Annual Report Privacy 2015-2016

Introduction
- Administration of the Privacy Act
- Organization and Mandate of Statistics Canada
- Delegation instrument
- Resources
- Statistical report
Implementation: Privacy
- Privacy requests
- Other requests
- Disposition of completed requests
- Completion time and extensions
- Exemptions invoked
- Costs
Training initiatives for Privacy
Policies, guidelines and procedures
Complaints and investigations
Monitoring of the requests
Privacy breaches
Privacy impact assessments
- Canadian Health Measures Survey, Cycle 5, 2016-2017
- Generic Privacy Impact Assessment
Record linkage
Types of disclosure under Subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act
Appendix A: Delegation instrument
Appendix B: Statistical report
Appendix C: Record linkages

Introduction

The Privacy Act gives Canadian citizens and people living in Canada the right to access their personal information being held by federal government institutions. The Act also protects against unauthorized disclosure of that personal information and it strictly controls how the government collects, uses, stores, discloses, and disposes of any personal information.

The Annual Report on the Administration of the Privacy Act is prepared and submitted, in accordance with section 72 of the Act, and it covers the period from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016. The report is tabled in Parliament.

Administration of the Privacy Act

The Privacy Act, which concerns itself with personal information, stipulates that government institutions can collect personal information only if it relates to the operation of programs or activities of these institutions. In the case of Statistics Canada, the Statistics Act provides the authority to collect personal information for statistical purposes. The privacy legislation demands that government institutions inform those from whom information is collected about the purpose of the collection. In addition, institutions are required to protect the collected information from disclosure.

The administration of the privacy legislation within Statistics Canada is the responsibility of the Office of the Chief Statistician of Canada. The Chief of Staff is the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator for the Agency.

Organization and mandate of Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada's mandate derives primarily from the Statistics Act. The Act requires that the Agency collect, compile, analyze and publish statistical information on the economic, social, and general conditions of the country and its citizens. The Act also requires that Statistics Canada coordinate the national statistical system, in particular, to avoid duplication in the information collected by government. To this end, the Chief Statistician may enter into joint data collection or sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies, as well as with federal, provincial and territorial government departments, pursuant to provisions of the Act.

The Statistics Act specifically requires Statistics Canada to conduct a Census of Population and a Census of Agriculture every five years. The Act also gives the Agency substantial powers to request information for statistical purposes through surveys of Canadian businesses and households. By default, response to Statistics Canada's surveys is mandatory under the Act; refusal to participate is subject to legal penalties. The Act includes provisions to make participation in data collection voluntary, and Statistics Canada has generally done so with household data collection other than the Census of Population and the Labour Force Survey. The Census of Agriculture and most other business surveys are mandatory.

By law, Statistics Canada can also access administrative records, including personal and business tax data, customs declarations, and birth and death records. Such records are critical sources of statistical information that enable the Agency to reduce the reporting burden on businesses and individual respondents. Statistics Canada is considered a leader among the world's statistical agencies in reducing reporting burden by using administrative data.

These mechanisms help Statistics Canada to fulfill its commitment to ensuring that Canadians have all the key information on Canada's economy, society and environment that they require to function effectively as citizens and decision-makers in a rapidly evolving world.

Delegation instrument

The delegation instrument exercises the powers and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy Act. The current detailed list of authorities under the Privacy Act has been formally delegated by the Minister of Industry (Appendix A) as of August 2013 and provides full delegated authority to the Chief Statistician of Canada, the Chief of Staff and the Director of the Information Management Division.

Resources

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office operates with an allocation of 2.92 persons per year. The Departmental Secretary along with the Director of the Information Management Division have been delegated most of the responsibilities. A Senior Access to Information and Privacy Project Manager and a Senior Access to Information and Privacy Project Officer work full-time in the office.

Statistical report

The statistical report provides aggregate data on the application of the Privacy Act. This information is made public annually in an Info Source Bulletin, and is included with the annual report. The following includes the statistical report on privacy for the current reporting period (Appendix B).

Implementation: Privacy

The Privacy Act has a substantial impact on Statistics Canada, but the impact cannot be measured only by the number of requests processed. Although society seeks a broader range of detailed information, it also demands more accountability on the part of government about the collection of personal information and the purposes served by the information. The Agency has taken a number of initiatives to address the privacy challenges this dichotomy raises.

Statistics Canada has internal policies that reflect the basic principles found in the Privacy Act. The Agency's Policy on Informing Survey Respondents requires that all respondents be informed of the expected use of the statistics produced from the survey results, the authority under which the survey is taken, their obligation to respond, the confidentiality protection given to all information collected under the Statistics Act, and any data-sharing arrangements pursuant to provisions of the Statistics Act.

Statistics Canada also developed the Policy on Record Linkage to respond to concerns of both respondents and privacy advocates on the potential of matching an individual's information gathered from a variety of sources.

These two policies not only support compliance with the letter and the spirit of the Privacy Act, but also demonstrate the Agency's commitment to the protection and appropriate use of the personal information under its control, while still meeting its mandate.

Privacy requests

The Agency received 115 new requests in 2015/2016 and there were no requests carried over from the previous reporting period. During this period, 111 requests were completed and 4 requests were carried forward to the next reporting period.

Disposition of requests completed
Disposition of requests completed	Total
All disclosed	18
Disclosed in part	39
Nothing disclosed (exempt)	0
Does not exist	39
Abandoned	15
Total	111

For 57 requests, information was disclosed completely or in part. For 39 requests, the information did not exist, and 15 requests were abandoned by the requestors. The public is the largest privacy client group for Statistics Canada.

In addition to requests from the general public, the Agency receives requests from current and former federal public servants regarding personal or staff relations issues. Statistics Canada responds to a number of requests for personal information through its pension search program. This program provides members of the public with information from their own census records, and from the 1940 National Registration records, to support their applications for pensions, citizenship, passports and other services when other administrative records—such as birth certificates—are required, but no longer exist or were never issued.

Responding to privacy requests involved reviewing more than 11,000 pages, of which over 7,500 were released. Fifty-three (53) requestors received information electronically on CD-ROM and 4 requestors received the information in paper format at their request.

Disposition of requests completed
Fiscal Year	Requests Received	Requests Completed	Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Released
2015/2016	115	111	11,058	7,518
2014/2015	55	55	1,748	1,293
2013/2014	118	118	1,661	1,603
2012/2013	47	54	6,534	3,739

Other requests

During this period, Statistics Canada received one Privacy Act consultation request from another department for a total of 62 pages.

Disposition of completed requests

The disposition of the 111 requests completed in 2015/2016 was as follows:

18 were fully disclosed (16%)
39 were disclosed in part (35%)
39 had no existing information (35%)
15 were abandoned by applicants (14%)

Completion time and extensions

In 2015/2016 the number of privacy requests completed increased to 111 from an average of 76 over the last three years. All 111 requests were processed within the time period prescribed by the Act. Several factors contributed to the timely response, including greater oversight at the managerial level and information sessions with officials and sector contacts. Out of the 111 requests, in 7 cases extensions were taken under section 15 (a)(i) for interference with operations of the department.

For 2015/2016, the office received one consultation from another federal department which was processed and completed within 15 days.

The 111 requests completed in 2015/2016 were processed in the following time frames:

77 within 1 to 15 days (69%)
27 within 16 to 30 days (24%)
7 within 31 to 60 days (6%)

Exemptions invoked

In 2015-16, a total of 41 exemptions were invoked as per specific sections of the Privacy Act. The exemptions were as follows:

Section 22 (1) (b): Law enforcement and investigation (10)
Section 26: Exempting personal information about individuals other than the requestor (30)
Section 27: Exempting personal information related to solicitor-client privilege (1)

Costs

In 2015/2016, the ATIP Office incurred an estimated $259,326 in salary costs and $1,671 in costs related to administering the Privacy Act.

Training initiatives for Privacy

In 2015/2016, the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office provided formal instruction to Agency staff on the Privacy Act. Fifteen (15) training sessions were held and over 286 people attended.

At the sessions, participants learned about the Act and gained a better understanding of their obligations. These sessions were given to divisional and management teams in Administrative Data Division, Collection Planning and Research Division, Operations and Integration Division, Public Sector Statistics Division, Consumer Prices Division, Producer Prices Division, Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade Division and several other individual sections across the Agency.

