Examples include Chrysanthemums, Poinsettias, Begonias, Petunias and shrubs.

Exclude tree seedlings for reforestation.

Bedding plants, also known as transplants

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

Fruits and vegetables

Potted plants — indoor or outdoor

Include any prefinished or finished plants grown and sold in a pot.

Cuttings and tree seedlings

Exclude tree seedlings for reforestation.

Bedding plants, transplants or plugs

Include plants sold in cell packs or trays that are ready for transplanting by the purchaser.

Cut flowers

Exclude dried cut flowers.

Greenhouse products

7. What area of your greenhouse was used to produce the following fruits and vegetables in 2024?

For any multiple plantings of the same fruit or vegetable, count the area only once.

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

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

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

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

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

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

What area of your greenhouse was used to produce the following fruits and vegetables in 2024?
  Unit of measure
Greenhouse tomatoes  
Beefsteak tomatoes  
Large tomatoes on the vine  
Cherry and grape tomatoes  
Other tomatoes  
Specify other tomatoes  
Total greenhouse tomatoes  
Greenhouse cucumbers  
English cucumbers  
Mini cucumbers  
Other cucumbers  
Specify other cucumbers  
Total greenhouse cucumbers  
Other greenhouse fruits and vegetables  
Greenhouse eggplants  
Greenhouse Chinese vegetables  
Greenhouse herbs
Exclude sprouts and microgreens.
 
Sprouts grown in a controlled environment
Include vegetables, legumes, pulse and herb sprouts.
 
Greenhouse microgreens and shoots
Include all microgreens, vegetables and herbs.
 
Greenhouse peppers  
Greenhouse lettuce  
Greenhouse beans (green and wax)  
Greenhouse strawberry  
Other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 1  
Specify other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 1  
Other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 2  
Specify other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 2  
Other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 3  
Specify other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 3  
Total area of fruits and vegetables  

8. For the following fruits and vegetables, what were the quantity sold ( i.e. , marketed production) and sales in 2024?

For the following fruits and vegetables, what were the quantity sold (i.e., marketed production) and sales in 2024?
  Quantity sold Unit of measure Total Sales
Greenhouse tomatoes      
Beefsteak tomatoes      
Large tomatoes on the vine      
Cherry and grape tomatoes      
Total greenhouse tomatoes      
Greenhouse cucumbers      
English cucumbers      
Mini cucumbers      
Total greenhouse cucumbers      
Other greenhouse fruits and vegetables      
Greenhouse eggplants      
Greenhouse Chinese vegetables      
Greenhouse herbs
Exclude sprouts and microgreens.
     
Sprouts grown in a controlled environment
Include vegetables, legumes, pulse and herb sprouts.
     
Greenhouse microgreens and shoots
Include all microgreens, vegetables and herbs.
     
Greenhouse peppers      
Greenhouse lettuce      
Greenhouse beans (green and wax)      
Greenhouse strawberry      
Other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 1      
Specify other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 1      
Other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 2      
Specify other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 2      
Other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 3      
Specify other greenhouse fruit or vegetable 3      
Total area of fruits and vegetables      
Total gross sales of fruits and vegetables      

9. Of the total gross sales reported at question 8, please provide the percentage breakdown of your greenhouse fruits and vegetables sales across the following distribution channels.

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

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

Please report the value of greenhouse fruit and vegetable sales in a percentage (%). The sum of different markets should be equal to 100% of the value reported in in question 8.

Wholesaler

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

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

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

Of the total gross sales reported at question 8, please provide the percentage breakdown of your greenhouse fruits and vegetables sales across the following distribution channels.
  Percentage of total sales
Sales to domestic wholesalers  
Sales to mass market chain stores  
Sales to other greenhouses  
Sales of exports directly from your operation  
Sales to the public from your greenhouse, roadside stand or other outlets  
Sales through all other distribution channels
e.g., restaurants, food chains, co-operatives
 
Total sales of fruits and vegetables  

Greenhouse products - indoor and outdoor potted plants

10. For the following indoor and outdoor potted plants, how many pots did this greenhouse produce and sell in 2024?

Include only prefinished and finished potted plants grown and sold by this greenhouse operation.

Exclude:

  • bedding plants or plugs sold in cell packs, flats or trays for transplanting
  • nursery-grown stock, such as potted shrubs or fall mums
  • Christmas trees sold in pots
  • plants purchased or imported by this operation for immediate resale.

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

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

Exclude anything produced outside Canada.

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

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

For the following indoor and outdoor potted plants, how many pots did this greenhouse produce and sell in 2024?
Indoor Potted Plants Number of pots produced and sold
Azaleas  
Lilies  
Poinsettias  
African Violets  
Tropical foilage and green plants
Include ferns.
Exclude hanging pots.
 
Gerberas  
Miniature Roses  
Orchids  
Kalanchoes  
Chrysanthemums or Potted Mums  
Primulas  
Cyclamens  
Tulips  
Indoor hanging pots  
Other indoor potted plants  
Outdoor potted plants  
Begonias  
Chrysanthemums, garden  
Geraniums, in pots only  
New Guinea Impatiens / Hawkeri  
Petunias  
Herbaceous perennials  
Argyranthemums  
Outdoor hanging pots  
Calibrachoas  
Dahlias  
Pansies  
Rudbeckias  
Heliopsis  
Verbenas  
Zinnias  
Potted herb plants  
Potted vegetable plants  
Other outdoor potted plants
e.g., daisies, gardenias.
 
Total number of pots, indoor and outdoor, produced and sold  

11. What were the total gross sales of prefinished and finished potted plants in 2024?

Total gross sales

Greenhouse products - cuttings and tree seedlings

12. For the following cuttings, what was the total number of cuttings produced and sold in 2024?

Include only cuttings produced by this greenhouse operation.

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

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

For the following cuttings, what was the total number of cuttings produced and sold in 2024?
  Total number of cuttings produced and sold
Chrysanthemum  
Poinsettia  
Geranium  
Impatien
Include only double and New Guinea.
 
Other cuttings not listed  
Total number of cuttings produced and sold  

13. What were the total gross sales of cuttings in 2024?

Total gross sales

14. What was the total number of tree seedlings produced and sold in 2024?

Include only tree seedlings produced by this greenhouse operation.

Exclude:

  • nursery products grown in a cold-frame or non-heated tunnel
  • tree seedlings for reforestation.

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

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

Number of seedlings

15. What were the total gross sales of tree seedlings in 2024?

Total gross sales

Greenhouse products - bedding plants/transplants - vegetable and/or ornamental

16. What were the number and total gross sales of bedding plants, transplants or plugs produced and sold in 2024?

Include plants ready for transplanting by the purchaser into gardens, fields, containers and baskets.

Report the number of individual plants. If the number is unknown, please estimate it by multiplying the number of trays by the average number of plants per tray.

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

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

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

What were the number and total gross sales of bedding plants, transplants or plugs produced and sold in 2024?
  Number of plants Total gross sales
Ornamental bedding plants    
Vegetable bedding plants    

Greenhouse products - cut flowers

17. For the following cut flowers, what was the total number of stems produced and sold in 2024?

Exclude:

  • dried cut flowers
  • field-grown flowers (these will be reported in question 2024)
  • flowers grown by another operation.

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

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

Exclude any cut flowers you purchased from other growers to re-sell from your own operation within a short period of time with minimal maintenance work (watering).

For the following cut flowers, what was the total number of stems produced and sold in 2024?
  Number of stems produced and sold
Alstroemerias  
Chrysanthemums
Include standard and sprays.
 
Daffodils  
Freesias  
Gerberas  
Irises  
Lilies  
Roses  
Snapdragons  
Tulips  
Lisianthus  
Other cut flowers not listed  
Total number of stems produced and sold  

18. What were the total gross sales of cut flowers grown by this greenhouse operation in 2024?

Total gross sales

Greenhouse products - flowers and plants

19. What were your total gross sales of flowers and plants purchased from other greenhouses for immediate resale in 2024?

Total gross sales

Did not purchase and re-sell any flowers or plants

Summary - flowers and plants

20. This is a summary of your total gross sales of greenhouse flowers and plants in 2024?

This is a summary of your total gross sales of greenhouse flowers and plants in 2024?
  Sales
Total gross sales of potted plants  
Total gross sales of cuttings  
Total gross sales of tree seedlings  
Total gross sales of ornamental bedding plants, transplants or plugs  
Total gross sales of vegetable bedding plants, transplants or plugs  
Total gross sales of cut flowers  
Total sales of flowers and plants produced in your greenhouse  
Total gross sales of flowers and plants purchased from other greenhouses for immediate resale  
Total gross sales of greenhouse flowers and plants  

Greenhouse products - flowers and plants

21. Of your total gross sales [amount]$ reported, please provide the percentage breakdown of greenhouse flowers and plants sales across the following distribution channels.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Of your total gross sales [amount]$ reported, please provide the percentage breakdown of greenhouse flowers and plants sales across the following distribution channels.
  Percentage of total sales
Sales to retail florists
e.g., flower shops, garden centres
 
Sales to domestic wholesalers
Include Dutch Auction Clock System.
 
Sales to mass market chain stores  
Sales to other greenhouses  
Export sales made directly by your firm  
Sales made directly to the public from your greenhouse or roadside stands  
Sales to the government and other public institutions  
Other methods of sales not listed  
Total sales of flowers and plants  

Christmas trees

22. Please enter the total area used to grow Christmas trees, the number of trees produced and cut, and the total gross sales of trees in 2024?

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

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

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

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

Conversions

  • 1 arpent = 0.9986 acres
  • 1 acre = 1.0014 arpent
  • 1 acre = 0.41 hectares
  • 1 hectare = 2.47 acres

Total area

Unit of measure

  • acres
  • hectares
  • arpents

Number of cut trees

Total gross sales

Field-grown cut flowers

23. Please report the total area used to grow field-grown flowers, the number of cut stems produced and sold, and the total gross sales of field-grown cut flowers in 2024?

Include field-grown fresh and dried flowers, and any plant part used for floral or decorative purposes, such as seed heads, stalks and woody cuts.

Exclude cut flowers grown in a greenhouse from start to finish.

Total area

Unit of measure

  • acres
  • hectares
  • arpents

Number of cut stems

Total gross sales

Nursery products - nursery area

24. What was the total nursery area used for growing nursery stock in 2024?

What was the total nursery area used for growing nursery stock in 2024?
  Nursery area Unit of measure (Acres, Hectares or Arpents)
Field area used for growing nursery stock    
Container area used for growing nursery stock    
Total nursery area    

Nursery products - nursery stock

25. How many field-grown and container-grown plants did this operation produce and sell in 2024?

Exclude:

  • stock purchased for immediate resale
  • Christmas trees without the root system intact
  • heated greenhouse production and unsold inventory.

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

Include only tree seedlings produced in a nursery.

Exclude tree seedlings produced in and sold from a greenhouse.

Exclude tree seedlings for reforestation.

Note: tree seedlings may be reported as nursery products if they were conditioned outside for part of the production cycle, after having been cared for inside the greenhouse first.

How many field-grown and container-grown plants did this operation produce and sell in 2024?
  Number of field-grown plants produced and sold Number of container-grown plants produced and sold
Trees — conifer    
Trees — fruit    
Trees — shade or ornamental    
Shrubs — evergreen and conifer    
Shrubs — evergreen and broadleaf    
Shrubs — deciduous
Include roses.
   
Vines    
Perennials and annuals    
Small fruit bushes
e.g., raspberry bush
   
Tree seedlings
Exclude tree seedlings for reforestation.
   
Other type of plants    
Total number of field and container grown nursery stock    

26. What were the total gross sales of field-grown and container-grown nursery stock in 2024?

Exclude sales of stock purchased for immediate resale and revenue from landscaping activities.

Exclude:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What were the total gross sales of field-grown and container-grown nursery stock in 2024?
  Total Gross Sales
Total gross sales of field-grown stock  
Total gross sales of container-grown stock  
Total gross sales of stock grown by this nursery operation  

27. What were the total gross sales of nursery stock purchased for immediate resale in 2024?

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

Examples of stock that may be ready for immediate resale:
Plants, flowers, bulbs, trees, shrubs, etc.

Total gross sales

Did not purchase and re-sell any nursery stock.

28. This is a summary of your total gross sales of nursery stock in 2024.

This is a summary of your total gross sales of nursery stock in 2024.
  Sales
Total gross sales of stock grown by this nursery operation  
Total gross sales of stock purchased for resale  
Total sales of nursery stock  

29. Of the total gross sales [amount]$ reported, please provide the percentage breakdown of nursery stock sales across the following distribution channels.

Sales distribution of nursery stocks (total gross sales)

The sales of nursery stocks that the operation produced and purchased for immediate resales.

