Introduction

Starting in May 2013, Statistics Canada will conduct the Community Noise and Health Study (CHNS) on behalf of Health Canada. The CNHS will collect information to evaluate the health effects associated with exposure to noise sources in Canada.

It is anticipated that approximately 1200 respondents will complete the survey, with one person aged 18 to 79 years of age selected per household.

Objective

A privacy impact assessment for the CNHS was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality and security issues associated with the study, and, if so, to make recommendations for their resolution or mitigation.

Description

The CNHS will provide a means to explore the relationships between noise and health issues, such as, hypertension, levels of chronic stress and measures of sleep quantity and quality.

In a personal interview at their home, respondents will be asked a series of health-related questions and will have their resting blood pressure measured, will be asked to wear a sleep watch during a seven-day period for a sleep evaluation and will be asked to provide a hair sample, which will be sent to a laboratory under contract to Statistics Canada for analysis of chronic stress.

Because of the personal nature of the information being collected, tested and processed, the privacy impact assessment identified a number of potential privacy issues and risks. They include:

• Transmitting information and samples between Statistics Canada headquarters, the field and the laboratory
• Transmitting information from respondents to Statistics Canada headquarters through the mail
• Transmitting information containing personal information from the respondents' homes to the field office to Statistics Canada headquarters
• Returning physical measurement results to respondents

Measures put in place to address these issues include providing comprehensive information in order to obtain written informed consent from respondents, anonymous identification numbers on samples and other security procedures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of respondents' information.

Consultations and Review Boards

A number of committees and groups were involved in the development of the CNHS content, design and procedures to address privacy and research ethics questions related to the survey. Members included experts from federal government departments, academia, and international jurisdictions with expertise in wind turbine noise.

The CNHS design and survey content was extensively reviewed by the Public Health Agency of Canada's Science Advisory Board and the World Health Organization. The Public Health Agency of Canada also provided departmental approval for research involving humans. Health Canada's Research Ethics Board (REB) reviewed all CNHS protocol and procedures and provided approval to proceed.

Conclusion

With enhanced and existing Statistics Canada safeguards and procedures, as well as those in place at site offices and the laboratory, any remaining risks will be either negligible or are such that Statistics Canada is prepared to accept and manage these risks.

Introduction

As part of the International Year of Statistics 2013, Statistics Canada will hold a video contest for Canadians between the ages of 15 and 21 to give them an opportunity to creatively demonstrate their views on the role and importance of statistics in Canadian society.

Objective

A privacy impact assessment for the Statistics Canada Video Contest was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality and security issues associated with the website and contest process, and if so, to make recommendations for their resolution or mitigation.

Description

Residents aged 15 to 21 will be invited to submit videos that demonstrate how they have used Statistics Canada data in their lives and why it is important.

To enter, participants will be asked to provide their name, mailing address, phone number, email address, age and the name of a parent or guardian (if the contestant is not the age of majority in his/her province or territory of residence). This information will be used to correspond with participants as required.

Contest winners will be selected by a panel of Statistics Canada employees. They will be asked to give their consent for their video and names to be published on the Statistics Canada website and YouTube channel. Only the names and videos of the winners would be disclosed.

Conclusion

This assessment of the Statistics Canada Video Contest did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Area of residence - On reserve

'Area of residence: On reserve' refers to the following geographic areas: Indian reserves and settlements (referred to as 'On reserve'), and all other areas (referred to as ‘Off reserve’). These geographic areas can be used to show where people, primarily Registered Indians and First Nations people, reside.

'Area of residence: On reserve' includes six census subdivision (CSD) types legally affiliated with First Nations or Indian bands ( i.e., Indian reserve (IRI), Indian settlement (S-É) (except for the five Yukon settlements of Champagne Landing 10, Klukshu, Two and One-Half Mile Village, Two Mile Village and Kloo Lake), Indian government district (IGD), terres réservées aux Cris (TC), terres réservées aux Naskapis (TK) and Nisga'a land (NL)) as well as the northern village of Sandy Bay in Saskatchewan.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Area of residence: Inuit Nunangat

'Area of residence: Inuit Nunangat' refers to the four regions of Inuit Nunangat and 'outside Inuit Nunangat'. Inuit Nunangat is the homeland of the Inuit of Canada. It includes the communities located in the four Inuit regions: Nunatsiavut (Northern coastal Labrador), Nunavik (Northern Quebec), the territory of Nunavut and the Inuvialuit region of the Northwest Territories. These regions collectively encompass the area traditionally occupied by Inuit in Canada.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Immigrant status

'Immigrant status' refers to whether the respondent is a non-immigrant, an immigrant or a non-permanent resident.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.