Statistics Canada also requires employees to complete computer-based courses on confidentiality. A mandatory course for new employees provides them with a brief overview of confidentiality, illustrating its importance at Statistics Canada. A second course with similar content must be completed by Statistics Canada employees for renewal of their identification card. For most employees, this occurs every three years. In the current reporting period, a total of 1,510 employees completed these courses.

Policies, guidelines and procedures

The ATIP Office has a variety of tools in place to ensure that ATIP sector contacts are well informed about their roles and responsibilities for coordinating privacy requests. These tools include checklists on the steps to follow when providing records for privacy requests and on the availability of the ATIP team throughout the process. There are also a variety of directives and policies provided by Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada about the protection of personal information. Personal information is protected by the Privacy Act and will only be disclosed as permitted by that Act.

Given its unique position in the federal government in collecting personal information solely for statistical and research purposes, Statistics Canada has determined that the privacy issues associated with its survey activities could be addressed by means of a generic Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) that would address the majority of survey collections undertaken by the Agency under the authority of the Statistics Act. In 2015/2016, Statistics Canada rewrote its generic PIA. In addition to updating information that changed since the 2009 review, the revised PIA covers all aspects of all statistical programs. This updated PIA is posted on the Statistics Canada website.

Nevertheless, in accordance with its Directive on Conducting PIAs, Statistics Canada will conduct PIAs for all new and significantly redesigned surveys and programs involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal information that raise unique or additional privacy, confidentiality or security risks.

Complaints and investigations

One new complaint against the Agency was lodged with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). The complaint was about exemptions and refusal in general. One complaint was carried over from last year.

The OPC ruled that one complaint was unfounded and therefore no action was required. One complaint is still being examined.

Monitoring of the requests

At Statistics Canada, the ATIP Office processes and monitors requests by registering them in a comprehensive system known as Privasoft – Case Management. An acknowledgement of the request is sent to the client and a retrieval form is forwarded to the relevant program area, Office of Primary Interest (OPI). If the OPI and/or the ATIP Office need to clarify the request, the ATIP Office contacts the client.

The retrieval form was created by the ATIP Office at Statistics Canada and is based on the Policy on Privacy Protection and the Directive on Privacy Practices from the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. The form includes the text of the request, the name of the ATIP Officer and his/her phone number, and the date by which records are required (normally 5 to 10 days). The form states that the ATIP Office is required to report annually on the administrative costs related to requests and thus information is needed on the level(s) and group(s) of those involved in the retrieval and the amount of time spent working on the request (including time for search, retrieval, internal review (relevant or not to the request) and photocopying). The individuals providing the records are asked to identify any records which may be sensitive in nature (e.g., personal information, legal issues) and the Director or Director General of the program area signs the form.

The ATIP Office assists the program areas with the retrieval of records from day one. As 5 to 10 days are allowed for the retrieval, a follow-up is made on the fifth day. If additional time is required for the retrieval, this is when the program area is to notify the ATIP Office. An additional 1 to 5 days may be granted depending on the amount of work remaining. Once the documents are received from the OPI, the ATIP Office ensures the form is duly completed and that it has been signed by the appropriate manager. The ATIP Office takes 5 to 10 days to review and process the records. Once the work from the ATIP Office is completed, the final version is released to the client. The OPI and management are very aware of the importance of ATIP requests.

Privacy breaches

A standard template is used to document incidents. This template incorporates the elements suggested in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's guidelines on how to respond to a privacy breach. The template has been approved by the Agency's Executive Management Board. At a minimum, the incident report will contain the following information:

a description of the incident (who, what, when, where, why, how)
the actions already taken and planned for the future
a description of the risks/impacts
any other information that might be helpful in locating any lost item or in assessing the consequences of loss or compromise
recommendations for reducing or eliminating the risk of the event reoccurring in future
information on whether the individuals or organizations whose information was breached were informed of the incident
rationale for not informing the individuals or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC), should this course of action be taken.

"Best practices" to eliminate or reduce future recurrences that are identified during an investigation must be communicated to other employees to prevent a recurrence of the breach.

There were 33 privacy breaches at Statistics Canada during the reporting period, of which only three were material in nature. A total of 5,081 people, plus an unknown number of persons associated with legacy human resource files unaccounted for within the organization, for which we believe the breach risk to be nil, were affected by these 33 breaches. Amongst the 5,081 people affected, 4,991 were a result of three incidents and none of these three breaches were material in nature.

Three material breaches were reported to the OPC, affecting a total of 23 individuals.

In all the material breach cases, efforts were made to inform individuals of the breach, if possible. None of the breaches are known to have led to criminal activity.

Statistics Canada has implemented a number of additional measures specific to the areas which experienced a breach, including the following:

training for employees and managers in multiple divisions
review of procedures and systems.

Privacy impact assessments

The Statistics Canada Directive on Conducting PIAs specifies the roles and responsibilities of its senior managers and privacy specialists in the Information Management Division with regard to the collection, use and dissemination of personal information. This directive applies to all statistical and non-statistical programs that engage in the collection, use or dissemination of personal information.

In 2006, Statistics Canada developed the Generic PIA for Statistics Canada Surveys (updated in 2009), which covers the majority of the Agency's household and business surveys conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act. The generic PIA addresses the ten privacy principles, and includes a threat and risk assessment that focuses on the Agency's major data collection methodologies such as computer-assisted interviewing, self-enumeration, and electronic data reporting.

In 2015/2016, Statistics Canada rewrote its generic PIA. In addition to updating information that changed since the 2009 review, the revised PIA covers all aspects of all statistical programs. This updated PIA is posted on the Statistics Canada website.

For all new and significantly redesigned collections, uses or disclosures of personal information that raise unique or additional privacy, confidentiality or security risks, a supplement to the generic PIA will be produced.

Specific PIAs are also conducted for new or redesigned administrative programs and services that involve the collection, use and disclosure of personal information that are not addressed in the generic PIA.

In the current reporting period, in addition to the generic PIA, a PIA was approved for the Canadian Health Measures Survey, Cycle 5, 2016-2017. Copies of both PIAs were sent to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Summaries of completed privacy impact assessments can be found at the following page of Statistics Canada's website: Privacy impact assessments.

The following are brief descriptions:

Canadian Health Measures Survey, Cycle 5, 2016-2017

The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) aims to collect valuable health information through self-reported data and direct physical measures. The CHMS is conducted in two phases: a questionnaire is administered in the household (home interview) and physical measure tests are administered in a mobile examination centre (MEC). This important information will help evaluate the extent of health problems associated with major health concerns such as chronic diseases, infectious diseases, lifestyle characteristics, and environmental exposures. The survey will also provide a platform to explore emerging public health issues and new measurement technologies. The CHMS also maintains a Biobank where specimen samples are stored for future use. Only Statistics Canada employees and approved researchers, who have taken the Oath of Secrecy under the Statistics Act can access the Biobank.

The content and physical measures for the CHMS are determined by extensive continuous consultations with experts to ensure that the survey responds to the highest priority information requirements of governments, researchers, and the general public. A number of committees are involved in the growth and continuity of the CHMS, including the CHMS Expert Advisory Committee with input from Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and other stakeholder groups; the Biobank Advisory Committee of experts in health, ethics, and scientific research and Statistics Canada's Population Health Survey Advisory Committee (PHSAC).

While a number of potential privacy concerns have been identified and the generic PIA addressed some concerns, this assessment concludes that, with the existing Statistics Canada safeguards and additional safeguards that have been put in place, any remaining risks are either negligible, or are such that Statistics Canada is prepared to accept and manage the risk.

Generic Privacy Impact Assessment

Statistics Canada's generic PIA assesses the privacy, confidentiality and security risks associated with the collection, use, disclosure, retention and disposal of personal information by Statistics Canada in the application of its mandate under the Statistics Act; i.e., in its statistical programs. This approach is possible due to the standardization of procedures and tools across Statistics Canada's various statistical programs. The Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM version 5.0, December 2013), developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) was used to identify those activities that involve the collection, use, maintenance and dissemination of personal information (as defined by the Privacy Act).

ach of the ten privacy principles were also examined and evaluated to determine the significance of any residual risks. Using a Threat and Risk Assessment approach, all risks were analyzed to determine the level of risk that remains given the mitigating procedures that Statistics Canada puts in place to address privacy concerns. A total of 27 aspects of statistical programs identified risks for evaluation, with several risks identified within each of these aspects.