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

Of the total gross sales [amount]$ reported, please provide the percentage breakdown of nursery stock sales across the following distribution channels.
  Percentage of total sales
Sales to the public  
Sales to fruit growers  
Sales to landscape contractors  
Sales to garden centres  
Sales to mass merchandisers
e.g., chain stores
 
Sales to other growers  
Export sales made directly by your operation  
Sales to public agencies  
Sales through other channels
e.g., wholesalers, brokers, forestry firms
 
Total sales of nursery products  

Labour

30. How many seasonal and permanent workers, paid or unpaid, were employed by your operation in 2024?

Include all workers involved in growing, maintaining and harvesting on your operation, including the owners, family workers and foreign and seasonal workers. There must be at least one employee reported.

Exclude labour for retail and clerical help, and contract work, e.g., truck driver or landscaper.

How many seasonal and permanent workers, paid or unpaid, were employed by your operation in 2024?
  Greenhouse employees Nursery employees Total employees
Seasonal employees — employed for less than 8 months      
Full-time and part-time permanent employees — employed for 8 months or more      
Total number of employees      

31. Are any of the employees on your payroll?

  • Yes
  • No, only unpaid family labour is involved

Operating expenses

32. In 2024, what were your operating expenses?

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

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

In 2024, what were your operating expenses?
  Greenhouse expenses Nursery expenses Total expenses
Plant material      
Purchases of plant material for growing on      
Include flowers, cuttings, seedlings, seeds, bulbs, bedding plants, young trees or nursery stock etc.      
Percentage of a. purchased from within your province      
Purchases of plant material for immediate resale      
Total plant material purchases      
Payroll      
Payroll
Include:
  • payroll of employees, owners and family members
  • paid benefits, such as medical insurance, workers' compensation, employment insurance and pension plans.
Exclude wages and benefits paid to employees who provide retail or clerical help, and contract work, e.g., truck driving or landscaping.
     
Fuel expenses      
Natural gas      
Heating oil      
Other types of heating fuel
e.g., coal or wood chips
     
Total fuel expenses      
Other expenses      
Electricity expenses
Include lighting, airflow fans and heating.
     
Other crop expenses
Include fertilizer, pesticides, pollination, irrigation, containers, packaging, bioprograms, and growing mediums such as soil, peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, sand, styrofoam and sawdust.
     
Other operating expenses
e.g., Interest, land taxes, insurance, advertising, repairs to farm buildings, machinery, agricultural equipment and vehicles, contract work, and telephone and telecommunications services.
     
Total operating expenses      

Sod operations - area and sales

33. What was the total sod area grown in 2024.

Conversions

  • 1 arpent = 0.9986 acres
  • 1 acre = 1.0014 arpent
  • 1 acre = 0.41 hectares
  • 1 hectare = 2.47 acres

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

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

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

Area

Unit of measure

  • acres
  • hectares
  • arpents

34. Of the total sod area, how much was grown for sale in 2024?

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

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

Area

35. What were the total gross sales of sod grown on your operation in 2024?

Exclude revenue from laying sod or reselling sod purchased from others.

Total gross sales

36. What were the total gross sales of sod purchased for immediate resale?

Total gross sales

Did not purchase and re-sell any sod.

Summary - total sales of sod

37. This is a summary of the total sales of sod in 2024.

This is a summary of the total sales of sod in 2024.
  Sales
Total gross sales of sod grown on your operation  
Total gross sales of sod purchased for immediate resale  
Total sales of sod  

Sod operations - labour

38. How many seasonal and permanent workers, paid or unpaid, were employed by your operation in 2024?

Include all workers in this operation involved in growing, maintaining and harvesting sod on your operation, including the owners, family workers and foreign and seasonal workers. There must be at least one employee reported.

Exclude all labour for retail and clerical help; laying sod; and contract work, e.g., truck driver or landscaper.

How many seasonal and permanent workers, paid or unpaid, were employed by your operation in 2024?
  Number of employees
Seasonal employees — employed for less than 8 months  
Full-time and part-time permanent employees — employed for 8 months or more  
Total number of employees  

39. Are any of the employees reported in question 38 on your payroll?

  • Yes
  • No, only unpaid family labour is involved

Sod operations - expenses

40. Please provide your sod operating expenses in 2024.

Please provide your sod operating expenses in 2024.
  Sod operating expenses
Purchases of sod for immediate resale  
Percentage of a. purchased from within your province  
Payroll
Include:
  • payroll of employees, owners and family members
  • paid benefits, such as medical insurance, workers' compensation, employment insurance and pension plans.
Exclude wages and benefits paid to employees who provide retail or clerical help, and contract work, e.g., truck driving, landscaping or laying sod.
 
Other sod operating expenses
Include fertilizer, pesticides, land taxes, interest, insurance, advertising, repairs, fuel, electricity, irrigation expenses, and telephone and other telecommunication services.
 
Total sod operating expenses in 2024  

Agricultural production

41. Which of the following agricultural products are currently being produced on this operation?

  • Field crops
  • Hay
  • Summerfallow
  • Potatoes
  • Fruit, berries and nuts
  • Vegetables
  • Sod
  • Nursery products
  • Greenhouse products
  • Cattle and calves
  • Include beef or dairy.
  • Pigs
  • Sheep and lambs
  • Mink
  • Fox
  • Hens and chickens
  • Turkeys
  • Maple taps
  • Honey bees
  • Mushrooms
  • Other
    Specify agricultural products
  • Not producing agricultural products

Area in crops

42. What area of this operation is used for the following crops?

Report the areas only once, even if used for more than one crop type.

Exclude land used by others.

What area of this operation is used for the following crops?
  Area Unit of measure
Field crops    
Hay    
Summerfallow    
Potatoes    
Fruit, berries and nuts    
Vegetables    
Sod    
Nursery products    

Greenhouse area

43. What is the total area under glass, plastic or other protection used for growing plants?

Total area

Unit of measure

  • square feet
  • square metres

Livestock (excluding birds)

44. How many of the following animals are on this operation?

Include all animals on this operation, regardless of ownership, including those that are boarded, custom-fed or fed under contract.

Exclude animals owned but kept on a farm, ranch or feedlot operated by someone else.

How many of the following animals are on this operation?
  Number
Cattle and calves  
Pigs  
Sheep and lambs  
Mink  
Fox  

Birds

45. How many of the following birds are on this operation?

Report all poultry on this operation, regardless of ownership, including those grown under contract.

Include poultry for sale and poultry for personal use.

Exclude poultry owned but kept on an operation operated by someone else.

How many of the following birds are on this operation?
  Number
Hens and chickens  
Turkeys  

Maple taps

46. What was the total number of taps made on maple trees last spring?

Total number of taps

Honey bees

47. How many live colonies of honey bees (used for honey production or pollination) are owned by this operation?

Include bees owned, regardless of location.

Number of colonies

Mushrooms

48. What is the total mushroom growing area (standing footage) on this operation?

Include mushrooms grown using beds, trays, tunnels or logs.

Total area

Unit of measure

  • square feet
  • square metres

Changes or events

49. Indicate any changes or events that affected the reported values for this business or organization, compared with the last reporting period.

Select all that apply.

  • Strike or lock-out
  • Exchange rate impact
  • Price changes in goods or services sold
  • Contracting out
  • Organizational change
  • Price changes in labour or raw materials
  • Natural disaster
  • Recession
  • Change in product line
  • Sold business or business units
  • Expansion
  • New or lost contract
  • Plant closures
  • Acquisition of business or business units
  • Other
    Specify the other changes or events:
  • No changes or events

Contact person

50. Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information.
Is the provided given names and the provided family name the best person to contact?

  • Yes
  • No

Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?

  • First name:
  • Last name:
  • Title:
  • Email address:
  • Telephone number (including area code):
  • Extension number (if applicable):
    The maximum number of characters is 5.
  • Fax number (including area code):

Feedback

51. How long did it take to complete this questionnaire?

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

  • Hours:
  • Minutes:

52. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?

Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales (September 2024)

Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales (September 2024)
Table summary
This table displays the results of Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales (September 2024). The information is grouped by NAPCS-CANADA (appearing as row headers), and Month (appearing as column headers).
NAPCS-CANADA Month
202406 202407 202408 202409
Total commodities, retail trade commissions and miscellaneous services 0.67 0.57 0.64 0.64
Retail Services (except commissions) [561] 0.66 0.57 0.64 0.64
Food and beverages at retail [56111] 0.37 0.35 0.39 0.41
Cannabis products, at retail [56113] 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Clothing at retail [56121] 0.80 0.74 0.71 1.26
Jewellery and watches, luggage and briefcases, at retail [56123] 1.78 1.78 1.90 2.39
Footwear at retail [56124] 1.27 1.39 1.46 1.15
Home furniture, furnishings, housewares, appliances and electronics, at retail [56131] 0.86 0.90 0.71 0.84
Sporting and leisure products (except publications, audio and video recordings, and game software), at retail [56141] 2.28 2.55 2.49 2.71
Publications at retail [56142] 6.90 6.92 10.55 5.15
Audio and video recordings, and game software, at retail [56143] 4.37 5.93 3.40 3.19
Motor vehicles at retail [56151] 2.37 1.83 2.25 2.21
Recreational vehicles at retail [56152] 3.16 2.76 4.27 3.17
Motor vehicle parts, accessories and supplies, at retail [56153] 1.48 1.44 1.48 1.43
Automotive and household fuels, at retail [56161] 1.73 1.53 1.59 1.40
Home health products at retail [56171] 3.49 3.32 3.25 3.19
Infant care, personal and beauty products, at retail [56172] 2.63 2.44 2.44 2.34
Hardware, tools, renovation and lawn and garden products, at retail [56181] 2.02 2.00 1.75 1.75
Miscellaneous products at retail [56191] 3.26 2.61 2.85 2.53
Retail trade commissions [562] 1.86 1.78 1.80 1.88

Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, 2024 Progress Report

General

To request an alternate format (such as large font, braille, American Sign Language [ASL] and langue des signes québécois [LSQ]), please contact Statistics Canada's Accessibility Secretariat.

PDF Version - Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, 2024 Progress Report (PDF, 573.17 KB)

How to provide feedback

The Director of the Equity, Learning and Development Division, Workforce and Workplace Branch is designated to receive feedback on behalf of Statistics Canada (StatCan). We want to hear from you.

Do you want to send us feedback anonymously? You can send us mail, call, or use our Accessibility feedback form without providing any personal information.

Your feedback is important to us. Feedback received will be acknowledged in the same way it was received unless it was received anonymously.

For more information, please consult this Privacy notice.

Contents

Introduction

The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) aims to create a barrier-free Canada by 2040 by identifying barriers and preventing the creation of new ones. Statistics Canada published its first accessibility action plan, Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, 2023-2025, in December 2022. Even before the publication of the plan, our agency has been committed to accessibility and has made great progress in becoming more accessible.

Accessibility is everyone's responsibility. Over the course of the past year, this has become evident as teams and individuals across the agency have contributed to the progress. The 2023-2024 Progress Report on the Accessibility Action Plan for Statistics Canada is an important milestone.  This report highlights 121 accomplishments from September 2023 to September 2024 as part of our journey to becoming an accessibility confident organization. 

Accomplishments by the numbers (September 2023 to September 2024)

Please note all information on Performance Indicators can be found in Annex A.

  • 214 employees and managers within the Operations and Integration Division (OID) participated in the performance management objectives related to accessibility pilot project.
    • A learning code was created for all accessibility-related training, which is now in use by the entire department, to track training progress. OID's learning code metrics reported:
      • 772.5 hours spent by OID employees increasing their knowledge in accessibility.
      • 98% completion rate for the 3 courses from the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) for OID employees (INC 115, INC 121, and COR 115).
  • 10+ presentations to StatCan Persons with Disabilities Committee (PwDC), on multiple topics including progress on the Accessibility Plan, progress on Culture, Built Environment Accessibility, Duty to Accommodate and Official Feedback.
  • 831 employees took the Canada School of Public Service COR 120: Inclusive Hiring Practices for a Diverse Workforce training.
  • 595 employees took the Canada School of Public Service INC115: Addressing Disability Inclusion and Barriers to Accessibility training.
  • 452 employees took the Canada School of Public Service INC121: Becoming an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Ally and Agent for Change training.
  • 30+ Presentations to all-staffs, field debriefs, and divisions on accessible presentations and documents which increased awareness on the needs for accessible documentation and has led to significant continued engagement.
  • 1 Workshop and 1 presentation delivered to IT staff on Accessible Product Development.
  • 15 Accessibility Feedback instances received from September 2023 to September 2024.
  • 330 attendees to the Panel on Strength in Diversity hosted by Carleton University's Canadian Accessibility Network and StatCan in March 2024.
  • 213 average views per month of the centralized site for accessibility-related information and reports in English (85 average views per month in French).
  • 489 workplace accommodation requests were processed in fiscal year 2023-2024.
  • 33 average processing time (in days) for all Duty to Accommodate requests from beginning to end.
  • 8 accessibility evaluations initiated for Regional Offices.
  • 100% of priority repairs (repairs that pose immediate danger) on 8 temporary spaces (swing space floors) were completed.
  • 8 new Accessible Floors made available.
  • 5 new sign Language videos published, (in both American Sign Language (ASL) and in Langue de signes du Quebec (LSQ)).
  • 13,100 page views housing ASL/LSQ videos.
    • 5,254 plays of these videos with an average completion rate of 16%.
    • Video with the most views (3,050) was the Canadian Survey on Disability: 2017-2022.
    • Video with the most plays (2,030) is the First Nations people, Métis, and Inuit in Canada.
    • Video with the highest completion rate (37%) is the Portrait of Canadian families.
  • 3,767 page views housing the 2024 Census-Test accessibility resources (FAQ's, ASL/LSQ videos, audio, braille, Daisy, and E-text products)
  • 92 full digital service accessibility reviews conducted (63 External Services, 29 internal services).

