Attendence
CSAC Members Attendance
Dr. Howard Ramos (Chairperson), Anil Arora, David Chaundy, Annette Hester, Jan Kestle, Céline Le Bourdais
Statistics Canada
Lynn Barr-Telford, Stéphane Dufour, Tom Dufour, Jacques Fauteux, André Loranger, Greg Peterson, Mélanie Scott, Ziad Shadid
Innovation, Science and Industry
Dany Brouillette
Meeting Agenda - Day 1
| Time | Agenda | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 9:15 – 9:45 | Meet-and-greet | All Members |
| 9:45 – 9:50 | Chairperson Introductory Remarks | Howard Ramos Chairperson, CSAC |
| 9:50 – 10:20 | Chief Statistician Updates | Anil Arora Chief Statistician of Canada |
| 10:20 – 10:30 | Health Break | |
| 10:30 – 11:15 | Discussion with Business Sector Guest Organisation: Canadian Chamber of Commerce |
Stephen Tapp Patrick Gill Nada Habli |
| 11:15 – 11:20 | Health Break | |
| 11:20 – 12:05 | Discussion with Business Sector Guest Organisation: Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) |
Simon Gaudreault Andreea Bourgeois Marvin Cruz |
| 12:05 – 13:00 | Lunch | |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Discussion with Environment Sector Guest Organisation: Ducks Unlimited Canada, member of the Green Budget Coalition | Mark Gloutney National Director of Science and Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, Ducks Unlimited Canada |
| 14:00 – 14:15 | Group Photo with Council Members | All Members |
| 14:15 – 14:20 | Health Break | |
| 14:20 – 15:00 | Discussion on the 2022 CSAC Report | All Members |
| 15:00 – 15:10 | Health Break | |
| 15:10 – 15:40 | Discussion on the 2022 CSAC Report (continued) | All Members |
| 15:40 – 16:00 | Roundtable Discussion and Chairperson Closing Remarks |
All Members Howard Ramos |
Meeting Minutes
1. Chairperson Opening Remarks
Dr. Ramos kicked off the meeting by welcoming participants and highlighting intended outcomes for the two-days CSAC in-person meeting.
2. Chief Statistician Updates
Mr. Arora gave an update on Statistics Canada's international strategy, noting its leadership role on various influential tables within the international statistical system and provided a summary on his international engagements during the Spring and early Summer of 2022. The Chief Statistician (CS) also provided a progress update on the Agency's hybrid workplace strategy and the way forward.
3. Discussion with Business Sector – Part 1
Guest Speakers:
- Stephen Tapp, Chief Economist, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
- Patrick Gill, Senior Director, Operations & Partnerships, Business Data Lab, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
- Nada Habli, Data Scientist, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Mr. Tapp spoke to the rising importance of data and analytics for the business sector and the Chamber of Commerce's collaboration with Statistics Canada on the innovative Business Data Lab (BDL). The project aims at helping to advance understanding of Canadian businesses through future-focused, real-time data and insights across business industries and regions. Guest speakers shared updates on the project, insights from consultations, some early lessons learned from the Chamber's efforts, and recommendations on what to continue doing and opportunities for improvement concerning the BDL. Dr. Ramos then opened the floor for questions and answers.
4. Discussion with Business Sector – Part 2
Guest Speakers:
- Simon Gaudreault, Chief Economist and Vice-President, Research, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)
- Andreea Bourgeois, Director of Economics, CFIB
- Marvin Cruz, Director of Research, CFIB
Mr. Gaudreault introduced himself and his Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) colleagues. He provided an overview of the work of the CFIB, including their research, methodology and data-related work and touched on their collaboration with Statistics Canada. CFIB guests spoke to data needs for small and medium businesses, including entry and exit data for the business registry and feedback from small business owners and what could be done to minimize the burden associated with gathering data through surveys. Guests and meeting participants concluded this segment with questions and answers.
5. Discussion with the Environment Sector
Guest Speakers:
- Mark Gloutney, National Director of Science and Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, Ducks Unlimited Canada
- Gia Paola, National Policy Analyst, Ducks Unlimited Canada
Mr. Gloutney gave an overview of the conservation and research work of Ducks Unlimited Canada, a member of the Green Budget Coalition. He highlighted the importance of open environment data and accessible granular data, to, for example, assess the impact of wildfires. He pointed to the need for common data standards and national strategies to break down silos and strengthen collaboration and better integrate data. Mr. Gloutney spoke to what a well governed national statistical system could look like, noting that Statistics Canada is well positioned to play a key stewardship role. He welcomed Statistics Canada's Census of Environment initiative. The presentation was followed by a discussion between guests and meeting participants focused on innovation and collaboration mechanisms.