While potential privacy concerns have been identified and evaluated, this assessment concludes that, with the existing Statistics Canada safeguards, any remaining risks are either negligible or are such that Statistics Canada is prepared to accept and manage the risk.

Record linkage

As outlined in Statistics Canada's Directive on Record Linkage, linkages of different records pertaining to the same individual are carried out only for statistical purposes and only in cases where the public good is clearly evident. One of the primary objectives of these linkages is to produce statistical information that facilitates a better understanding of Canadian society, the economy and the environment.

All record linkage proposals must satisfy a prescribed review process as outlined in the directive. In addition to demonstrating the public benefit, each submission must provide details of the output, frequency, and retention of files and identifiers. The public dissemination of any information resulting from record linkages, like all other statistical information, is only at an aggregate level which protects the confidentiality of the information of individuals.

In 2015/2016, there were 20 approved record linkages that involved personal information. A summary of these record linkages is found in Appendix C.

Types of disclosure under subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act

Subsection 8(2) of the Act describes the circumstances under which personal information may be disclosed without the consent of the individual to whom the information pertains. Although this disclosure of personal information is discretionary, it is subject to any other Act of Parliament. In the case of Statistics Canada, the Statistics Act provides a statutory prohibition against disclosure of identifiable information, without the knowledge and consent of the individual concerned. Therefore, personal information collected under the Statistics Act cannot be disclosed pursuant to subsection 8(2).

In the case of personal information, in records held by Statistics Canada, and subject only to the Privacy Act (i.e., those of employees and contractors), disclosures under subsection 8(2) can occur in certain circumstances: for the purpose for which information is obtained or compiled by the institution, for a use consistent with the purpose described in personal information banks registered to Statistics Canada, or for the purpose of complying with subpoenas, warrants, court orders and rules of court.

Paragraph 8(2)(m) of the Act allows for disclosures of personal information in the public interest, and Paragraph 8(2)(e) allows for disclosures of personal information "to an investigative body…for the purpose of enforcing any law." During the reporting period, Statistics Canada did not disclose any personal information under subsections 8(2)(m) or/and 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act.

Appendix A

Access to Information and Privacy Acts Delegation Order

The Minister of Industry, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers and functions of the Minister as the head of Statistics Canada, under the section of the Act set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation Orders.

Schedule

Schedule
Position	Access to Information Act and Regulations	Privacy Act and Regulations
Chief Statistician of Canada	Full authority	Full authority
Chief of Staff, Office of the Chief Statistician	Full authority	Full authority
Director, Information Management Division	Full authority	Full authority
Departmental Secretary	Sections: 7(a), 7(b), 8(1), 9, 11(2), 11(3), 11(4), 11(5), 11(6), 12(2)(b), 12(3)(b), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 22.1, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27(1), 27(4), 28(1)(b), 28(2), 28(4), 33, 35(2)(b), 68, 69, 71(1) Regulations: Sections: 6(1), 7(2), 7(3), 8, 8.1	Sections: 8(2)(j), 8(2)(m), 8(4), 8(5), 9(1),9(4), 10, 14, 15, 17(2)(b), 17(3)(b), 18(2), 19(1), 19(2), 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 70 Regulations: Sections: 9, 11(2), 11(4), 13(1), 14
Senior Access to Information and Privacy Project Manager	Sections: 7(a), 8(1), 9, 11(2), 11(3), 11(4), 11(5), 11(6), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27(1), 27(4), 28(1)(b), 28(2), 28(4), 68, 69, 71(1) Regulations: Sections: 6(1), 7(1), 7(2), 7(3), 8, 8.1	Sections: 8(2)(j), 8(2)(m), 10, 14, 15, 17(2)(b), 17(3)(b), 18(2), 19(1), 19(2), 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 70 Regulations: Sections: 9, 11(2), 11(4), 13(1), 14
Senior Access to Information and Privacy Project Officer	Sections: 7(a), 8(1), 9, 11(2), 11(3), 11(4), 11(5), 11(6), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27(1), 27(4), 28(1)(b), 28(2), 28(4), 68, 69, 71(1) Regulations: Sections: 6(1), 7(1), 7(2), 7(3), 8, 8.1	Sections: 8(2)(j), 8(2)(m), 10, 14, 15, 17(2)(b), 17(3)(b), 18(2), 19(1), 19(2), 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 70 Regulations: Sections: 9, 11(2), 11(4), 13(1), 14

The original version was signed by
The Honourable James Moore
Minister of Industry
Dated, at the City of Ottawa
August 16, 2013

Appendix B

Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Statistics Canada

Reporting period: 01/04/2015 to 31/03/2016

Part 1 - Requests under the Privacy Act

Requests under the Privacy Act
	Number of Requests
Received during reporting period	115
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Total	115
Closed during reporting period	111
Carried over to next reporting period	4

Part 2 – Requests closed during the reporting period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

2.1 Disposition and completion time
Table summary
This table displays the results of 2.1 Disposition and completion time. The information is grouped by Disposition of requests (appearing as row headers), Completion Time (appearing as column headers).
Disposition of requests	Completion Time
Disposition of requests	1 to 15 days	16 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
All disclosed	11	7	0	0	0	0	0	18
Disclosed in part	15	17	7	0	0	0	0	39
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
No records exist	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	39
Request abandoned	12	3	0	0	0	0	0	15
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	77	27	7	0	0	0	0	111

2.2 Exemptions

2.2 Exemptions
Section	Number of requests
18(2)	0
19(1)(a)	0
19(1)(b)	0
19(1)(c)	0
19(1)(d)	0
19(1)(e)	0
19(1)(f)	0
20	0
21	0
22(1)(a)(i)	0
22(1)(a)(ii)	0
22(1)(a)(iii)	0
22(1)(b)	10
22(1)(c)	0
22(2)	0
22.1	0
22.2	0
22.3	0
23(a)	0
23(b)	0
24(a)	0
24(b)	0
25	0
26	30
27	1
28	0

2.3 Exclusions

2.3 Exclusions
Section	Number of requests
69(1)(a)	0
69(1)(b)	0
69.1	0
70(1)	0
70(1)(a)	0
70(1)(b)	0
70(1)(c)	0
70(1)(d)	0
70(1)(e)	0
70(1)(f)	0
70.1	0

2.4 Format of information released

2.4 Format of information released
Disposition	Paper	Electronic
All disclosed	2	16
Disclosed in part	2	37
Total	4	53

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Disposition of requests	Number of pages processed	Number of pages disclosed	Number of requests
All disclosed	2,332	2,332	18
Disclosed in part	8,726	5,186	39
All exempted	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	15
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0
Total	11,058	7,518	72

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests
Table summary
This table displays the results of 2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests. The information is grouped by Disposition (appearing as row headers), Less than 100 pages processed, 101-500 pages processed, 501-1000 pages processed, 1001-5000 pages processed and More than 5000 pages processed (appearing as column headers).
Disposition	Less than 100 pages processed		101-500 pages processed		501-1,000 pages processed		1,001-5,000 pages processed		More than 5,000 pages processed
Disposition	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
All disclosed	15	958	3	1,374	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	30	1,028	6	1,109	2	1,485	1	1,564	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	60	1,986	9	2,483	2	1,485	1	1,564	0	0

2.5.3 Other complexities

2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition	Legal Advice Sought	Total
All disclosed	0	0
Disclosed in part	4	4
All exempted	0	0
All excluded	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0
Total	4	4

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
Table summary
This table displays the Reasons for not meeting statutory deadlines. The information is grouped by Number of requests closed past the statutory deadline (appearing as row headers) and Principal Reason (appearing as column headers).
Number of requests closed past the statutory deadline	Principal Reason
Number of requests closed past the statutory deadline	Workload	External consultation	Internal consultation	Other
0	0	0	0	0

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline
Number of days past deadline	Number of requests past deadline where no extension was taken	Number of requests past deadline where an extension was taken	Total
1 to 15 days	0	0	0
16 to 30 days	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0
61 to 120 days	0	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0
More than 365 days	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