Accomplishments by priority areas and the barriers they address

Culture

An accessible culture within StatCan is accessibility-confident and disability-inclusive. Focus and commitment are put on educating all employees and managers to empower and inform them on accessibility. Accessibility standards and best practices are emphasized, and employees feel confident and safe in speaking out on barriers to accessibility and potential solutions.

Accomplishments

Addressing the lack of awareness
  1. Promoted accessibility and inclusion for the Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM):
    • Launched the second Accessibility and Inclusion Leadership Challenge for all StatCan employees.
    • Promoted training on accessibility available to all public servants.
    • Presented tools and progress on accessibility to all StatCan field debriefs.
    • Hosted consultative and informational sessions for StatCan employees.
  2. Promoted the International Day of Persons with Disabilities through a message from the co-champions of Persons with Disabilities to all StatCan employees which included a release of data from the Canadian Survey on Disability (in the following formats audio, close captioning, ASL, LSQ).
  3. Co-organized a panel discussion titled "Empowering Journeys: Embracing Accessibility for Collective Success" with Carleton University's Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN).
  4. Co-organized two events (one in English, one in French) titled "Diversity within Disability" with Live Work Play.
  5. Launched a series of internal articles on StatCan employees with disabilities' lived experiences for the National Accessibility Awareness Week (NAAW). This initiative was met with such interest that it has continued throughout the summer.
  6. Presented tools for accessibility (on accessible documents, inclusive meetings, sign language services, etc.) and Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, 2023 Progress Report to:
    • The Persons with Disabilities Committee
    • StatCan's Community of Practice on Disability and Accessibility Research
    • StatCan's Agriculture Division
    • Various teams and employee networks across StatCan.
  7. Developed training and awareness sessions that were offered to StatCan employees on:
    • Accessibility Presentations and Documents
    • Neurodiversity in the Workplace
    • Government of Canada (GC) Workplace Accessibility Passport
    • Screen-reader usage in Workplace Communications
  8. Piloted performance management objectives related to accessibility within the Operations and Integration Division (OID) of StatCan.
  9. Updated our Accessibility Page on the Internal Communications Network (ICN) throughout the year.
  10. Provided continuous advice and guidance on accessibility to employees and management across StatCan and the public service.
  11. Continued to develop neurodiversity inclusion strategies with the Federal Infinity Network.
  12. Enterprise Statistics Division (ESD) and Centre for Social Data Processing (CSDP) selected accessibility champions responsible for identifying and promoting accessibility initiatives.
Addressing the lack of inclusion and feedback
  1. Promoted and managed StatCan's centralized anonymous feedback process which received feedback from StatCan employees, external StatCan users, and all Canadians.
    • Reviewed and updated the feedback procedure and increased the reporting requirements related to feedback processing.
    • Presented a detailed assessment at the quarterly Accessibility debriefs to the Assistant Chief Statistician (ACS).
  2. Updated the Employee Exit Survey to gather more information about inclusion and accessibility barriers.
  3. Various divisions adopted accessible font standards for their default emails which include an increase font size and a sans serif font.
Addressing the lack of internal collaboration
  1. Collaborated with accessibility pillar leads to update our Performance Measurement Framework to measure StatCan's progress on accessibility.
  2. Met quarterly with the Accessibility Leadership Taskforce (ALT) to ensure the progress of accessibility files (See Governance section for more details).
  3. Met with teams across StatCan to discuss accessibility strategies and best practices.
  4. Hosted interdepartmental network meetings to share best practices across the public service. These are informal discussions that are open to all accessibility practitioners and allies across the public service.
  5. Launched a working group on the Transportation Pillar component of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) to discuss new considerations.
  6. Partnered with the Office of Public Service Accessibility (OPSA) to present StatCan's best practices for measuring accessibility progress.
  7. Participated in government-wide meetings to stay up to date on accessibility matters including:
    • The GC Workplace Accessibility Passport
    • The Interdepartmental Accessibility Community of Practice (IACOP)
    • The Interdepartmental Accessible Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Working Group
    • The Agents of Change for Accessible Procurement
  8. Participated in the Carleton University's Canadian Accessibility Network to stay up to date on accessibility matters in institutions across Canada, including ableism, disability confidence, accommodations best practices, and more.
  9. Updated the Terms of Reference for StatCan's Accessibility Leadership Taskforce (ALT) to clarify each stakeholder's role.
  10. Met regularly with the Persons with Disabilities Champions to coordinate feedback responses, awareness events, and accessibility barriers assessments.
  11. Held regular Friday learning sessions to share knowledge and skills on accessibility best practices in various areas across StatCan.

Workplace accommodation

Workplace accommodation at StatCan means that accommodation is made on a confidential, case-by-case basis and employees are supplied with the functional tools and working conditions they need to maximize their potential.

Accomplishments

Addressing the lack of procedural knowledge
  1. Updated Internal Communication Network (ICN) resources to support employees and managers to use the Government of Canada (GC) Workplace Accessibility Passport:
    • Included links to the GCpedia Page for the Passport orientation guide, implementation guide, conversation starters for employees, conversation guide for managers, and frequently asked questions.
    • Included an awareness video to explain the need for the Passport.
Addressing the delays in getting accommodations
  1. Collaborated with key stakeholders to document the wait time that each step of the Duty to Accommodate (DTA) process takes to complete a case request.
  2. Collaborated with partners to find efficiencies to reduce the average wait time (currently an average of 33 days) and build a more proactive approach to responding to the requirements of our DTA clients.
  3. Developed in-house systems to allow Directors to track requests within their own division in addition to enabling the DTA team (for the DTA requests) and Labour Relations advisors (for exemption requests) to maintain a line of sight on active and closed requests.
  4. StatCan began implementation partner activities in the Better Accommodation Project led by the Deputy Minister Champion for Federal Employees with Disabilities.
    • Launched in September 2024, this one-year initiative will drive change in accommodations for federal employees with disabilities across the public service.
    • StatCan is committed to improving the accommodation process for persons with disabilities within our department and working with other partners to test solutions, share best practices, and learn together, while remaining committed to the "Nothing About Us Without Us" principle.   
    • Activities completed this year include:
      • Implemented a Better Accommodation Project Tiger Team (a team of specialists and experts assembled to work towards a specific goal) to support the project.
      • Identified promising solutions to test in 2025.
      • Prepared the strategy to share progress in 2025.

Priority areas under the Accessible Canada Act

Employment

Accessible employment at StatCan means that employees with disabilities and those experiencing barriers are supported throughout their employee journey. From recruitment and hiring to onboarding and career progression, all employees are supported to reach their full potential.

Accomplishments

Addressing the lack of knowledge or understanding of accessibility and inclusive hiring practices

Identified and started removing accessibility barriers in hiring practices including:

  1. Conducted an analysis of the drop off rate in recruitment processes for fields with lower Employment Equity group representation.
    • This process looked at the selection process (e.g., number of applicants, how they self-declare, the steps/stages at which they dropped off).
  2. Provided resources and training to HR advisors on how to develop an inclusive job advertisement.
  3. Improved the inclusivity of EC-07 job posters which resulted in a higher number of applications from candidates who self-declared as persons with disabilities and members of other Employment Equity groups.
  4. Included standardized paragraphs with accessibility information for EC-07, PE, and CR job posters with information about self-declaration and the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport.
  5. Collaborated with Carleton University on recruitment initiatives:
    • Receiving referrals of students available for employment.
    • Hiring four through their job fair for persons with disabilities.
Addressing stigma and attitudinal barriers
  1. Developed training on how to identify and mitigate bias and barriers in hiring practices and delivered to hiring managers across StatCan.
  2. Expanded area of selection of the agency's Sponsorship Program to include persons with disabilities.
  3. Launched a self-identification promotional campaign for new government employees joining from the Statistical Survey Operations (SSO).
Addressing inflexible and complex staffing tools and processes
  1. Improved the accessibility of the onboarding process.
  2. Assessed and modified staffing templates and communications products sent to candidates to ensure accessibility and plain language.
  3. Launched a working group meeting series for employment specialists (in fields like onboarding, sponsorship, employee development, health, and wellness) to collaborate and share knowledge on accessibility.
  4. Collaborated with the Public Service Commission's accommodation team to discuss accessibility barriers in language testing.
  5. Prioritized access to language training for employees who self-identified as persons with disabilities.
  6. Enabled neuropsychological evaluations to ensure the official languages training accommodations can properly be designed and implemented for employees with learning disabilities.

Built environment

An accessible built environment at StatCan is one where workspaces and the work environment are accessible for all. From the spaces in employees' homes to those owned or leased by StatCan, all environments used by employees will be accessible by design.

Accomplishments

Addressing the lack of consultation with persons with disabilities and those experiencing barriers
  1. Implemented the accessibility recommendations from the Engaging DisAbility Survey and Employment Systems Review and resolved all accessibility issues on every swing space floor.
  2. Met regularly with the Persons with Disabilities Committee (PwDC) to discuss facilities and get feedback on new initiatives (including the PSPC designs for the R.H. Coats building) to prevent accessibility barriers.
  3. Worked with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) on accessibility issues with Archibus (digital office reservation tool) following feedback received from the PwDC.
  4. Conducted consultation with Floor Safety Officers to meet the accessibility requirements for the physical procedures and the written emergency procedures. Presented the results to the PwDC.
  5. Met bi-weekly with PSPC to ensure that facilities renovations met the accessibility codes.
Addressing that accessibility is not a key requirement in construction
  1. Completed a full review of the R.H. Coats building for accessibility. Met regularly with the PwDC and issues raised by StatCan employees were brought to PSPC which included Archibus.
  2. Met monthly with BGIS in Ottawa to bring forward concerns and accessibility needs.
Contributing to the desired state of enhancing accessibility of the workplace and employee workspaces
  1. Hired a consultant to review StatCan floor plans in the National Capital Region and posted them on the Internal Communication Network (ICN) in an accessible format.
  2. Increased awareness of Archibus features on the ICN including where to access all floor plans.
  3. Updated the Fire Safety Procedures on the ICN to be accessible.
  4. Put in place a private accessible wellness room for milk extraction for nursing mothers.
  5. Repaired the wheelchair lift in the Health Sciences Branch and Facilities immediately after it was reported.
  6. Added additional lending libraries in National Capital region and Western region (equipped with items such as footrests, laptop and monitor risers, anti-fatigue mats, etc.).

Information and communication technologies

Accessible information and communication technologies at StatCan (often called ICT) means that Information Technologies (IT) products are usable and accessible for everyone. Whether it is software development, infrastructure support, platform operations, service request fulfillment, IT asset management, cloud environments or offsite support, these all need to be accessible.

Accomplishments

Addressing knowledge gaps within the IT team
  1. Assigned the Canada School of Public Service's Roadmap to Digital Accessibility as mandatory accessibility training for all IT employees.
  2. Participated in the Interdepartmental Accessible ICT Working Group.
  3. Hosted a 'byte size' learning session on accessible presentations with the Centre of Expertise on Accessibility and the Accessibility secretariat, with over 50 people in attendance.
  4. Analyzed the usage of GCDocs (StatCan's information management system) accessibility features like the Smart View interface.
  5. Centre of Expertise in Accessibility collaborated with teams across StatCan to provide advice on accessible usage of PowerBI.
Addressing accessibility considerations
  1. Started the creation process for an automated accessibility testing tool which aims to establish the baseline data on the accessibility level of new web applications and websites.
    • It will be able to track metrics on the number of web applications that have undergone automated accessibility testing.
  2. Created IT Accessibility Advisory Board for governance and guidance on Accessibility by Design development.
    • Established a collaborative relationship between the IT Field's Enterprise Architecture Review Board (EARB), Methodology Field, Dissemination Field, and Corporate Field.
    • Operationalized an IT Governance Board which includes all relevant parties within StatCan where the Centre of Expertise on Accessibility (CEA) and the Accessibility Secretariat will offer their expertise on a case-by-case basis.
    • Accessibility was added as one of the key principles of review.
Addressing unavailable tools
  1. Created an IT Self-Serve Portal and Feedback Mechanism on BMC Helix (StatCan's new service request management portal).

Communications, other than information and communication technologies

Accessible communication at StatCan means information that is provided, sent, or received is clear, direct, and easy to understand and meets the needs of employees and Canadians.