6. Discussion on the CSAC report
CSAC members held an in-camera discussion on their 2022 report.
7. Roundtable Discussion and Chairperson Closing Remarks
Dr. Ramos facilitated a roundtable discussion and offered closing remarks for the day.
Meeting Agenda – Day 2
| Time | Agenda | Lead Participant(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 9:10 | Chairperson Introductory Remarks | Howard Ramos Chairperson, CSAC |
| 9:10 – 10:50 | Discussion on the 2022 CSAC Report | All Members |
| 10:50 – 11:00 | Health Break | |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Discussion on the Secure Infrastructure for Data Integration (SIDI) |
Shujaat Ansari Jamie Brunet |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch | |
| 13:00 – 13:45 | Discussion on Social Cohesion Presentation by Statistics Canada |
Pauline Tuitoek Grant Schellenberg |
| 13:45 – 14:30 | Discussion on Social Cohesion Guest Organisation : Edelman | Sophie Nadeau Vice President, Reputation, Executive Training and National Earned Media, Edelman |
| 14:30 – 14:40 | Health Break | |
| 14:40 – 15:25 | Discussion on Legislation with Statistics Canada | Pierre Desrochers Director, Statistics Canada |
| 15:25 – 15:45 | Roundtable Discussion and Chairperson Closing Remarks | All Members |
| 15:35 – 15:45 | Chairperson Closing Remarks |
Howard Ramos |
1. Chairperson Introductory Remarks
Dr. Ramos kicked off the meeting by welcoming participants back and reiterating intended outcomes for the second day of the CSAC in-person meeting.
2. Discussion on the CSAC report
CSAC members continued their discussion on the 2022 report, in-camera.
3. Discussion on the Secure Infrastructure for Data Integration (SIDI)
Guest Speakers:
- Shujaat Ansari, Chief, Data Integration Infrastructure Division, Statistics Canada
- Jamie Brunet, Director, Data Integration Infrastructure Division, Statistics Canada
Guest speakers provide an introduction of the SIDI initiative, which enables the safe production of statistical information about people and for the people, to CSAC members. Speakers highlighted how the initiative delivers to meet statistical needs while addressing privacy concerns. They gave examples of SIDI's uses, its ethical approach and its importance for Canadians.
CSAC members shared reactions and provided requested advice to Statistics Canada on the importance of communicating with Canadians and of thinking about how to communicate and the need to consult different organisations, including CSAC.
4. Discussion on Social Cohesion – Part 1
Guest Speakers:
- Pauline Tuitoek, Assistant Director, Statistics Canada
- Grant Schellenberg, Senior Analyst, Statistics Canada
Speakers gave an overview of social cohesion as a concept, why it matters and how it can be measured. Presenters invited CSAC members to offer some thoughts on how Statistics Canada could contribute to a better understanding of Canadian society within the context of social cohesion and its implications. CSAC members provided advice on the use of new techniques to understand specific populations as well as on the importance of understanding causes of the response rate decline (and implications) and of encouraging Canadians to respond to surveys
5. Discussion on Social Cohesion – Part 2
Guest Speaker:
- Sophie Nadeau, Vice President, Reputation, Executive Training and National Earned Media, Edelman
- Grant Schellenberg, Senior Analyst, Statistics Canada
Ms. Nadeau gave an overview of 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer findings of relevance to the national statistical system and Statistics Canada. Discussion points included implications for decreasing institutional trust and shifting media and digital consumption and trends, following nearly two years of incessant COVID coverage, and how to communicate effectively with audiences in the current media landscape.
6. Discussion on Legislation with Statistics Canada
Guest Speaker:
- Pierre Desrochers, Director, Statistics Canada
Mr. Desrochers gave an overview of legislation, recently introduced by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Phillippe Champagne, Bill C-27— the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA), the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. Mr. Desrochers spoke to potential implications for the national statistical system and invited CSAC members to share advice on how to ensure that access to data will continue, while addressing Canadians privacy concerns.
7. Roundtable Discussion and Chairperson Closing Remarks
Following a roundtable discussion among CSAC members, Dr. Ramos discussed next steps for the Council. He thanked CSAC members, the Chief Statistician, the Assistant Chief Statisticians and their teams and the CSAC Secretariat for their support and work towards the Council.