2.7 Requests for translation

2.7 Requests for translation
Translation Requests	Accepted	Refused	Total
English to French	0	0	0
French to English	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

Part 3 - Disclosures under subsection 8(2) and 8(5)

Disclosures under subsection 8(2) and 8(5)
Paragraph 8(2)(e)	Paragraph 8(2)(m)	Paragraph 8(5)	Total
0	0	0	0

Part 4 - Requests for correction of personal information and notations

Requests for correction of personal information and notations
Disposition for Correction Requests Received	Number
Notations attached	0
Requests for correction accepted	0
Total	0

Part 5 - Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests
Table summary
This table displays the results of Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests. The information is grouped by Disposition of requests where an extension was taken (appearing as row headers), 15(a)(i) Interference with operations, 15(a)(ii) Consultation and 15(b) Translation or conversion (appearing as column headers).
Disposition of requests where an extension was taken	15(a)(i) Interference with operations	15(a)(ii) Consultation		15(b) Translation or conversion
Disposition of requests where an extension was taken	15(a)(i) Interference with operations	Section 70	Other	15(b) Translation or conversion
All disclosed	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	7	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0
Total	7	0	0	0

5.2 Length of extensions

5.2 Length of extensions
Table summary
This table displays the Length of extensions. The information is grouped by Length of extensions (appearing as row headers), 15(a)(i) Interference with operations, 15(a)(ii) Consultation and 15(b) Translation or conversion (appearing as column headers).
Length of extensions	15(a)(i) Interference with operations	15(a)(ii) Consultation		15(b) Translation or conversion
Length of extensions	15(a)(i) Interference with operations	Section 70	Other	15(b) Translation or conversion
1 to 15 days	0	0	0	0
16 to 30 days	7	0	0	0
Total	7	0	0	0

Part 6 - Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations
Consultations	Other government of Canada institutions	Number of pages to review
Received during the reporting period	1	62
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	0	0
Total	1	62
Closed during the reporting period	1	62
Pending at the end of the reporting period	0	0

6.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

6.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions
Table summary
This table displays the Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other government institutions. The information is grouped by Recommendation (appearing as row headers) and Number of days required to complete consultation requests (appearing as column headers).
Recommendation	Number of days required to complete consultation requests
Recommendation	1 to 15 days	16 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations
Table summary
This table displays the Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations. The information is grouped by Recommendation (appearing as row headers) and Number of days required to complete consultation requests (appearing as column headers).
Recommendation	Number of days required to complete consultation requests
Recommendation	1 to 15 days	16 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Part 7 – Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

7.1 Requests with Legal Services
Table summary
This table displays the results of 7.1 Requests with Legal Services. The information is grouped by Number of Days (appearing as row headers), Less than 100 pages processed, 101-500 pages processed, 501-1000 pages processed, 1001-5000 pages processed and More than 5000 pages processed (appearing as column headers).
Number of Days	Less than 100 pages processed		101-500 pages processed		501-1,000 pages processed		1,001-5,000 pages processed		More than 5,000 pages processed
Number of Days	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 t o180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office
Table summary
This table displays the results of 7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office. The information is grouped by Number of Days (appearing as row headers), Less than 100 pages processed, 101-500 pages processed, 501-1000 pages processed, 1001-5000 pages processed and More than 5000 pages processed (appearing as column headers).
Number of Days	Less than 100 pages processed		101-500 pages processed		501-1,000 pages processed		1,001-5,000 pages processed		More than 5,000 pages processed
Number of Days	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 t o180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Part 8 – Complaints and investigations notices received

Part 8 – Complaints and investigations notices received
	Section 31	Section 33	Section 35	Court action	Total
Complaints and investigations notices received	1	0	1	0	2

Part 9 - Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

Part 8 – Complaints and investigations notices received
	Total
Number of PIA(s) completed	2

Part 10 – Resources related to the Privacy Act

10.1 Costs

10.1 Costs
Table summary
This table displays the Resources related to the Privacy Act. The information is grouped by Expenditures (appearing as row headers) and dollar amount (appearing as column headers).
Expenditures	Amount ($)
Salaries	$259,326
Overtime	$0
Goods and Services	$1,671
(Professional services contracts)	($0)
(Other)	($1,671)
Total	$260,997

10.2 Human Resources

10.2 Human Resources
Table summary
This table displays the Human Resources used. The information is grouped by Full-time employees, Part-time and casual employees, Regional staff, Consultants and agency personnel, and Students (appearing as row headers), Dedicated full-time, Dedicated part-time, and Total (appearing as column headers).
Resources	Person Years Dedicated to Privacy Activities
Full-time employees	2.92
Part-time and casual employees	0.00
Regional staff	0.00
Consultants and agency personnel	0.00
Students	0.00
Total	2.92

Appendix C

Record linkages

Linkage of the 2014 Teacher's Questionnaire to the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS) (010-2015)

Purpose: The main objective of this linkage is to combine the data provided by a teacher of a child who participated in the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS) with data collected in the main survey (OCHS). The linkage will allow for a more complete portrait of children's mental health in Ontario.

Description: Responses to the Teacher's Questionnaire and 2014 Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS) will be matched for each respondent using the variable sample_id (which identifies a child uniquely in the sample). This linkage be used to create an analytical file.

Output: The data obtained on the Teacher's Questionnaire will include information about the child's school achievement and behaviour at school and combined with parent (guardian) reported data on the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study. The data are processed and prepared for dissemination using a regular suite of Statistical products including analytical files (with personal identifiers removed) made available in the Research Data Centres.

2012 Canadian Survey on Disability and 2011 National Household Survey Linkage (013-2015)

Purpose: The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is a post-censual survey which provides information on Canadians whose everyday activities may be limited because of a condition or health-related problem. Information from this survey is essential for the effective development and operation of national programs such as employment equity and is required by the Government of Canada to fulfill various international commitments, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

An application (024-2013) had been made in April 2013 to conduct a linkage between the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) and the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS). Approval was received to link the data files and a final analytical file was created in the fall of 2013. The retention period for the CSD-NHS composite file expired in August 2014, however, we are receiving a number of requests to include additional NHS variables on the file. This request is therefore to further enrich the analytical potential of the 2012 CSD microdata file by including additional variables that had not been included on the original request.

Researchers who use the CSD data have expressed the desire to have the new NHS variables added to the existing file in order to further enhance their analytical objectives. NHS data complement the findings of the CSD, providing information on topics that were either beyond the scope of the CSD or which were explored in the survey in only a very limited way in order to reduce response burden. The new variables being proposed are consistent with the goal of enriching the analytical potential of the 2012 CSD microdata file.

Description: Responses to the 2012 CSD and 2011 NHS will be matched for each respondent using the variables frame_id (which identifies a household uniquely in Canada) and persnr (which identifies a person uniquely within the household). This linkage will result in the CSD-NHS linked analytical microdata file.

Output: Linked data, including the newly requested variables, from the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability and 2011 National Household Survey will be disseminated on the analytical microdata file produced for the 2012 CSD. A microdata file was released to the National Research Data Centre in January 2014 and will be re-released in Spring 2015, once the new variables have been added. Any CSD products containing linked data will be disseminated in accordance with Statistics Canada's policies, guidelines and standards. Only aggregate statistical estimates that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada.

Extending the Relevance of Longitudinal Files (023-2015)

Purpose: The goal of this linkage is to add repeated measures for important outcome domains for each respondent to the five terminated longitudinal surveys to extend their analytical relevance with minimal investment when compared to the cost of new data collection. This linkage will allow researchers both inside Statistics Canada and through the Research Data Centres to analyze longer term outcomes for the cohorts in the five longitudinal surveys.

Description: The longitudinal surveys involved are:

Youth in Transition Survey (YITS),
National Population Health Survey (NPHS), Household component,
Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID),
National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), and
Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC).

To extend the analytic value of these surveys, a file containing variables that measure key outcomes (e.g. income, health, employment and mobility) will be created using data from the following Statistics Canada surveys/administrative data bases:

Census 2006 and 2011
National Household Survey 2011
Vital Statistics - Deaths (1993 to 2011)
Canadian Cancer Registry (containing cancer diagnoses from 1992 to 2011)
T1 Family File (T1FF) (1993 to 2011)

Output: Only aggregate data and analyses conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada Research Data Centres, in the form of peer reviewed journal articles, presentations at conferences and a part of a graduate level thesis/dissertation.