Accomplishments

Addressing gaps in accessible communications
  1. Updated the Official Statistics Canada PowerPoint template on the ICN to meet accessibility requirements after consultations with the Accessibility Champion.
  2. Ensured that meetings were barrier free for employees in the Centre for Income and Socioeconomic Wellbeing Statistics by having sign language interpretation at many of their meetings.
  3. Ensured the Statistical Information Service (SIS) national webinars to external participants were accessible which included closed captioning and detailed instructions.
  4. The Advance Release Submission Accessible form has been developed in English and in French. It was shared on-demand, and its availability was announced through internal communications to all employees.
Addressing the lack of emphasis on the accessible design of communications
  1. Two storytelling training sessions delivered by the Official Release team touched on accessibility best practices for official releases.
  2. Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination (OPMIC) approved the use of the accessible GC Forms platform (fully compliant with WCAG 2.1 standards and fully bilingual) for the Engagement and Data Services Division (EDSD). Both GC Forms and accessible written submission options were used for post questionnaire design focus group sessions.
  3. Promoted plain language training for communications employees in English and in French. Implemented plain language requirements and accessibility formatting in every step of the material development strategy.
    • This strategy focused on the development of concise messaging in simplified plain language, streamlining messaging across materials and products for consistency, and centralizing content for easy access.
    • This strategy created efficiencies in the material development, reduced burden on reviewers and provided clear, concise, consistent, and useful information to users.
  4. Organized a screen reader demonstration run by a user with lived experience to increase awareness amongst communications employees.
  5. Developed alternate formats for the census test questions which included Braille, audio, sign language video, and larger print.
  6. Census Communications met with Video Relay Service (VRS) Canada to include VRS services in all census test messaging products.
  7. Created a new accessibility event form within the Finance Branch to build into the Enterprise Power BI (A data visualization and business intelligence tool) Portal.

Procurement of goods services and facilities

The accessible procurement of goods, services, and facilities at StatCan means to centralize purchases, including computer software and hardware and a variety of external professional services, while prioritizing accessibility.

Accomplishments

Addressing GC centralized programs and policies
  1. Stayed up to date with standards and best practices for accessible procurement using the Accessible Procurement Centre of Expertise website.
  2. Implemented new accessible procurement directives at the StatCan Library.
  3. Ensured that accessibility criteria were added to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the open-sourced online training application. Ensured that the winning bidder met all accessibility requirements.
  4. IT, Dissemination, and Procurement collaborated on adding accessibility considerations to requests for proposals and statements of work.
Addressing the lack of consultation
  1. Consulted with the Duty to Accommodate (DTA) team to improve and streamline the process of procuring accessible equipment.
  2. Consulted with the PSPC Centre of Expertise to include an accessibility evaluation criterion for the acquisition of a new training platform to ensure proper accessibility compliance from the supplier.
  3. Shared the R and Python training project with Persons with Disabilities Committee to ensure it will meet their accessibility and analytical needs.
  4. Centre of Expertise in Accessibility and the Equity, Learning and Development Division collaborated on accessible procurement solutions for a future Learning Management System.
Addressing insufficient knowledge
  1. StatCan's procurement team attended all training offered by the Accessible Procurement team at PSPC.
  2. Nominated an Accessibility Champion within the procurement team who will be the lead for special projects and be a key resource for the procurement file.
  3. Joined the Accessible Procurement Community of Practice to share knowledge and acquire best practices across the Government of Canada.

Design and delivery of programs and services

The accessible design and delivery of programs and services at StatCan means that surveys, programs, and services are inclusive and accessible by design to meet the needs of Canadians and employees.

Accomplishments

Addressing the reactive approach
  1. Produced Braille content for the 2024 Census Test; the content was vetted by lived experience experts from the Centre for Expertise in Accessibility (CEA).
  2. Offered Video Relay Services (VRS) for the Census test and the Labour Force Survey (LFS), as well as in-person sign language interpretation for the LFS.
  3. Added alt-text generation to the Census workflow in collaboration with the data science division and the Artificial Intelligence science group.
  4. Assessed the accessibility issues, in question types that have historically been contentious (like hidden related fields, auto-populating responses if navigating with keyboard or screen readers), in collaboration with the Census team and Health Canada for the Canadian Community Health Survey and Harmonized Content.
  5. Collaborated with Operations and Integration Division (OID) and CEA to share and update accessibility best practices.
  6. Introduced a briefing process for digital platforms and products that are not fully accessible.
  7. Worked with internal clients to support multiple data releases with sign language videos.
  8. Updated the new Consumer Price Index Calculator to ensure it met accessibility requirements and included invisible text for screen reader users.
  9. Health Statistics Branch ensured that the 2024 Health Data User Conference was accessible to create an inclusive environment where everyone can fully engage with all the activities.
  10. IT, Dissemination, and Procurement collaborated on adding accessibility considerations to requests for proposals and statements of work.
  11. Collaborated within internal divisions to ensure that questionnaires are evaluated early in the development process to attain 100% accessibility in all new survey questionnaires.
Addressing the inaccessible tools
  1. Collaborated with procurement specialists on including additional accessibility details in the procurement documentation. Added accessibility considerations to Requests for Proposals (RFP) and Statements of Work (SOW).
  2. Hired three new accessibility reviewers to maintain and increase capacity to review tools.
  3. Field 3 and Field 7 collaborated on numerous (30+) presentations to all-staffs, field debriefs, and divisions on accessible presentations and documents which increased awareness on available accessible documentation and has led to significant continued engagement.
Addressing the lack of a centralized approach addressing accessibility needs
  1. Presented the services offered by the CEA to managers and employees across StatCan on accessible documentation, accessible presentation materials, and accessible IT product development.
  2. Gave demonstrations of screen readers in use to subject matter expertise areas.
  3. Collaborated with the Harmonized Content team to make questions used across multiple surveys more accessible.
  4. The community of practice on Disability and Accessibility Research met regularly throughout the year to share research insights and spread expert-level knowledge, prevented duplication of effort, and created opportunities for closer collaboration.  This group brought together a cross-functional group of subject matter experts, analysts, HR advisors and researchers within StatCan, who have the responsibility, experience, and interest in collecting, acquiring, and analyzing data, and sharing insights on the topic of disability and accessibility.
  5. To ensure that meetings are barrier free for employees the Centre for Income and Socioeconomic Well-being Statistics had sign language interpretation at many of their meetings.
  6. Developed a process for recurring business surveys to apply accessibility findings to multiple surveys while slowly reviewing all products over a longer time. StatCan has over 150 business surveys and limited accessibility testing capacity.

New Barrier: Addressing insufficient knowledge

StatCan released the following analysis of results from the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) this year to support Canadians in increasing their knowledge in accessibility:

  1. A demographic, employment and income profile of persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over in Canada, 2022
  2. Changes in workplace accommodations among employed Canadians with disabilities, 2017 to 2022
  3. A profile of 2SLGBTQ+ persons with disabilities, 2022
  4. Accessibility In Canada: Results from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability
  5. Vacations for persons with disabilities could still include everyday barriers to accessibility

Other releases on disability and accessibility included:

  1. Household food insecurity among persons with disabilities in Canada: Findings from the 2021 Canadian Income Survey
  2. Survey Series on Accessibility
  3. Print material accessibility in Canada, 2023

Additionally, the following releases included with Sign Language videos:

  1. Introduction to the Survey Series on Accessibility, American Sign Language
  2. Canadian Survey on Disability: From 2017 to 2022 in American Sign Language
  3. Results from the Survey on Accessible Print Material in American Sign Language
  4. Results from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability, American Sign Language

Transportation

No transportation barriers in StatCan policies, practices, programs, and services, were identified at the time of publication for the 2023-2025 Accessibility Action Plan, Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, 2023-2025. StatCan regularly monitors this area through our feedback mechanism, to ensure prevention and removal of barriers.

In 2023-2024, upon receipt of the recommendations from the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) audit exercise, StatCan began to develop a Transportation Pillar. Part of this work has involved developing an interdepartmental Working Group to understand what transportation considerations can be reported on in the future. The Accessibility Secretariat will add a section in the 2026-2029 Accessibility action plan to address emerging barriers.

  1. Created an accessible version of the international travel status security form in consultation with the Accessibility Secretariat.

Consultation

This section covers consultations conducted from September 2023 to September 2024. For more information about consultations conducted to inform the development of the 2023-2025 Accessibility Action Plan, please read the Consultation section in Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, 2023-2025.

The consultation of employees continues to be a critical element in the implementation of Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility. Consultations were led by various areas to advance in the actions accomplished above.

Persons with Disability Committee

The Persons with Disability Committee (PwDC) is an active employee committee and a key partner in the implementation of the StatCan action plan. This committee's creation predates 1989. It has a long history of identifying priorities, providing constructive advice, and suggesting action-oriented solutions to StatCan management.

The Accessibility Secretariat was a regular participant in committee meetings, providing general updates and participating in Questions and Answer periods on subjects such as:

  • StatCan's accessibility progress and accomplishments both internally and externally.
  • Feedback to Treasury Board Secretariat's Office of Public Service Accessibility (OPSA) on the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport.
  • Volunteer opportunities to support for a career fair.
  • Training on removing biases towards persons with disabilities (unconscious biases in the workplace).
  • Software suggestions to check for tone in written documents to support neurodivergent employees.
  • Progress on high-level goals for the accessibility action plan.
  • Requests to review the Fire and Safety protocols.
  • Promotion of the feedback process.
  • Upcoming events such as Disability Employee Awareness Month (DEAM), International Day of Persons with Disability (IDPD) and National AccessAbility Week (NAAW).

The Facilities and Future of Work Project continued to regularly present and receive feedback on construction updates, construction sites, and building closures. The team also informed the committee about new return to work policies and heard the concerns of persons with disabilities.

This year there was an increase of groups and individuals (including the accessibility champions) offering updates related to accessibility at the PwDC which included:

  • A presentation on the new onboarding process
  • Expressed concerns about the accessibility of new software (such as R/Python, BMC helix, etc.)
  • Highlights from the Assistive Technology Conference hosted by the California State University
  • Updates on added content related to the most recent release of the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD)

Employee Wellness Survey (EWS)

The 2023 Employee Wellness Survey (EWS) was collected from November 6, 2023, to January 12, 2024. All StatCan employees were invited to participate. The response rate was 50.8%.

Our EWS results revealed that autonomy is the most important driver of the four psychological health profiles at StatCan. Person-job fit, role clarity, and work–life interference also emerged as major influences on psychological health.

In evaluating the results there was a significant difference between persons without and persons with a disability on the psychological health profiles. Compared to persons without a disability, persons with a disability had a slightly lower proportion of "Thriving"Footnote 1 and a markedly higher proportion of "Struggling"Footnote 2.

The Accessibility Secretariat further analyzed the data by disaggregating it into 3 groups: "persons without a disability", "persons with a physical disability" (those that select at least one type a disability in the list) and "other disabilities" (like mental health and neurodiversity). This review allowed us to conclude that employees who self-identify as having "other disabilities" struggle more, in comparison to employees who self-identify with another disability category. In addition, the struggle is significantly higher than for persons without a disability.

Bargaining agents feedback

The Accessibility Secretariat consulted with bargaining agents representing StatCan employees to gather information about the accessibility barriers that employees have/are experiencing and have communicated with their bargaining agents about this past year.

  • Accessibility barriers noted by union representatives included:
    • Limited access to full time telework for employee equity deserving groups.
    • Ongoing barriers for members who are requesting medical and family obligation accommodations for full time telework arrangements.
    • Employment barriers for career advancement disproportionately impact groups that remain underrepresented in senior level EC and EX positions.
  • Additional feedback from bargaining agents' representatives:
    • The Accessibility Secretariat was commended for: developing and implementing good training and awareness presentations; organizing, and coordinating many events and panel discussions; presenting various tools, good practices, and standards for accessibility; and measuring their progress with good indicators as outlined in the draft 2023-2024 Statistics Canada Progress Report.
    • Expressed interest in obtaining additional information on neurodiversity including training and awareness presentations, as well as on performance management objectives related to accessibility as noted in the draft progress report.

Information sessions

In the Fall of 2023, the Accessibility Secretariat held several English and French information sessions open to all employees and included a consultative component. To ensure continued engagement and increase the accessibility confidence of the agency, these sessions covered the framework of Consultation section in Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, 2023-2025 (StatCan Accessibility Plan), accomplishments to date, how-to submit feedback and tools that can used to make everyday work more accessible. Participants were provided with an opportunity to ask questions and share their comments.

Feedback received

At StatCan, a feedback page is made available for individuals internal and external to StatCan. It was developed and published alongside the action plan per the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) requirements. This page includes all relevant information to submit feedback, including the ACA definition for "barriers." Throughout the year, the feedback process was promoted in presentations and communications across StatCan. Additionally, pillar leads were provided with their roles, responsibilities and clear expectations related to the feedback process.

In this section, a summary of the feedback received between September 2023 to September 2024 is provided. The following is an overview of the feedback in numbers:

  • 15 official feedback was received at StatCan.
  • 5 were from the anonymous feedback form.
  • 6 were submitted to the secretariat via email.
    • 3 of those emails were based on in-person meetings which were then turned into feedback for the record.
  • 2 came from Canadians external to StatCan.