National Apprenticeship Survey (NAS) - 2015: linking tax data from the T1 Family File (033-2015)

Purpose: The National Apprenticeship Survey (NAS), established in 1989, conducts telephone surveys from a sample selected across the 10 provinces and 3 territories. The NAS is an occasional survey, the last one being conducted in 2007. The NAS 2015 is a survey of apprentices that targets individuals who have completed or discontinued their apprenticeship in the year 2011, 2012 or 2013. This survey aims to understand the factors that influence whether apprentices complete or discontinue their apprenticeship, the challenges of obtaining certification and the effectiveness of the most recent financial support programs. It also serves to examine the transition to the labour market of apprentices who completed or discontinued their apprenticeship.

By linking the NAS 2015 responses to the personal tax files of respondents, more accurate income (personal) will be obtained for respondents. At the same time, response burden will be minimized, data quality will be improved, and collection and data processing costs will be reduced.

Description: The NAS 2015 is a sample based survey with a cross-sectional design. Telephone surveys are conducted through computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) from a sample selected across the 13 Canadian provinces and territories. By linking data, we are aiming to obtain better quality data for income (personal).

The information collected during the NAS 2015 will be linked to the personal tax records (T1FF) of respondents.

Respondents will be notified of the planned linkage during the survey. Any respondents who object to the linkage of their data will have their objections recorded, and no linkage to their tax data will take place.

Output: The availability of the NAS 2015 analytical data file will be announced in The Daily. The analysis file will be made available to Statistics Canada researchers, and to deemed employees at the Statistics Canada Research Data Centres. All data will remain confidential and protected under the Statistics Act.

Along with the availability announcement of the analytical data file (in The Daily), only non-confidential aggregate statistics will be released.

Education Longitudinal Linkage Platform (ELLP): Creation of a record linkage platform to allow development of key education indicators and analysis related to postsecondary education and apprenticeship programs (059-2015)

Purpose: Longitudinal data are needed for the development of key, Pan-Canadian, longitudinal indicators and analysis related to postsecondary education and apprenticeship programs. These outputs will lead to a better understanding of student pathways through postsecondary education and training including completion rates and outcomes. They will be useful for education and labour market policy and planning and fill gaps in current knowledge.

Administrative data files from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), the Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS) and the T1 Family Files (T1FF) will be used to create a linkage platform for relating longitudinal education information and other data sources listed below.

The linkage platform will permit use of the longitudinal administrative data while protecting the privacy of individuals.

Description: The target population for the linkage platform and education indicator development comprises individuals who were enrolled in postsecondary institutions (PSIS) or registered in apprenticeship programs or as trade qualifiers (RAIS), at some time since 2008. Data for selected jurisdictions will go back as far as 2004.

Anonymized linking keys will be associated to the records of analytical variables from the data source files and all personal identifiers will be removed. A registry of these linking keys will be created. To protect the sensitivity of the information, the registry of keys and the personal identifiers required for updating the linkage platform will be stored in separate files in a separate location accessible only to the few Statistics Canada employees whose job duties require access. The registry of keys will be used to create customized, linked files that merge variables from the different data sources for creating longitudinal education indicators and for analytical purposes. These customized, linked files will not include the data source linking keys or personal identifiers.

Data sources used to construct the linkage platform or that will be linked for analytical purposes include:

Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) annual pan-Canadian records beginning with 2008-09 and ongoing, and records for selected jurisdictions for 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08;
Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS) annual pan-Canadian records beginning with 2008 and ongoing, and records for selected jurisdictions for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007;
Selected, tax-related, administrative and concordance files needed to establish and validate record matches between the annual PSIS and RAIS data files.
The T1 Family Files (T1FF), beginning with 1997 and ongoing
National Apprenticeship survey, 2015 and ongoing;
National Graduate Survey, beginning with 2013 (graduates of 2009/2010) and ongoing;
the Alberta Graduate Outcomes Survey, beginning with 2004 or the first year available after that and ongoing;
Additional files from the Alberta data systems that are used to report PSIS and RAIS data to Statistics Canada and files from selected institutions, beginning with 2004 and ongoing;
the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Landing File; the Census; the National Household Survey (NHS); the Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamics Database (CEEDD); and the Longitudinal Apprentices and Trade Qualifiers Database; all beginning with 2004 or the first year available after that and ongoing;
Data on student and apprenticeship loans and grants from provinces, territories and/or Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), beginning with 2004 and ongoing.

New years of data will be added when they become available.

The eventual production of the ELLP within the Social Data Linkage Environment will be explored.

Output: Analytical data linked using this linkage platform will be used to prepare indicators, tables, analytical reports and research papers for publication, for presentation at conferences, workshops and meetings and to fill cost-recovery requests for clients. They will also be used to provide insights for improving education data collection and data quality.

Only non-confidential aggregate statistics and analysis conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act or as permitted by the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. A discretionary disclosure approval has been granted to allow the PSIS program to release aggregated enrolment and graduation information at the postsecondary institution level for institutions that have signed a waiver covering the specific PSIS release period.

Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB): Extension and Updates (060-2015)

Purpose: The Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) is used to analyze immigrants' economic integration as well as internal mobility. It is a unique source of data at Statistics Canada that provides a direct link between immigration policy and the economic performance of immigrants.

Specifically, the IMDB provides federal and provincial departments involved in immigration issues and programs, the research community, and immigrant settlement agencies in Canada with crucial data to conduct research regarding the selection process of immigrants, their settlement patterns and their economic integration.

Description: The Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) is a database that is created by linking Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC) administrative immigrant files with personal tax files obtained by Statistics Canada from Canada Revenue Agency.

The IMDB currently includes tax data from 1982 to 2013 and covers immigrants who landed in Canada from 1980 to 2013. The IMDB is being re-designed as follows:

to extend the universe of the database to include immigrants who landed before 1980 (1952 to 1979) to ensure a better coverage of the immigrant population in Canada;
to extend the universe of the database to include temporary residents who arrived in Canada from 1980 to 2019 to account for pre-landing experience in Canada and to study pathways from arriving as temporary residents to landing;
to include a date of citizenship to study pathways to citizenship;
to include a date of death from the Amalgamated Mortality Database to better account for the population in scope;
to take advantage of newly developed files such as the Dependent Registry to improve record linkage; and
to use this new methodology for seven reference years of updates, i.e. data reference years 2013 to 2019 (for immigration records and tax files).

Immigrant identifiers will continue to be added to the Longitudinal Administrative Databank (LAD).

Output: Only aggregate statistics and analysis conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. These will be in the form of tables on income distribution, interprovincial mobility, industry of employment, and provincial indicators produced for IRCC, as well as other federal and provincial organizations. On request, multivariate analyses and statistical tables will be produced from the IMDB analysis file for researchers. All access to the analysis file will be on Statistics Canada premises and will be restricted to only those employees and deemed employees of Statistics Canada whose assigned work duties require such access.

The IMDB linked analysis database will be retained until at least July 2021, at which time the Executive Management Board will be asked to review continuance of the program.

Canadian Income Survey: Linkage to Income Data Files (063-2015)

Purpose: The purpose of this linkage is to obtain income data and reduce respondent burden, interviewer time and collection costs for the Canadian Income Survey. The linkage allows obtaining information on income variables without burdening respondents with detailed questions about their income.

Description: The Canadian Income Survey database and the T1, T1IDENT and T5007 Files will be linked using the address, city, date of birth, first name, surname, sex, province, social insurance number, codes for surname, postal code, marital status, telephone number and first initial. This information will be removed from the linked file as soon as the linkage is completed, and stored separately. Access to these files will be restricted to Statistics Canada employees whose assigned work activities require access.

Output: No information containing personal identifiers would be released outside of Statistics Canada from this linkage activity. Only non-confidential aggregate statistics and analysis conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada.

Strengthening the Longitudinal Worker File (065-2015)

Purpose: The objective of this initiative is to strengthen the analytical value of the Longitudinal Worker File by increasing its sample size and by incorporating additional input data files. The Longitudinal Worker File is a multi-purpose file used to support research on a range of labour market issues such as worker mobility, layoffs and retirement.

Description: Information at the level of the business-enterprise will be drawn from the Longitudinal Employment Analysis Program (LEAP) file, while individual- and job-level data will be drawn from T1 files, the T4 Supplementary File, the T4 Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid file, and the Record of Employment (ROE) file. All linkages will be done on a deterministic basis using Business Numbers (BNs) and/or Social Insurance Numbers (SINs).

Business Numbers and SINs will be transformed into unique personal identifiers that will remain on the individual-level linked file in a scrambled form. The use of scrambled identifiers will allow users to follow individuals longitudinally over time. Postal code information will be used to create aggregated geography variables and then removed from the files.

All BNs, SINS and postal codes will be removed from the linked file and stored in a separate location accessible only to Statistics Canada employees whose job duties require them to access this information.

Output: Methodological and analytical findings resulting from these linked data will be used to prepare research papers for publication in analytical reports, peer-reviewed scientific journals (including Statistics Canada's Health Reports), CANSIM, for presentation at conferences, workshops and meetings.

Only aggregate statistics and analysis conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. The linked file will be retained by Statistics Canada until December 31, 2025, at which time the continued retention of the file will be reviewed. All linkage keys and identifiers will be removed from the linked file and retained separately, with access limited to Statistics Canada employees whose assigned work requires access to the file.

Strengthening the Refugee Claimant Database (067-2015)

Purpose: The objective of this initiative is to strengthen the Refugee Claimant Database—a data file used for examining income characteristics of refugee claimants in Canada. The inclusion of information on the outcomes of refugee claims and linkages to landing records will increase record linkage rates, improve data quality, and increase the analytical value of the data base. This will yield better information on refugee claimants in Canada and their financial and labour market characteristics over time.

Description: The linked data file will provide better information on the income characteristics of refugee claimants by incorporating the claim decision and decision date from the Immigrant Refugee Board. These two pieces of information are required to identify and remove refugee claimants who have left the country—a group that would otherwise remain in the data with uncertain income characteristics. In addition, landing information from the Immigration Landing File at Statistics Canada will be included in the data.

Output: Analytical findings resulting from the linked data file will be used to prepare tabulations and research papers for publication.

Only aggregate statistics and analysis conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. The linked file will be retained by Statistics Canada until no longer required, up to, December 31, 2017, at which time it will be destroyed. All linkage keys and identifiers will be removed from the linked file and retained separately, with access limited to Statistics Canada employees whose assigned work requires access to the file.

2016 Census of Population Program linkage to income information from personal income tax and benefits records (071-2015)

Purpose: The purpose is to obtain information on the income of respondents to the 2016 Census of Population Program. The Census Program requires detailed information on several different sources of income, as well as income taxes paid and various deductions and contributions, and accurate reporting would require that respondents consult their own personal records. Linking the Census records to the administrative records reduces response burden and improves the data quality. The income data are used, among other uses, to measure total income, after-tax income, contributions to various programs, disposable income and the Market-Basket Measure of low-income.

Description: Respondents' information on income, income taxes and various expenditures is extracted from their personal income tax and benefits records (including the T1 income tax return, various information slips held by CRA and CCTB and GST credit programs) and added to their responses to the Census of Population Program (short and long forms).

Output: Only aggregate statistical estimates and analyses conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act are released outside of Statistics Canada. The linked Census to the personal income tax and benefits records information are used to produce income estimates for dissemination as part of the Census product line. Outputs for the Census include a wide range of analysis and standard data tables, as well as custom tabulations.

The linked Census edit and imputation files will be retained indefinitely. The linking key file, containing personal identifiers, will be kept until June 2020, or until no longer required, at which time it will be destroyed. All files are password-protected and kept on a server in a secure area. Access to the linking keys and linked Census edit and imputation files is restricted to Statistics Canada employees whose assigned work activities require such access.

2016 Canadian Community Health Survey Annual Component (CCHS) Linkage to Tax Data (072-2015)

Purpose: The purpose of this linkage is to reduce respondent burden while improving data quality. This will also reduce the overall survey time which will reduce collection costs.

Description: HSD is planning to link the 2016 CCHS survey data to existing tax files to collect income information.

The first step is to determine if tax data are available for the CCHS 2016 sampled households. When this information is available, respondents will be given a linkage statement which includes a specific reference to linking to tax data. They will have the opportunity to refuse the linkage. For those respondents that refuse to link, a set of income questions will then be asked. For households where there is no tax data available, the income questions will be asked followed by the linkage statement.

After collection, the second step will be to link the 2016 CCHS data to the most recent available tax files (generally a two year lag from the collection year) to collect the income information for those respondents who did not refuse to link.

Given the CCHS sample is drawn from two frames (Canadian Child Tax Benefit file for respondents aged 12-17 and the Labour Force Survey (LFS) area frame for those 18+), there will be slightly different approaches to the two step linking strategy. For those aged 18 years or older, the sample records will all contain an ARUID. Prior to collection of the CCHS Annual 2016, the ARUIDS for the selected sample will be linked to the 2014 IDENT_ARUID file using ARUID and then linked to the most recent tax data available at the time of collection to identify cases that do not have 2014 tax data. So for the 2016 CCHS master data file, this will be 2014 T1 Personal Master File(T1). Cases that do not have 2014 tax data will be asked income questions as a back-up measure to provide income data. All respondents will also be given the tax linkage statements. For all those agreeing to the tax linkage statement (regardless of whether they were also asked income questions) we will attempt data linkage in the following manner:

Link the ARUID to the 2015 IDENT_ARUID then use this to link to the 2015 T1, T1FF or T4 to obtain tax data.
If a link is not found for 2015 then link to the 2014 IDENT_ARUID and use that link to find the 2014 T1, T1FF, T4 tax data.

Personal information such as name, date of birth and gender, or contact information such as telephone number or postal code may be used to verify the links (through ARUID), or improve linkage rates.

For the 12-17 year old selected respondents, records can be linked through the SIN number of the parents to identify those without 2014 T1, T1FF or T4 data. Those without the 2014 T1 data will be asked the income questions as a back-up measure. All respondents will also be asked the tax data linkage statement. For those agreeing to it (regardless of whether they are asked the income questions) we will attempt linkage as follows:

If the child still lives with the recipient (parent/guardian) then link the SIN of the parent to the 2015 T1,T1FF or T4 to obtain the most recent tax data.
If a link is not found for the 2015 T1 or T1FF and the child still lives with the recipient (parent/guardian) then use the SIN to link to the 2014 T1,T1FF or T4 to obtain tax data.

If the child no longer lives with the recipient (parent/guardian) then linking through contact information such as name, address or phone number may be attempted.

Output: The release of data from the 2016 Canadian Community Health Survey will be announced in The Daily. Data will be made available to deemed employees at the Statistics Canada Research Data Centres. All data will remain confidential and protected under the Statistics Act. There will be no personal identifiers on the data file.

Along with the availability announcement of the analytical data file (in The Daily), only non-confidential aggregate statistics will be released.

Adding immigrant admission category variables to the 2016 Census of Population long-form (075-2015)

Purpose: This project would add immigrant admission category (e.g., economic class, family class, refugees, etc.) and principal applicant status to the 2016 Census of Population database by linking to the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Immigrant Landing File.

Description: The Census of Population provides detailed information on the demographic, social and economic characteristics of people in Canada, as well as providing information about the housing units in which they live. The IRCC Immigrant Landing File provides information on immigrants to Canada since 1980 such as admission category.

This project will build on the previous record linkage project funded by IRCC (037-2013) which linked the Immigrant Landing File with the 2011 National Household Survey by integrating the admission category variables into the 2016 Census of Population Program databases, processing the variables to address inconsistencies and missing values, developing reference material, and disseminating the resulting variables with the 2016 Census of Population Program variables for broad access.

Output: Only aggregate statistical estimates that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. The admission category variables will follow the same dissemination and output considerations of any other 2016 Census of Population Program variable and could be included in custom tabulations, standard tables or articles.

A linkage key will be retained indefinitely as part of this record linkage. The linkage results including variables used to perform the record linkage such as personal identifiers and information used to measure the linkage quality will be destroyed by March 31, 2019. All files will be kept on a server in a secure area. Access to these files will be restricted to Statistics Canada employees whose assigned work activities require such access.