Feedback themes

Accessibility concerns and dangers around the external construction sites

Most of the feedback received were about the barriers faced by employees when accessing their workplace during construction. The Ottawa offices at Tunney's Pasture have been under renovation for the past year and insufficient or inappropriate access signalling were prepared to meet the needs of employees. As a result, the built environment team conducted an audit of the facilities to assess accessibility barriers. During this audit, they were accompanied by an Accessibility Secretariat representative and the Persons with Disabilities Champion. A list of barriers was identified, a plan was presented and put in place to address them. These barriers included:

  • Pathways blocked by construction gates or signage.
  • Insufficient safety indicators for partially blocked pathways.
  • Improperly closed and indicated accessible ramps.
  • Insufficient information and signage for accessible detours around construction areas.

Accessibility concerns around the internal renovation of the Tunney's Pasture offices

The Accessibility Secretariat has received a high volume of informal feedback on accessibility concerns regarding Archibus, the digital office reservation tool. The ongoing renovations and ever-changing office environment made the office reservation tool difficult to use.

The "hotel" style booking of offices has made it more difficult for some employees to select offices that fulfill their accessibility needs. The Duty to Accommodate (DTA) team has seen an increase of requests for accommodations in the office. They have been working with the built environment team to minimize the impact of the numerous moves during the renovation.

Accessible communication

Following the release of our first annual progress report, the Accessibility Secretariat received multiple requests for alternative formats. As the alternative format document was proactively prepared, the team quickly fulfilled those requests.

The communications team, with the help of the Accessibility Secretariat, have made great progress in raising awareness on how to make documents accessible. Which has translated into the increased identification of inaccessible documents and strengthening our commitment toward inclusion.

The Accessibility Secretariat has also received recurring feedback on the usage of PDF documents which are not accessible. The communications team is working with all relevant document owners to transform PDFs into accessible word documents. These documents can come from many different parties, so work has started to promote the accessible alternatives that StatCan has to offer.

Lastly, StatCan developed and ran an awareness initiative throughout the year to ensure that all PowerPoint presentations use an accessible format and the PowerPoint Live function.

Implementing feedback

Over the 2023 to 2024 reporting period, the Accessibility Secretariat received 15 official feedback. It is expected the feedback will increase over time. The team will continue to promote the feedback process to de-stigmatize accessibility and to ensure all employees, clients, and stakeholders are aware that their input is valued.

Concerted efforts were made to update the internal feedback processes to meet the requirements with efficiency. The focus was on refining the recording and follow-up processes for feedback to ensure timely responses. As the accessibility initiative matures, this process will continue to be refined.

The Accessibility Secretariat will continue to collaborate with partners across StatCan to make sure that the feedback process is used to identify, eliminate, and prevent accessibility barriers. The team will use the lessons learned to improve accessibility for all employees.

Lessons learned and a look ahead to year 3

The second year of the implementation of the StatCan Accessibility Action Plan continued to offer opportunities to learn and grow. As the agency moves into the next year and the preparation of the new Accessibility plan begins, StatCan will continue to progress on its Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, 2023 Progress Report commitments to remove and prevent barriers. The agency now has one more year of experience, insight and lessons learned. While there is pride in the accomplishments listed earlier in this report, the agency has acquired valuable lessons in the areas of funding, governance, measurement, and reporting. The team will use the lessons learned in the consultation on and creation of the 2026-2029 Accessibility Action Plan.

Funding

For a relatively new program like accessibility, extra efforts were required to ensure stakeholders, and the investment board understood the importance of this work. These efforts set the  groundwork, led to StatCan prioritizing accessibility and allocating investment funding to this agency wide file.  

In the 2023-2024 Year, StatCan's Accessibility Program funded several accessibility initiatives, including:

  • Expanded the Centre of Expertise on Accessibility (CEA), who test our products for accessibility; it is to be noted that StatCan has the Government of Canada's largest web presence.
  • Increased the number of staff on the Accessibility Secretariat.
  • Expanded the Duty to Accommodate Team who have dealt with triple the number of requests compared to pre-pandemic times due to changes to the return to office policies.
  • Allocated one full-time communication advisor to work with the Accessibility Secretariat and to promote accessibility within StatCan.
  • Made funding available for specific accessible hardware and software purchases.
  • Funded external and internal consultations for the beginning of 2025 in preparation for the next accessibility plan.

Governance

StatCan continued to leverage the Accessibility Leadership Taskforce (ALT), the governing body responsible for overseeing the implementation and operational accessibility requirements. Its members include:

  • Chaired by the Director of Equity, Learning and Development Division;
  • Director-level area leads representing the eight ACA and StatCan priority areas;
  • The Persons with Disabilities Champion.

Collaboration and commitment from across StatCan have been key drivers to attaining accessibility goals.

Measurement

StatCan was one of the first organizations to publish measurement indicators for accessibility. As the accessibility landscape continues to evolve across the public service and accessibility progress continues to be implemented, the Accessibility Secretariat adopts a continuous improvement approach to the accessibility action plan and indicators to ensure their feasibility and effectiveness. This year concerted efforts have been made to update the measurement framework. It is an excellent start and continues to evolve. Baseline data has been established and data has started to be tracked. This measurement framework enables the agency to concretely measure the accessibility progress and remain accountable.

Ownership

As the agency moves towards full accessibility, there are challenges when it comes to the ownership of inaccessible products, documents, and policies. Some inaccessible items are spread across the entirety of the public service and remain difficult to transform into accessible items.

StatCan is working with the appropriate Government of Canada document owners to modify them and stop the use of inaccessible PDFs.

Until accessible documents can be provided to all, StatCan is making sure that accessible workarounds and employee support is offered for the remaining required inaccessible items.

Reporting

In addition to the annual progress report, to ensure accessibility accountability, monthly financial updates and quarterly accomplishment reports are produces. The monthly updates communicate progress, challenges, and accomplishments to the investment board and senior management. The quarterly reports provide updates to the Assistant Chief Statistician responsible for accessibility and the Accessibility Leadership Taskforce. These updates also enhance collaboration between priority areas.

Lastly, this annual progress report compiles the quarterly accomplishment reports complimented by additional actions carried out organically across StatCan throughout the reporting period. This document truly highlights how StatCan answers the call to identify, remove, and eliminate accessibility barriers. These structures help StatCan honour its commitment towards inclusivity and accessibility by design and by default.

Annex A: Performance indicator framework

StatCan has updated the list of indicators that it is using to measure progress. This includes using internal data, data from the Canada School of the Public Service (CSPS), and the results from the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES). Part of the evaluation includes using human resources data counting those that do and do not self-ID as a person with disability to monitor differences between the two groups.

While StatCan is trying its best to capture data from past years, some indicator results listed below will serve as a baseline for future years. It is important to note that some indicators (or parts of existing indicators) are still in the process of being developed and will not be reported until data can be produced.

Culture

  • Number of employees that have completed the training: Addressing Disability Inclusion and Barriers to Accessibility (INC115) (Source: CSPS)
    • 595 employees have completed the training: Addressing Disability Inclusion and Barriers to Accessibility (INC115)
  • Number of employees in supervising position that have completed the training: Inclusive Hiring Practices for a Diverse Workforce (COR120) (Source: CSPS)
    • 831 employees in supervising position have completed the training: Inclusive Hiring Practices for a Diverse Workforce (COR120)
  • Number of employees that have completed the training: Becoming an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Ally and Agent for Change (INC121) (Source: CSPS)
    • 452 employees have completed the training: Becoming an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Ally and Agent for Change (INC121)
  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers when describing the psychological health of their workplace (Source: Public Service Employee Survey – PSES)
    • 54% of persons with disabilities (PwD) in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that their "workplace [is] psychologically healthy" compared to 62% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 68% of Persons without Disabilities (PwoD) agreed with this statement in 2022-2023 and 76% in 2020-2021.
  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers with the statement: "The people I work with value my ideas and opinions." (Source: PSES)
    • 84% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that "The people I work with value my ideas and opinions" compared to 83% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 89% of PwoD agreed with this statement in 2022-2023 and 2020-2021.
  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the least positive or most negative answers related to "accessibility or accommodation issues which had adversely affected their career progress in the federal public service" (Source: PSES)
    • 18 % of PwD in 2022-2023 to a large extend/to a very large extend believed that "accessibility or accommodation issues had adversely affected their career progress in the federal public service" compared to 14% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 3% of PwoD agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 2% in 2020-2021.
  • Percentage of people who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers to the statement: "Overall, my department or agency treats me with respect." (Source: PSES)
    • 68% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that "my department or agency treats me with respect" compared to 79% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 81% of PwoD who agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 91% in 2020-2021.

Workplace accommodation

  • Percentage of employees that identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers to the statement: "I would feel comfortable requesting workplace accommodation measures from my immediate supervisor." (Source: PSES)
    • 79% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that they "would feel comfortable requesting workplace accommodation measures from my immediate supervisor" compared to 75% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 87% of PwoD agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 87% in 2020-2021.
  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers to the statement: "I am satisfied with the workplace accommodation measures that were implemented." (Source: PSES)
    • 73% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that they were "satisfied with the workplace accommodation measures that were implemented" compared to 84% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 92% of PWOD agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 88% in 2020-2021.
  • Average number days for an employee to receive an accommodation. (Source: Duty to Accommodate Team tracking data)
    • 33 days on average to receive an accommodation in 2023-2024. In comparison, it took 54 days on average to receive an accommodation in 2020-2021, and 43 days on average in 2022-2023. That said, tracking methodology has changed so this is not completely comparable.

Employment

  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers to the statement: "I get the training I need to do my job." (Source: PSES)
    • 58% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that they "get the training I need to do my job" compared to 66% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 67% of PwoD who agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 72% in 2020-2021.
  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers to the statement: "Overall, I feel valued at work." (Source: PSES)
    • 68% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that they "feel valued at work" compared to 66% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 76% of PwoD agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 79% in 2020-2021.
  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers to the statement: "In my work unit, every individual is accepted as an equal member of the team." (Source: PSES)
    • 84% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that "In my work unit, every individual is accepted as an equal member of the team" compared to 79% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 88% of PwoD agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 86% in 2020-2021.
  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers to the statement: "I believe I have opportunities for promotion within my department or agency, given my education, skills and experience." (Source: PSES)
    • 54% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that they "believe they have opportunities for promotion within my department or agency, given my education, skills and experience" compared to 47% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 62% of PwoD agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 64% in 2020-2021.

Built environment

  • Percentage of employees who identify as having a disability who gave the most positive or least negative answers to the statement: "My physical environment (e.g., office, workspace) is suitable for my job requirements." (Source: PSES)
    • 52% of PwD in 2022-2023 agreed/somewhat agreed that "My physical environment (e.g., office, workspace) is suitable for my job requirements" compared to 74% in 2020-2021. In comparison, 61% of PwoD agreed with this statement in 2022-2023, 77% in 2020-2021.

Information and communication technologies

Data is currently unavailable for the following indicators:

Communication, other than information and communication technologies

  • Number of promotional pieces done on the use of accessible communication tools to StatCan employees. (Source: Communications administrative data)
    • 9 promotional pieces completed on the use of accessible communication tools to StatCan employees in 2023-2024.
  • Number of demonstrations and trainings on accessibility standards and best practices for all employees. (Source: Communications administrative data)
    • 1 awareness session or demonstration completed on plain language training in 2023-2024.

Procurement of goods, services, and facilities

  • Percentage of procurement employees who have completed mandatory accessibility purchase training. (Source: Procurement administrative data)
    • 100% of procurement employees have completed mandatory accessibility purchase training.
  • Percentage of the sample of contracts managed and evaluated by StatCan that meet and can be validated against accessibility requirements and standards. (Source: Procurement administrative data)
    • 100% of the randomly selected contracts managed and evaluated by StatCan met and could be validated against accessibility requirements and standards.

Design and delivery of programs and services

  • Number of accessibility reviews conducted on public facing programs and services (Source: Dissemination monthly tracking):
    • 2020-2021: 98
    • 2021-2022: 146
    • 2022-2023: 136
    • 2023-2024: 63
  • Number of accessibility reviews conducted on internal and departmental facing programs and services (Source: Dissemination monthly tracking):
    • 2021-2022: 21
    • 2022-2023: 23
    • 2023-2024: 29
  • Number of page views of ASL/LSQ videos published in the fiscal year (Source: StatCan Adobe Analytics):
    • 2021-2022: 6,822
    • 2022-2023: 15,134
    • 2023-2024: 13,100
  • Number of videos played to completion for ASL/LSQ videos published in the fiscal year (Source: StatCan Adobe Analytics):
    • 2021-2022: 4,037
    • 2022-2023: 6,599
    • 2023-2024: 5,254

Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC) Virtual Meeting – December 13, 2022

Attendence

CSAC Members Attendance

Dr. Howard Ramos (Chairperson), Anil Arora, David Chaundy, Annette Hester, Jan Kestle, Céline Le Bourdais

Statistics Canada

Pierre Desrochers, Stéphane Dufour, Tony Labillois, André Loranger, Kathleen Mitchell, Eric Rancourt, Mélanie Scott

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Agenda for December 13, 2022
Time Agenda Lead Participant(s)
13:00 – 13:05 Chairperson Introductory Remarks

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

13:05 – 13:35 Chief Statistician of Canada Updates

Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada

13:35 – 14:05 Discussion with Assistant Chief Statisticians on CSAC report and upcoming year's work

Pierre Desrochers
Director/Chief Privacy Officer, Office of the Privacy Management and Information Coordination

Assistant Chief Statisticians

All members

14:05 – 14:55

Discussion to set agenda for the year and themes to explore

In camera

All members
14:55 – 15:00 Chairperson Closing Remarks

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

Meeting Minutes

1. Chairperson Opening Remarks

Dr. Ramos kicked off the meeting by welcoming participants and provided an overview of the agenda and meeting objectives. He then talked about the release of the CSAC 2022 annual report.