Black-White disparities in mortality in Canada: A subsequent use of linkage 049-2012 – (076-2015)

Purpose: To estimate absolute and relative Black-White mortality gaps for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in Canada and compare with those estimated for the US.

Description: The 1991 Canadian Census Cohort: mortality & cancer follow-up is a probabilistic linked database. Approximately 2.7 million individuals aged 25 or older, who were enumerated by the 1991 long-form census, were followed for mortality, cancer and annual place of residence.

We will estimate age- and sex-specific standardized mortality rates for cohort members identifying as "Black" and non-visible minority. Person time for each cohort member will be calculated from the beginning of the study (June 4, 1991) until the date of death or the end of the study (December 31, 2009). The Canadian cohort population structure will be used as the standard population for estimating mortality rates (also for the US to facilitate comparability between the countries). Age standardized mortality rate differences (RD) and rate ratios (RR) will be estimated to compare between Blacks and non-visible minorities. We will also fit standardized survival curves to assess absolute survival probabilities for the two groups, adjusted for age and socio-demographic variables. This method overcomes some of the limitations of the standard Cox proportional hazards model and permits estimation of absolute effect measures.

Changes in work and earnings following health shocks (082-2015)

Purpose: The objective of this initiative is to create a linked database that will support research on the labour market and financial outcomes experienced by individuals and families following hospitalizations resulting from accidents and acute illness. The proposed linkage will combine data on acute inpatient hospitalizations with data from various taxation- and employment-based administrative files. The resulting analytical files will support research on the economic consequences of 'health shocks' for individuals and their families and the implications for income, labour and health policies. This information does not currently exist and this linkage project will fill an important data gap.

Description: Health related information will be drawn from the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) which contains demographic, administrative and clinical data on all hospital admissions in Canada (excluding Quebec), from April 1, 1999 to the present. The data include information on hospital admission and discharge dates, admission to intensive care, and hospital diagnoses. These data allow 'health shocks' to be identified in terms of type and severity.

Information on labour market and financial outcomes of individuals as well as job-level data will be drawn from the following administrative data files: T1 Family File, T1 Personal Master File, T1 Historical Personal Master File, T4 Summary File, T4E Statement of EI Benefits Received, EI Status Vector File, Record of Employment, and Longitudinal Employment Analysis Program. These data allow the economic characteristics of individuals (and their spouses) to be identified both before and after a health shock, so that the impacts of the health shock can be estimated on outcomes such as cessation of employment, earnings losses, job instability, and receipt of income support.

The linkage process will involve linking identifiers available in both data files - date of birth, postal code and sex - to create a link between Health Insurance Number (HIN) in the DAD and Social Insurance Number (SIN) in tax files. The linkage keys will be kept separately, with access limited to Statistics Canada employees whose assigned work requires access to the file.

Output: Methodological and analytical findings resulting from these linked data will be used to prepare research papers for publication. The linked file will also be used to develop tabular data and indicators for release on Statistics Canada's website. Only non-confidential aggregate statistics that will not result in the identification of an individual person, business or organization will be released outside of Statistics Canada.

Canadian Income Survey: Linkage to Income Data Files (091-2015)

Description: The Canadian Income Survey database and the T1, T1IDENT, T5007 and CCTB files will be linked using the address, city, date of birth, first name, surname, sex, province, social insurance number, codes for surname, postal code, marital status, telephone number and first initial. This information will be removed from the linked file as soon as the linkage is completed, and stored separately. Access to these files will be restricted to Statistics Canada employees whose assigned work activities require access.

Longitudinal perspectives on employment, income and health: Linkage of the Longitudinal Worker File, 1991 Census, Canadian Mortality Database and Canadian Cancer Database (092-2015)

Purpose: The objective of this project is to create a new database that will support longitudinal analysis and outcome measures pertaining to employment, income and health. The database will be used to examine various issues pertaining to returns to education and training, the labour market outcomes of immigrants, retirement transitions, and changes in individual- and family-level earnings in the wake of layoffs or a cancer diagnosis. In addition, the file will be used to strengthen inputs into Statistics Canada's Population Health Model (POHEM) cancer module and the Dynamic Socio-Economic Modelling (DYSEM).

Description: This project builds on previous initiatives undertaken by Statistics Canada. First, in 2003, Statistics Canada's Policy Committee approved an initiative that drew a 15% sample of Canadians aged 25 or older from the 1991 Census 2B and 2D Long Forms and linked them to their 1991 and/or 1992 T1 tax returns, and subsequently to the Canadian Mortality Database (record linkage #012-2001). In 2009, this database was extended to cover a longer reference period and expanded to include information from the Canadian Cancer Database as well as postal code information on an annual basis (record linkage #052-2009).

Second, in 1999, Statistics Canada's Policy Committee approved the creation and annual update of the Longitudinal Worker File (LWF) (record linkage #006-99) for data year 1983 onward. An amendment was approved in 2007 (record linkage # 007-07) to add additional variables from the T1 personal tax file. In 2015, an improvement to the LWF was approved which expanded the file's sample size from a 10% random sample of Canadian workers to 100% of Canadian workers (record linkage #065-2015). The LWF contains information drawn from the T1, T4, Record of Employment, and the Longitudinal Employment Analysis Program (LEAP) files. The LWF provides longitudinal information on employment and earning outcomes from 1987 onward.

These two initiatives have yielded large and complementary databases – the first containing rich socio-demographic information (but little information on economic outcomes) and the second containing rich information on economic outcomes (but little socio-demographic information). Because of the large size of both databases, the overlap between them yields a subsample comprised of approximately 15% of Canadians who were aged 25 or older in 1991.

Output: Four separate analytical files will be created and linkable with a randomly-generated Statistics Canada respondent number.

Longitudinal Worker File output file: This file contains the demographic and economic variables from the 1987 onward LWF, individual- and family-level variables appended from the T1 Family File, and a randomly-generated Statistics Canada respondent number.

Census of Population output file: This file contains the socio-demographic variables from the 1991 Census of Population 2B and 2D (long forms) available in the original 1991 Census mortality cohort, as well as a randomly-generated Statistics Canada respondent number.

Mortality Output file: This file will contain the randomly-generated Statistics Canada number for each individual in the cohort, and the following mortality information: age, province/country of birth, underlying cause of death, nature of injury, province/country of death, sex, postal code and standard geographic codes of residence (e.g. Census Sub-Division), year, month, and day of death, derived person-years at risk, and mortality linkage weight.

Cancer Output file: This file will contain the randomly-assigned Statistics Canada number for each individual in the cohort, and the following information from the cancer database (CCDB): sex, province and year, month and day of diagnosis, year of birth, age, province or country of birth, diagnostic information (diagnostic codes, morphology and topography, morphology code indicator, source of registration, method of diagnosis, laterality, primary site number), patient vital status, province of residence, postal code of residence at diagnosis, year and province of death (if applicable), postal code of death (if applicable), cause of death (if applicable), and the cancer incidence linkage weight.

Methodological and analytical findings resulting from these linked data will be used to prepare research papers for publication in analytical reports, peer-reviewed scientific journals (including Statistics Canada's Health Reports), CANSIM, for presentation at conferences, workshops and meetings.

Only aggregate statistics and analysis conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada. The output files will be retained by Statistics Canada until December 31, 2022, at which time the continued retention of the files will be reviewed. All linkage keys and identifiers will be removed from the output files and retained separately, with access limited to Statistics Canada employees whose assigned work requires access to the file.

Creation of a Derived Record Depository and Key Registry for the Purposes of the Social Data Linkage Environment (094-2015)

Purpose: The Social Data Linkage Environment (SDLE) builds on past record linkage experience to make possible a program of pan-Canadian socio-economic record linkage research. A well-structured and regulated program of record linkage will increase the relevance of existing Statistics Canada surveys; substantially increase the use of administrative data; facilitate the integration of data from various social domains, such as health, education, justice and income thereby increasing the ability to analyse the impact of social determinants from any of these domains to the outcomes in other domains; reduce the burden on survey respondents by re-using already collected data; and maintain the highest data privacy and security standards.

A Derived Record Depository and separate Key Registry will be created to reduce privacy risks and to improve the efficiency and quality of the linkages.

Statistics Canada has responsibility for securely storing and processing data files and for the production of analysis files needed to carry out approved research studies. SDLE research projects will involve the use of linked records, and in accordance with Statistics Canada's Directive on Record Linkage, approval by the Chief Statistician is required for each new linkage project.

Description: The Derived Record Depository (DRD) is created by linking various Statistics Canada data files for the purpose of producing a list of unique individuals. Each individual in the DRD is assigned an anonymous SDLE identifier. The identifier is randomly assigned and has no value outside of the SDLE. Some of the data files used for the DRD include the T1 Personal Master Files (Tax), Canadian Child Tax Benefits (CCTB) files, Canadian Child Tax Benefits – Ident (CCTB-Ident) files, the SIN_ARUID, the DIN_ARUID, the DIN_ARUID, the SINSIN, the DINDIN, the DINSIN, the Dependant Registry, the Social Insurance Registry, the Canadian Birth Database (CBDB), the Canadian Mortality Database (CMDB), the Landed Immigrant Database and the Indian Registry. Future updates to these files will be used for further updates to the DRD.

The DRD would initially be comprised of the following personal identifiers: Surnames; Given names; Date of birth; Sex; Marital status; Date of landing/immigration; Date of emigration; Date of death; Social Insurance Numbers (SIN), Temporary Taxation Numbers (TTN), Dependant Identifier Numbers (DIN); Spouse's SIN/TTN; Dependant/Disabled individual SIN/TTN/DIN; Parent SIN/TTN; Health Information Numbers; Addresses; Address Registry Unique Identifier (ARUID); Standard Geography Classification (SGC) codes; Telephone numbers; Spouses' surname; Mother's surname; Father's surname; Alternate surname and a Statistics Canada-generated sequential identification number for each individual identified through the annual Derived Record Depository linkage process. Access to the Derived Record Depository will be restricted to the Statistics Canada employees responsible for its development and maintenance.

Linkage of the Derived Record Depository to administrative and survey databases held by Statistics Canada will be performed in a dedicated social data linkage data environment (the "SDLE"). To ensure a high level of data security and privacy, the association of Statistics Canada-generated identification numbers from the Derived Record Depository and the administrative and survey database Record Identifiers will be stored in a separate Key Registry, thus avoiding the need to store survey data with personal identifiers. For analytical studies, the associated SDLE Identifiers and the Record Identifiers will be used to link an individual's records within and among the databases in the SDLE environment. All such analytical studies will require prior linkage approval from Statistics Canada's Executive Management Board. Access to the Key Registry will be restricted to the Statistics Canada employees responsible for its development and maintenance and those responsible for the creation of linked analysis data files.

The Key Registry will contain linkage keys to permit linkage for approved studies to data files held at Statistics Canada. Some of these files include but are not limited to:

T1 Personal Master File;
Canadian Child Tax Benefits;
Longitudinal Immigration Database;
Birth and death databases;
Census of Population (1991 onward);
National Household Survey;
National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth;
Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada;
Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics;
Youth in Transition Survey;
National Population Health Survey;
T1 Family File;
Clinical administrative databases (inpatient and outpatient hospital records, 1992 onward);
Canadian Cancer Registry;
Canadian Community Health Survey (all cycles);
Canadian Health Measures Survey (all cycles);

Output: No information from the Derived Record Depository will be released outside of Statistics Canada. The Derived Record Depository and Key Registry will be used exclusively to support the development of research files within the SDLE. Statistics Canada will retain the Derived Record Depository and Key Registry files until it is determined that there is no further need for them.

Research projects will be approved on a study-by-study basis. These may be carried out as part of a research agenda initiated by Statistics Canada or in response to client requests. A summary of each approved study will be posted on the Statistics Canada web site.

Evaluation of the quality of addresses on CCTB and IDENT files and cleaning of the T1FF to exclude duplicates and optimize the linkage (007-2016)

Purpose: The Demographic Estimates Program (DEP) is responsible for the production of international and internal migration estimates. The Household Survey Methods Division (HSMD) offers methodological services to the Demography Division (DEM) in order to improve the population estimates.

Preliminary interprovincial migration is estimated using monthly data from the Canadian Childcare Tax Benefit (CCTB). Migrants are identified by comparing the addresses (postal codes) of CCTB recipients for two consecutive time periods. For this reason, the quality of CCTB addresses are of the upmost importance. Also, because we are mainly interested in migration, it is important that the addresses are updated as soon as possible. The IDENT file is now available quarterly at Statistics Canada. This source offers the possibility of evaluating the quality of CCTB addresses for quarterly time periods by looking specifically at individuals who changed their address on one file or the other in order to verify the consistency of the change.

Interprovincial and subprovincial final estimates are calculated using tax data from the T1FF. As for preliminary estimates, interprovincial and subprovincial migrants are identified by comparing the addresses of tax filers and their dependents for two consecutive years. Filers eligible for that comparison are those who appear on the T1FF for the two years that are being compared. Some individuals change their social insurance number (SIN) or change from a dependent identification number (DIN) to a SIN over time. As a result, these changes create duplicates on the T1FF and make the linkage between the two compared files more difficult. The linkage of the T1FF to auxiliary sources allows us to track individuals whose identification numbers changed over time, and to clean the files to improve their representativeness of the population.

Description: Because of these issues, evaluations were done to 1) assess the quality of CCTB addresses by comparing them with those of the IDENT files and 2) understand the impact of the cleaning of the T1FF identification numbers, which removes duplicates and ensures a common number is kept for the two studied years.

Output: The linkage files between CCTB and IDENT will be kept until April 1st, 2018 (at the latest). After that date, they will be destroyed.

The linkage files between T1FF and the auxiliary sources used for the cleaning would be used in production, which means they could be required for any production-related revisions. For that reason, it is recommended to keep these files.

For these two record linkage projects, aggregated and non-confidential results will be presented internally and externally. They could also be released in reports or scientific papers (conferences and scientific journals).

Agriculture-Population Linkage – A secondary use of file 011-1987 (012-2016)

Purpose: To add a secondary use of the administrative data by another program within the division.

Description: The Census of Agriculture is linked to the Census of Population to create a comprehensive database that includes socio-economic characteristics of farm operators. This activity allows for the production of cross-classified tables displaying farm characteristics and farm operator's socio-economic data. This activity has been ongoing since the 1971 censuses.

Output: The Canadian Agricultural Financial Statistics Section of the Agriculture Division will use the aggregated data from the Ag-Pop linkage to calculate the income-in-kind estimate for the Net Farm Income as part of the requirements for the System of National Accounts.

Linkage of records from the 2011 survey for the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), the 2011 Census of Population, the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS) and the Immigrant Landing file. (001-2016)

Purpose: Given that the linguistic practices of official language minorities in the labour market and their communities affect their cultural and economic vitality, linking PIAAC data with 2011 NHS and 2011 Census data will provide information on each member of a PIAAC respondent's household, which cannot be done at this time. This will help us gain a better understanding of the relationship between the characteristics of household members and the level of skills measured in the PIAAC. As well, the census and NHS include questions that were not asked in the PIAAC survey (e.g., questions to derive the first official language spoken and a question on languages used regularly at work), hence the importance of linking data from different sources.

Description: The PIAAC survey is part of a series of international surveys that have been conducted since the mid-1980s to measure the various dimensions of adult literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills. The 2011 Census and 2011 NHS contain information on respondents' first official language spoken and on the members of the respondents' household. The Immigrant Landing file also includes data on the knowledge of official languages among immigrants upon arrival in Canada.

Records from the PIAAC, 2011 Census, 2011 NHS and the Immigrant Landing file are linked using a (deterministic hierarchical) record linkage program.

Only PIAAC survey respondents and members of their households will be retained for this record linkage.

Output: Only estimates that present aggregate data in accordance with the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be published outside Statistics Canada. Products derived from the linkage between PIAAC, the census, the NHS and the Immigrant Landing file will be in the form of cross-tabulations, charts, geographical maps and results of multivariate logistic and linear regressions.

The results of the linkage, including the variables used to link the records, such as personal identifiers and information for measuring linkage quality, will be destroyed by March 31, 2016 at the latest, or as soon as they are no longer required. All files will be stored on a server in a secure location. Access to the linkage results is restricted to Statistics Canada employees and deemed employees of Statistics Canada whose work assignment requires this access.