2. Chief Statistician of Canada Updates

Mr. Arora congratulated Dr. Ramos on his reappointment as the CSAC Chairperson and thanked him for his commitment over the past three years as chairperson. He also reiterated his and Statistics Canada’s senior management’s appreciation for the work of the Council. He thanked the Council for the thoughtful, meaningful and impactful 2022 report, which will continue to shape the work of this agency. Mr. Arora informed members that the new CSAC members appointment process is led by Innovation, Science And Economic Development Canada. He also provided updates on the communications approach for the formal launch of the CSAC 2022 report, key Statistics Canada senior management changes and 2021 Census of Population releases and upcoming post-censal surveys.

Dr. Ramos congratulated Statistics Canada on its Census releases, which are reaching a large range of audiences.

3. Discussion with Assistant Chief Statisticians on CSAC report and upcoming year’s work

Mr. Desrochers, Director of the Office of the Privacy Management and Information Coordination and Chief Privacy Officer of Statistics Canada, provided a high-level update on the legislative agenda and process of relevance to the national statistical system.

Assistant Chief Statisticians (ACS) congratulated Dr. Ramos for his reappointment and provided key themes that could be addressed by the Council over the coming year for the Council’s consideration.

Council members and ACS discussed prioritization of themes and considerations for the work of the Council.

4. Discussion to set agenda for the year and themes to explore

CSAC members held an in-camera discussion on the themes of the 2023 report.

5. Chairperson Closing Remarks

Dr. Ramos briefly summarised key points discussed and next steps.

Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC) In-Person Meeting – May 18-19, 2023

Attendance

CSAC Members Attendance

Dr. Howard Ramos (Chairperson), Anil Arora, David Chaundy, Benoit Dostie, Annette Hester, Jan Kestle, Céline Le Bourdais

Statistics Canada

Lynn Barr-Telford, Josée Bégin, Stéphane Dufour, André Loranger, Kathleen Mitchell, Eric Rancourt, Mélanie Scott

Meeting Agenda – Day 1

Time Agenda Presenter(s)
9:15 – 9:45 Members meet-and-greet All members
9:45 – 9:50 Chairperson introductory remarks Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC
9:50 – 10:20 Chief Statistician updates Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada
10:30 – 11:15 Discussion on open data Guest speaker:
Tom Emery
Associate Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Deputy Director of ODISSEI (Netherlands)
11:30 – 12:15 Discussion on data stewardship Guest speaker:
Pádraig Dalton
Director General of the Central Statistics Office in Ireland and Chair of the Bureau of the Conference of European Statisticians (CES)
12:15 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 13:45 Discussion on social acceptability of data sharing

Guest speakers:
Sue Hutchison
President of Equifax Canada

Sandy Kyriakatos
Chief Data Officer, Equifax Canada

13:45 – 14:00 Photo opportunity with council members All members
14:10 – 15:00 Discussion about the report
In camera
All members
15:10 – 15:40 Discussion about the report (continued)
In camera
All members
15:40 – 15:50 Chairperson closing remarks for the day Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

Meeting Minutes

1. Chairperson Introductory Remarks

Dr. Ramos kicked off the meeting by welcoming participants and highlighting intended outcomes for the two-days CSAC in-person meeting.

2. Chief Statistician Updates

Mr. Arora gave an update on Statistics Canada's shifting operating context, noting its leadership role on various influential tables within the international statistical system and provided a summary on his international engagements during the Spring and early Summer of 2022. The Chief Statistician (CS) also provided a progress update on the Agency's hybrid workplace strategy and the way forward.

3. Discussion on Open Data

Guest Speaker:

  • Tom Emery, Associate Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Deputy Director of ODISSEI (Netherlands)

Mr. Emery shared information about ODISSEI, a federated data infrastructure for the social and economic sciences in the Netherlands, representing 45 member organizations. The unique data consortium enables access to infrastructure and data for researchers, linking survey data to administrative data. He shared details on the consortium, including on its organizational model, governance, data stewardship and funding. He then took questions from meeting participants.

4. Discussion on Data Stewardship

Guest Speaker:

  • Pádraig Dalton, Director General of the Central Statistics Office in Ireland and Chair of the Bureau of the Conference of European Statisticians (CES)

Mr. Dalton spoke to Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) journey to a data stewardship role, noting that it took them a long time to collectively increase the readiness of Ireland's data ecosystem. He spoke to key drivers, including quality data and insights, and data services. He also spoke to their efforts to engage key stakeholders over the years, including the custodians of administrative data, citizens and policy makers. The extent to which the CSO can be a data steward is dependent on trust. Mr. Dalton also touched on the importance of data linkages and integration and of innovation, partnerships and collaborations, as well as co-ordination on standards and classifications. He recognized Statistics Canada as a leading agency worldwide, including in the areas of modernization of official statistics, and of data stewardship. Guests and meeting participants concluded this segment with questions and answers.

5. Discussion on Social Acceptability of Data Sharing

Guest Speakers:

  • Sue Hutchison, President of Equifax Canada
  • Sandy Kyriakatos, Chief Data Officer, Equifax Canada

Ms. Hutchinson gave an overview of Equifax Canada and its business areas including fraud, consumer and commercial solutions. Ms. Hutchinson and Ms. Kyriakatos spoke to the need for partnerships for their organization to source, enrich, enhance and integrate data for better insights. They shared insights and lessons learned on gaining trust for data sharing, including the need to drive value and positive outcomes, for those who share their data and the importance of informed consent and data privacy and security. The presentation was followed by a discussion between guests and meeting participants focused on social acceptability of data sharing.

6. Discussion on the CSAC report

CSAC members held an in-camera discussion on their 2023 report.

7. Chairperson Closing Remarks

Dr. Ramos facilitated a roundtable discussion and offered closing remarks for the day.

Meeting Agenda – Day 2

Time Agenda Lead Participant(s)
9:00 – 9:10 Chairperson introductory remarks Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC
9:10 – 10:10 Discussion on Parliamentary committees and business
Presentation by Statistics Canada
Pierre Desrochers
Director, Statistics Canada  
10:20 – 11:00 Discussion on Net Zero
Presentation by Statistics Canada

Heidi Ertl
Director, Centre for Energy and Transportation Statistics

Francois Soulard
Research Manager, Environment and Accounts Statistics Division

11:00 – 11:45 Discussion on social acceptability of data sharing Guest Speaker:
Alika Lafontaine
President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA)
11:45 – 12:45 Lunch
12:45 – 14:00 Discussion on report
In camera
All members
14:00 – 14:15 Chairperson closing remarks Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

1. Chairperson Introductory Remarks

Dr. Ramos welcomed participants back, provided an overview of accomplishments from the previous day and intended outcomes for the second day of the CSAC in-person meeting.

2. Discussion on Discussion on Parliamentary Committees and Business

Guest Speaker:

  • Pierre Desrochers, Chief Privacy Officer, Statistics Canada  

Mr. Desrochers shared with CSAC members an update on the stage of the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (Bill C-27), introduced by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Phillippe Champagne, in the legislative process and what next steps are. CSAC members discussed the implications of legislation related to data and digital infrastructure on an evolving privacy landscape, including for individual and economic interests in a 21st century digital world.

3. Discussion on Net Zero

Guest Speakers:

  • Heidi Ertl, Director, Centre for Energy and Transportation Statistics
  • Francois Soulard, Research Manager, Environment and Accounts Statistics Division

Speakers provided a progress update to CSAC members, on Canada's actions to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Statistics Canada's activities are coordinated with Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Canada Energy Regulator and aligned with the Net Zero Advisory Board advice on measuring and monitoring net zero. They shared information on the latest agency measurement activities, data and tools, including hubs and portals to increase access to net zero data and insights. The presentation was followed by a discussion between guests and meeting participants.

4. Discussion on Social Acceptability of Data Sharing

Guest Speaker:

  • Alika Lafontaine, President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA)

Mr. Lafontaine shared a historical overview of the health data system in Canada and barriers around data, data access and governance over the years. He then shared some industry best practices he has come across and what he foresees for health data, including the integration of patient data consent across systems. Federal, provincial, and territorial partnerships for standards will be crucial. So will social acceptability for data sharing and trust. Mr. Lafontaine then answered questions from CSAC members on opportunities and challenges CSAC members could consider around the data ecosystem.

5. Discussion on the CSAC report – continued

CSAC members held another in-camera discussion on their 2023 report.

6. Roundtable Discussion and Chairperson Closing Remarks

Following a roundtable discussion among CSAC members, Dr. Ramos discussed next steps for the Council. He thanked CSAC members, the Chief Statistician, the Assistant Chief Statisticians and their teams and the CSAC Secretariat for their support.

Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC) In-Person Meeting – October 26-27, 2023

Attendance

CSAC Members Attendance

Dr. Howard Ramos (Chairperson), Anil Arora, David Chaundy, Benoit Dostie, Annette Hester, Jan Kestle

Statistics Canada

Assistant Chief Statisticians: Josée Bégin, Stéphane Dufour, André Loranger, Kathleen Mitchell, Eric Rancourt, Mélanie Scott

Meeting Agenda – Day 1

Time Agenda Presenter(s)
8:45 – 9:10

Members meet-and-greet 

All members

9:10 – 9:30

Chief Statistician updates

Anil Arora

Chief Statistician of Canada

9:30 – 9:50

Chairperson introductory remarks

Howard Ramos

Chairperson, CSAC

10:00 – 11:00

Discussion on modernization in data and analytics

Jan Kestle

CSAC member

11:00 – 12:00

Cloud computing, data science and generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) at Statistics Canada

Ian Bale

Director, Enterprise Cloud Services Division, Statistics Canada

Christos Sarakinos

Director, Data Science and Innovation Division, Statistics Canada

Marc Peladeau

Director, Digital Strategy, Planning and Enablement Division, Statistics Canada

12:00 – 13:00

Lunch

13:00 – 13:45

Discussion on legislation and privacy

Pierre Desrochers

Director, Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination, Statistics Canada

13:45 – 14:45

Update on Census of Environment

Francois Soulard

Research Manager, Environment accounts and statistics Division, Statistics Canada

15:00 – 15:45

Communications strategy for the 2023 CSAC report

Christine Léger

Director, Strategic Communications and Planning Division, Statistics Canada

Mireille Nassrallah

Manager, Corporate Communications, Statistics Canada

15:45 – 16:00

Chairperson closing remarks for the day

Howard Ramos

Chairperson, CSAC

Meeting Minutes

1. Chief Statistician updates

Dr. Ramos opened the meeting by welcoming members to the in-person meeting of the CSAC. Mr. Arora gave an update on the agency's operating context and noted the importance of Statistics Canada's data stewardship role. He provided a summary of his international engagements during the fall of 2023 and reiterated the leadership role of Statistics Canada on several issues. The Chief Statistician concluded his remarks with corporate updates.

2. Chairperson introductory remarks

Dr. Ramos shared updates on Council business, including key meetings he had in his capacity as the Chairperson of CSAC, and provided an overview of the agenda for the first day of the in-person meeting.

3. Discussion on modernization in data and analytics

Ms. Kestle thanked members for the invitation to share some thoughts on new data processing techniques and data sources as well as privacy enhancing technologies and privacy by design, building on her work with Environics Analytics. The organization specializes in geo-demographic segmentation, site evaluation modelling and custom analytics.  The Council and Statistics Canada participants in this session discussed implications and opportunities for the national data ecosystem, the role of Statistics Canada and other companies like Environics Analytics and the importance of partnerships.

4. Cloud computing, data science and generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) at Statistics Canada  

Mr. Rancourt introduced the presentation by providing context on the interconnection between data science, AI and cloud computing. Mr. Bale presented an overview of Statistics Canada's cloud journey, the opportunities provided by the cloud, lessons learned and examples of Statistics Canada initiatives enabled by the cloud. Mr. Sarakinos then shared the maturity progress of data science in the agency, the adopted model and opportunities related to expansion of data science capabilities. Mr. Peladeau provided background on the use of generative AI at Statistics Canada, opportunities, considerations and next steps. Meeting participants discussed key considerations and opportunities.

Council members noted that these technologies present opportunities for efficiency and provided advice on the importance of using the technology to remove some of the current limitations statistical organisations face. They also noted the need to ensure the workforce has the skills needed to not only adopt but also to be nimble and agile to adapt to new technologies and tools. The Council recommended to use these new technologies to improve how stakeholders, Canadians and policy makers can access, understand and consume insights published by StatCan. The team will keep the CSAC apprised of the progress on this file, including incorporating the Council's feedback, at subsequent meetings.

5. Discussion on legislation and privacy  

Mr. Desrochers presented an update on the discussions on the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (Bill C-27), introduced by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Honourable François-Phillippe Champagne, and next steps. Meeting participants discussed other related bills and pieces of legislation as well as key considerations for the national statistical system.

6. Update on Census of Environment

Mr. Loranger provided background and context on the Census of Environment and previous presentations to the Council, noted the purpose of the presentation and introduced the presenters to the Council. Mr. Soulard presented an overview of the scope of the Environmental Statistics Program, an update on ongoing activities for the Census of Environment, key products Statistics Canada is delivering and upcoming products. A question-and-answer period followed the presentation during which meeting participants discussed the scope of the program, key priorities to focus on and distribution and accessibility of data on the environment. Statistics Canada presenters welcomed CSAC's recommendation to use plain language and user-centric and design techniques so that the program is easier to understand for non-technical audiences and all Canadians.

Council members emphasized the need to ensure an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders who need the data, such as Canadians, policy makers, researchers and businesses, by designing pilots and minimum viable products, focusing on the desired outcome, to adapt and improve based on feedback from users. They recommended focusing on ease of access for users and products that can be consumed easily for decision-making, depending on targeted stakeholders. They also noted the importance of leveraging technologies and ensuring the workforce has the skills needed to be agile and innovative. The team will keep the CSAC apprised of the progress on this file, including incorporating the Council's feedback, at subsequent meetings.

7. Communications strategy for the 2023 CSAC report

Ms. Léger and Ms. Nassrallah presented an overview of the communication plan and products that will be shared with members to support the release of the 2023 CSAC annual report. A discussion between members and the presenters followed the presentation focusing on key products and differences with last year's plan.

8. Chairperson closing remarks for the day

Dr. Ramos facilitated a roundtable discussion and offered closing remarks for the day. 

Meeting Agenda – Day 2

Time Agenda Lead Participant(s)
9:00 – 9:10

Chairperson introductory remarks

Howard Ramos

Chairperson, CSAC

9:10 – 10:10

Discussion on Remote Data Access - Perspective from France

Guest Speaker:

Kamel Gadouche

Director of the Centre d'accès Sécurisé aux Données (Secure Access Data Center), France

10:20 – 12:00

Taking stock for the coming year

All members

12:00 – 12:40

Working lunch

12:40 – 12:50

Roundtable Discussion and Chairperson closing remarks

Howard Ramos

Chairperson, CSAC

1. Chairperson Introductory Remarks

Dr. Ramos welcomed participants back and provided an overview of the agenda for the second day of the CSAC in-person meeting.

2. Discussion on Remote Data Access - Perspective from France

Mr. Gadouche presented the work of Centre d'accès Sécurisé aux Données (Secure Access Data Center) or CASD. It is a non-profit consortium, with six institutions participating to its development, which organizes and implements secure access services for confidential data for non-profit research, study, evaluation or innovation, activities described as "research services". He explained how access to confidential data is managed in France in the context of the European legal framework and confidentiality continuum. He presented the governance framework CASD uses and certifications received. Mr. Gadouche provided an overview of services provided by CASD, including the technical aspects, and some examples of projects. A question-and-answer period between meeting participants and the guest speaker followed the presentation.

3. Taking stock for the coming year

CSAC members held an in-camera discussion on the work of the Council for the year to come, including the annual report.

4. Roundtable Discussion and Chairperson Closing Remarks

Following a roundtable discussion among CSAC members, Dr. Ramos summarised next steps for the Council. He thanked CSAC members, the Chief Statistician, the Assistant Chief Statisticians and their teams and the CSAC Secretariat for their support.

Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC) In-Person Meeting – June 3-4, 2024

Attendance

CSAC Members Attendance

Dr. Howard Ramos (Chairperson), Catherine Beaudry, Benoit Dostie, Annette Hester, Anke Kessler, Jan Kestle, André Loranger (Chief Statistician of Canada), Vinamra Mathur, Stephen Tapp

CSAC Members Regrets

David Chaundy

Statistics Canada

Assistant Chief Statisticians (ACS)

June 3: Josée Bégin, Geoff Bowlby, Stéphane Dufour, Kathleen Mitchell, Eric Rancourt, Mélanie Scott, Jennifer Withington

June 4: Geoff Bowlby, Stéphane Dufour, Kathleen Mitchell, Eric Rancourt, Mélanie Scott, Jennifer Withington and Gayatri Jayaraman, Jeff Latimer and Lucie Léonard on behalf of Josée Bégin

Meeting Agenda – Day 1

Time Agenda Presenter(s)
8:30 – 9:00

Members meet-and-greet 

All members

9:00 – 9:10

Chairperson introductory remarks

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

9:10 – 9:40

Chief Statistician of Canada updates

André Loranger
Chief Statistician of Canada

9:40 – 10:40

Work of international organisations on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Canada’s position

Presenters (in order):

Eric Rancourt
Assistant Chief Statistician, Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis Field

Stéphane Dufour
Assistant Chief Statistician, Census, Regional Services and Operations Field

Milana Karaganis
Director General, Digital Strategic Services Branch and Chief Technology Officer

Guest:

Christos Sarakinos
Director, Data Science and Innovation Division

11:00 – 12:00 

Perspective from the new Chief Statistician of Canada and discussion on the concept of official statistics

Presenters (in order):

Eric Rancourt
Assistant Chief Statistician, Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis Field

Antonio Bakopoulos
Assistant Director, Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination

Pierre Desrochers
Director, Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination

Guest:

Tom Dufour
Director General, Strategic Data Management Branch

12:00 – 13:20 Lunch and group photo
13:20 – 14:20

Discussion on the quality of administrative data

Presenter

Patrice Martineau
Assistant Director, Economic Statistics Methods Division

14:30 – 15:55 

Roundtable discussion about the report

In camera

All members

15:55 – 16:00

Chairperson closing remarks for the day

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

Summary of the meeting

1. Chairperson introductory remarks

Dr. Ramos opened the meeting by welcoming members. He thanked members for their work on the report so far. The purpose of the meeting was to tighten up the report and start developing recommendations. He provided an update on topics discussed at the last in-person meeting on March 14th-15th, including their Letter of advice to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and the selection process for the new Chief Statistician of Canada. He also noted a few key articles and reports that the Council should consider for the report. 

2. Chief Statistician of Canada updates

Mr. Loranger provided an update on recent senior management changes and the conditions of his interim as Chief Statistician (CS) as well as the selection process for the new Chief Statistician, including timing. He then shared his vision for the agency, which builds on the modernization journey with a shift in emphasis and is guided by the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics to position the agency to provide the information Canadians and stakeholders need to meet current and future challenges. He then provided updates on recent initiatives at Statistics Canada, including the CS recent visits to regional offices, the new Internal Trade Hub, the Business Data Lab, Opioid Overdose Crisis Data and Temporary Foreign Worker Statistics.

Members discussed Statistics Canada’s historical funding structure (including the proportion tied to legislation) and its potential impact on new data needs and the importance of having a frame to prioritize.

3. Work of international organisations on AI and Canada’s position

Mr. Rancourt provided a brief history of the use of AI at Statistics Canada, which started early on with automated models. Mr. Dufour presented the work of the High Level Group for the Modernisation of Official Statistics (HLG-MOS), including context, the evolution of the mandate over time, the structure, and the HLG-MOS major projects for the year. He then spoke about the work of HLG-MOS on the use of Generative AI for official statistics, which includes use cases (with different levels of implementation depending on countries), solutions to address risks and considerations, and looking at co-developing some solutions. He concluded with future project development and outputs, noting that the Group will continue with an incremental approach to improve statistical capabilities and increase nimbleness. Ms. Karaganis provided an overview of the AI ecosystem within the Government of Canada, including the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, collaboration within the Government of Canada, such as the AI Strategy for the Public Service that includes three areas: data, technology and talent. Within the Government of Canada there are also working groups focusing on different aspects of technology. Statistics Canada has been well involved in data science and AI through connections with other countries and international organisations, with the aim of ensuring the quality of outputs is not compromised.

Members and presenters discussed exchanges in terms of research and development between the public and private sectors as well as between private sector organisations, given competition in this area. They also spoke about the governance for the federal government and the role of Statistics Canada. Members asked about current AI projects at Statistics Canada, such as Chatbots, and the models of AI being explored.

The Council mentioned that businesses support Statistics Canada and noted that other organisations, such as businesses, produce quality insights in the national statistical system. Council members also noted the importance of ensuring the public service has the competencies needed in terms of digital transformation. Members cautioned against using AI for its popularity and recommended to ensure the focus is on the tools and how they are supporting the work of the agency.

4. Perspective from the new Chief Statistician and discussion on the concept of official statistics 

Mr. Rancourt noted the importance of discussing official statistics within the national statistical system, noting how the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics can help, and the coordination role of Statistics Canada internationally and domestically. Mr. Bakopoulos spoke briefly about the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and elements in the legislation related to official statistics and the coordinator role of Statistics Canada. In the current context, it is important to look at what official statistics are and how they can be used by Statistics Canada’s partners. Mr. Bakopoulos summarized key essential elements of official statistics and provided domestic and international examples of how other countries and government departments (federal and provincial) define official statistics.

Members discussed the concept of official statistics and whether there’s a need to define it as well as what can be considered official statistics and methods that could be used to determine whether statistics can be considered official. They also spoke about the difference Statistics Canada makes between official statistics and “experimental statistics” and the role the agency could play in terms of production, coordination and stewardship, for example in the implementation of best practices on methodology standards.

The Council noted that while it requires governance to ensure coordination of official statistics, Statistics Canada would be best placed to play this stewardship role.

5. Discussion on the quality of administrative data 

Mr. Rancourt introduced the presentation and clarified that the definition of administrative data in the context of the presentation includes all non-survey data. Mr. Martineau presented the context, including the importance of administrative data for National Statistical Offices and key concepts. He provided an overview of the theoretical framework that the agency uses to ensure data quality, including assumptions. He then spoke about examples in the Canadian context including challenges, proposed solutions and limitations.

Members shared their experience with measuring the quality of administrative data in their field and the need to hold high standards of methodology even with non-traditional methods of collecting data. They also discussed the different methods used for linking administrative data for the examples mentioned during the presentation. They spoke about issues related to comprehensiveness of the framework, how well the administrative data measures the intended concept (compared to surveys, for example) and how to create a path forward for other information collectors.

6. Roundtable discussion about the report

The Chairperson facilitated an in-camera roundtable discussion on key takeaways from the day and how they will inform the Council’s annual report themes and recommendations.

7. Chairperson closing remarks for the day

Dr. Ramos provided closing remarks for the day. 

Meeting Agenda – Day 2

Time Agenda Lead Participants
9:00 – 9:10

Chairperson introductory remarks

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

9:10 – 9:40

Update on Census of population

Presenter (in order):

Patrice Mathieu
Director, Census Operations, Census Program Division

Guest:

Christiane Laperrière
Acting Assistant Director, Census Operations, Census Program Division

9:40 – 10:40

Discussion about the report
In camera

All members

11:00 – 12:00

Battles of legitimacy: discussion on misinformation, disinformation in relation to official statistics

Presenters (in order):

Janice Keenan
Director General, Communications and Engagement Branch

Chris Li
Director, Consumer Prices Division

Isabelle Marchand
Director, Centre for Labour Market Information

Guests:

Nathalie Brault
Director General, Industry Statistics Branch

Matthew MacDonald
Assistant Director, Consumer Prices Division

Eric Caron Malenfant
Assistant Director, Centre for Demography

Vincent Dale
Director General, Labour Market, Education and Socioeconomic Well-being Branch

12:00 – 12:20

Lunch

12:20 – 12:30

Chairperson closing remarks

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

1. Chairperson Introductory Remarks

Dr. Ramos welcomed participants back and provided a summary of key themes of the report discussed the day before in-camera. He then presented an overview of the agenda for the second day of the CSAC in-person meeting.

2. Update on Census of population

Mr. Bowlby provided context on the focus of the presentation as the Census 2021 cycle ended and the new Census 2026 cycle has started. Mr. Mathieu presented the 2026 Census of Population cycle timelines, current status and way forward. The objectives of the new Census cycle are building on the success of previous Censuses while making improvements using new technologies, increasing the use of administrative data and maintaining cost effectiveness. Mr. Mathieu spoke about the 2024 Census Test objectives, timeline, sample size and geography as well as content and operational changes to be tested in 2024. He provided an overview of the combined census research, including next steps and communications, consultations, and outreach. He concluded with potential innovations to the 2031 Census and beyond.

Members discussed challenges related to the Census, such as measuring homelessness and linkages with Census data and sources used to ensure a fulsome picture is depicted.

The Council noted that Statistics Canada’s communication campaign on social media was particularly effective during the last Census cycle.

3. Discussion of work for the year and report

The Chairperson facilitated an in-camera discussion with the Council on the themes and recommendations of the annual report, taking stock of discussions throughout the in-person meeting.

4. Battles of legitimacy: discussion on misinformation, disinformation in relation to official statistics

Ms. Keenan clarified the difference between misinformation and disinformation, mentioning a few studies on whether Canadians fact check and on trust in institutions. She provided an overview of the media landscape, including challenges, and of the communication strategy in place to maintain trust in the agency and the agency’s strategy to mitigate misinformation. Ms. Li provided an overview of the response to misinformation and communication and outreach strategy related to the Consumer Price Index and Ms. Marchand focused on the Labour Force Survey.

Members and presenters discussed the strategy to mitigate misinformation when the information is misrepresented in media articles, including the amount of correction requests. They also spoke about trends related to support for the agency and misinformation and Statistics Canada’s strategy for social media, which is a different format than traditional media.

The Council noted the importance of outreach to journalists and even the broadcaster or editor to correct information when needed. Members also discussed the role of the Council in ensuring trust in the agency is maintained and the potential benefit for the agency, and the Government of Canada, to have an overall proactive approach and strategy.

5. Chairperson Closing Remarks

Dr. Ramos thanked CSAC members, the Chief Statistician, the Assistant Chief Statisticians and their teams and the CSAC Secretariat for their support. He summarized next steps for the Council, including themes to discuss at the upcoming virtual meeting.

Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC) In-Person Meeting – March 14-15, 2024

Attendance

CSAC Members Attendance

Dr. Howard Ramos (Chairperson), Anil Arora, Catherine Beaudry, David Chaundy, Benoit Dostie, Annette Hester, Anke Kessler, Jan Kestle, Vinamra Mathur

CSAC Members Regrets

Stephen Tapp

Statistics Canada

Assistant Chief Statisticians (ACS): Josée Bégin, Stéphane Dufour, André Loranger, Eric Rancourt, Mélanie Scott

Directors General on behalf of ACS on March 14th: Gayatri Jayaraman (on behalf of Josée Bégin), Milana Karaganis (on behalf of Mélanie Scott), Janice Keenan (on behalf of Kathleen Mitchell), Larry MacNabb (on behalf of Josée Bégin)

Meeting Agenda – Day 1

Time Agenda Presenter(s)
8:30 – 9:00

Members meet-and-greet 

All members

9:00 – 9:10

Chairperson introductory remarks

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

9:10 – 9:40

Chief Statistician updates and overview of Statistics Canada

Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada

9:40 – 10:50

Orientation presentations by fields and questions-answers with members

Stéphane Dufour
Assistant Chief Statistician, Census, Regional Services and Operations Field

Gayatri Jayaraman (on behalf of Josée Bégin, Assistant Chief Statistician, Social, Health and Labour Statistics Field)
Director General, Social Data Insights, Integration and Innovation Branch

Janice Keenan (on behalf of Kathleen Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Chief Statistician, Corporate Strategy and Management Field)
Director General, Communications and Engagement Branch

André Loranger
Assistant Chief Statistician, Economic Statistics Field

Larry MacNabb (on behalf of Josée Bégin, Assistant Chief Statistician, Social, Health and Labour Statistics Field)
Acting Director General, Social, Health and Labour Statistics Field

Eric Rancourt
Chief Data Officer and Assistant Chief Statistician, Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis Field

Milana Karaganis (on behalf of Mélanie Scott, Assistant Chief Statistician, Digital Solutions Field)
Director General, Digital Strategic Services Branch and Chief Technology Officer

11:00 – 12:00

Modernization of our infrastructure and leading-edge methods (Generative Artificial Intelligence)

Milana Karaganis
Director General, Digital Strategic Services Branch and Chief Technology Officer

Marc Peladeau
Director, Digital Strategy, Planning and Enablement Division

Christos Sarakinos
Director, Data Science and Innovation Division

Wesley Yung
Acting Director General, Modern Statistical Methods and Data Science Branch

12:00 – 13:20 Lunch and photo opportunity
13:20 – 14:20

Climate change and environment projects at Statistics Canada (including Census of Environment)

Augustine Akuoko-Asibey
Director General, Agriculture, Energy and Environment Statistics Branch

Mark Brown
Principal Researcher, Economic Analysis Division

Rebecca Kong
Chief, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics

Gayatri Jayaraman
Director General, Social Data Insights, Integration and Innovation Branch

Étienne Saint-Pierre
Director General, Macroeconomic Accounts Branch

Claudia Sanmartin
Director General, Analytical Studies and Modelling Branch

Michael Scrim
Assistant Director, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division

François Soulard
Research Manager, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division

14:30 – 15:55

Roundtable discussion about the report

In camera

All members

15:55 – 16:00

Chairperson closing remarks for the day

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

Meeting Minutes

1. Chairperson introductory remarks

Dr. Ramos opened the meeting by welcoming members to the in-person meeting of the CSAC, with a special note for newest members, Catherine Beaudry, Anke Kessler and Vinamra Mathur, present at the meeting and Stephen Tapp, who was unable to attend. Building on issues discussed at the virtual meeting on February 1, 2024, he invited members to also consider ongoing legislative changes and their potential impact on the authority of the agency as the Council is planning the work for the year. He highlighted the unique importance of the Council this year, especially during the transition to a new Chief Statistician. The Council's role includes emphasizing the importance to continue the momentum of modernization efforts, explain the value of the agency, foster trust with stakeholders and ensure that the agency continues to play a stewardship role in terms of methodology and data quality. He then provided an overview of the agenda for the first day of the in-person meeting.

2. Chief Statistician updates and overview of Statistics Canada

After a roundtable, Mr. Arora provided some historical context about Statistics Canada, for the benefit of new CSAC members. He also provided background on how the legislation defines the role of the Chief Statistician and the mandate of the Council as an independent advisory body, created to increase the transparency of the system. He also provided some background on the modernization efforts and how these efforts have ensured the agency remains world class and a leader internationally. He then provided an overview of what the agency does: its work, operations, including funding, and examples of key programs and initiatives supporting modernization.

Members discussed Statistics Canada's sources of funding (including cost-recovery) for economic and social programs, the challenges and benefits from this funding model, as well as the transition to a new Chief Statistician and what would be required to ensure efforts towards continuous modernization.

3. Orientation presentations by fields and questions-answers with members

Assistant Chief Statisticians and acting Directors General presented an overview of their respective fields to provide some context to new members, focusing on key initiatives and programs, priorities, opportunities, challenges and risks related to their area of responsibility.

A question-and-answer discussion followed the presentations, during which members and presenters discussed management of the duplication of efforts, implications of the cost-recovery models on programs, measures to mitigate low response rates, data standards coordination with key stakeholders for administrative data, the importance of issues of trust in government in the current context, maintaining the culture of the agency and measurement of cyberthreats. Members noted opportunities to collaborate further with Policy Horizons, for example, to make their scenarios'impact on the economy, environment and society more concrete.

4. Modernization of our infrastructure and leading-edge methods (Generative Artificial Intelligence)

Mr. Yung began the discussion with some context on previous presentations by Statistics Canada to the Council on this topic and the purpose of the presentation. He then provided an overview of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) and summarized work being done by the agency with international organizations. He presented an overview of the IT foundational infrastructure and where LLMs fit as well as recent activities at Statistics Canada. Ms. Karaganis presented specific examples, including two use cases Statistics Canada is working on, and next steps.

Members and presenters discussed social acceptability within and outside the agency, governance around AI and the importance of identifying AI as a priority for the agency. They also had a conversation about implications of using AI while respecting confidentiality, especially as Statistics Canada is partnering with other departments who need to access the agency's data. They also spoke about how to bring technology and statistical rigour together to create real possibilities, and ensure the agency is moving at a pace that allows to manage risks while maintaining the agency's status as a leader in this area. They noted that AI is part of the continuum of modernization and case studies presented are examples of the innovation system of Statistics Canada showing the potential AI has for the agency.

The Council noted that while currently AI can be helpful for administrative tasks, for example, it is important for statistical agencies to be cautious when using publicly available AI, especially when dealing with confidential data. They also spoke about the potential of AI to support statistical analysis and opportunities for public-private partnerships.

5. Climate change and environment projects at Statistics Canada (including Census of Environment)

Mr. Loranger introduced the presentation by mentioning that the focus was on the follow ups from the last presentation by Statistics Canada on the Census of Environment at the last in-person meeting and that the deck circulated in advance of the meeting included projects and initiatives about climate change that were broader than the Census of Environment. Mr. Soulard began with a reminder of the recommendations provided by CSAC at their previous in-person meeting in October 2023. He then provided an update of activities since that meeting related to the recommendations including on engagements with stakeholders to build trust, technologies and modern workforce and ease of access. He concluded with questions for the Council.

The Council was pleased with progress made since October 2023. Members encouraged the agency to partner with other departments and external stakeholders to ensure integration of data and avoid siloes. They also recommended to ensure the framing of the initiative is clearly articulated to make it easier for Canadians to understand the purpose and content of the Census of Environment. They noted the importance of consultations and outreach to ensure the agency understands the need of stakeholders, including on how to use the portal and data visualization to make the relevant data available and easy to use.

Members mentioned that as the data steward, the agency's role is not only to integrate environment and socioeconomic data but also to disseminate these data. Even if the data are not comprehensive, a data steward should still disseminate them on the portal and include cautions. The data steward's role is also to help educate the public on why sharing data with government is important and the portal provides an opportunity to engage Canadians while showing them how the data on a topic that is top of mind for them, such as climate change, makes a difference. The CS reiterated the importance of CSAC's feedback, especially for a program that is the first of its kind in the world. The agency is looking forward to hearing recommendations on how the initiative can benefit the business sector at a subsequent meeting to ensure the initiative is going in the right direction.

6. Roundtable discussion about the report

The Chairperson facilitated an in-camera roundtable discussion on key takeaways from the day and how they will inform the Council's annual report's themes.

7. Chairperson closing remarks for the day

Dr. Ramos provided closing remarks for the day.

Meeting Agenda – Day 2

Time Agenda Lead Participant(s)
9:00 – 9:10

Chairperson introductory remarks

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

9:10 – 9:40

Update on Virtual Research Data Centre

Shelley Jeglic
Assistant Director, Data Access Division

Genevieve Jourdain
Director, Data Access Division

Claudia Sanmartin
Director General, Analytical Studies and Modelling Branch

9:40 – 10:25

Taking stock for the coming year

Annette Hester
CSAC member

Rory Gilsenan
Director General, Hazards, Adaptation and Operations Branch, Natural Resources Canada

10:35 – 11:20

Rapid fire key takeaways

In camera

All members

12:00 – 12:40

Working lunch

Discussion of work for the year and report

In camera

12:40 – 12:50

Chairperson closing remarks

Howard Ramos
Chairperson, CSAC

1. Chairperson Introductory Remarks

Dr. Ramos welcomed participants back and provided an overview of the agenda for the second day of the CSAC in-person meeting.

2. Update on Virtual Research Data Centre

Mr. Rancourt provided context on the purpose of the presentation on the transition from in-person Research Data Centres to virtual ones. Ms. Jourdain presented the purpose of Virtual Research Data Centres (vRDC), the new business model, including in partnership with the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN), progress done so far this year, key milestones, timelines and next steps.

Members and presenters discussed timelines, the communication plan and rollout to academia as well as other stakeholders. They spoke about roles and responsibilities of the CRDCN and Statistics Canada and different ways to access data for researchers and how to scale up existing solutions. Members mentioned the importance of building a community of research around the data, ways of exchanging information on methodology and benefits of both in-person and virtual access.

3. Using Data Visualization as a tool to make data useful and usable

Ms. Hester thanked the Council for the opportunity to share her perspective on how to use data visualization and concrete examples of how it was used for decision-making. She spoke about the importance of data visualization and how findings are communicated in a world where people are overwhelmed by the amount of data to process.

She presented key examples of data visualization and tools used by a range of sectors that show interactive data systems allowing users to explore the information. Mr. Gilsenan provided an overview of the NRCan data visualization project and Ms. Hester presented the results and how the interactive data visualization responds to users'needs and can be used for decision-making. Statistics Canada representatives welcomed the opportunity to discuss the importance of visual communications with Ms. Hester and Mr. Gilsenan and noted the work presented will inform ongoing visual communications efforts.

4. Rapid fire key takeaways

The Chairperson facilitated an in-camera roundtable of quick key takeaways from the morning, any additions to the themes for the report discussed the day before and provided a summary of themes mentioned to include in the report.

5. Discussion of work for the year and report

The Chairperson held an in-camera discussion on the work of the Council for the year to come, including the annual report and next steps.

6. Chairperson Closing Remarks

Following a roundtable discussion among CSAC members, Dr. Ramos summarized next steps for the Council. He thanked CSAC members, the Chief Statistician, the Assistant Chief Statisticians and their teams and the CSAC Secretariat for their support.