3. Research on Census Program data uses and requirements

Over the summer and fall of 2011 Statistics Canada contacted a selection of key external data users and asked these data users about their needs for information from the Census Program in terms of the seven dimensions^{Footnote 1} in Step 1 of Table 1 in Section 5, and further described in Section 5.1. The objective was to gain a better understanding of the role of Census Program^{Footnote 2} data in their operations and the impact if these data were not available, as expressed by the data users' themselves.^{Footnote 3} The reasons for this information gathering activity were three-fold: first, to have a better understanding of the highest priority Census Program information needs in order to effectively address how different approaches for population censuses can respond to user requirements; second, to determine if the dimensions described in Section 5.1 would be useful in distinguishing priorities among uses of Census Program topics/variables and whether these dimensions could be used to build a content determination framework; and third, to ′test drive′ a possible consultation instrument for use in the 2016 Census Program.

Data user engagement was iterative. The first wave, held early in the summer of 2011, focused on the data uses and requirements of government users, specifically the federal government funding partners,^{Footnote 4} as well as Elections Canada and Status of Women Canada, who are important federal government users of Census Program information (see Appendix A for the full list of departments and agencies that were asked to participate), the provincial and territorial statistical focal points, and three organizations representing local governments.^{Footnote 5} The intent was to confirm and improve Statistics Canada's understanding of legislation, regulations, policies and programs which require Census Program data, including those data uses for the 2011 National Household Survey.

The second wave of user engagement was conducted from mid-summer to fall of 2011 to expand the repository of Census Program data uses and information requirements to include the non-government sector. Included in this group were selected direct end-users in the non-profit and business sectors, a number of secondary distributors, umbrella-type organizations or national associations representing the non-profit and business sectors, as well as various associations representing sectors of the population which are the focus of government policy.^{Footnote 6}

3.1 Data uses and requirements questionnaire and methodology

The data uses and requirements questionnaire, presented in Appendix B (Wave 1) and Appendix C (Wave 2), was designed to collect specific details on the legislative, regulatory, policy, program and other uses of Census Program data. The questionnaire was divided into three parts, (1) explicit uses, i.e., where census is explicitly mentioned as the source of data in the legislation, regulation, policy or program, (2) implicit uses, i.e., where census is not explicitly mentioned, but it has been the traditional source, and (3) other uses. Details asked for each use were:

• Purpose for which Census Program data are used, e.g., resource allocation, service delivery, policy development, multivariate analysis, geographic distributions, etc.
• Topics required.
• Level(s) of geography needed (provincial, census metropolitan area (CMA), municipal, neighbourhood, etc.).
• Requirements for data on specific population groups (e.g., Aboriginal peoples, lone parent families, condominium dwellers, etc.).
• How long data are useable.
• Importance of data comparability across the country.
• Importance of data comparability over time (trend analysis).
• Importance of a point-in-time estimate (snapshot) versus a rolling estimate.^{Footnote 7}
• Impact if data not available.

Note that most of these questions correspond to one of the dimensions of Step 1 outlined in Section 5.1.

The questionnaire also asked organizations to identify their existing data holdings which might be considered in evaluating the feasibility of increased use of administrative data in future censuses, as well as any barriers associated with accessing or limitations in using these data holdings.

The data were collected from Wave 1 users via a web-based questionnaire, while the input from Wave 2 users was collected from an electronic copy of the questionnaire which data users could complete electronically or provide a paper submission. Other data users were provided guidelines for a written submission.

3.2 Responses and limitations

More than 800 uses of Census Program data were identified by over 60 responding organizations. While extensive, this should not be considered a complete list of uses for two reasons. First, organizations were instructed to limit their feedback to those uses of highest priority, when necessary, in order to be able to provide feedback within an established time period. Second, given time constraints, this information gathering activity did not extend to all possible users. In particular, there was no direct contact with data users at the local level. Rather, organizations representing municipalities were contacted.^{Footnote 8} Further, it is possible that among these 800 uses there is some duplication as the organizational lead in some cases coordinated input from a number of sources. It is also possible that some uses may have been reported by more than one user, which would be most likely among data users in the government sector where there are similar jurisdictions and information needs, such as the provinces and territories, where the same use may have been reported by two jurisdictions.

The information gathered, while from a range of data users, does not capture the full extent of information requirements. For this reason, and because the instrument (questionnaire) did not address information needs at the question level, no prioritized list of content by question is being presented in this report.

To validate the information provided, each organization that responded to the on-line questionnaire was provided a report summarizing their responses, as with the on-line questionnaire there was the potential for participants to unknowingly overwrite some of their earlier responses when they completed the questionnaire in multiple sessions. These data users were able to confirm the findings in their reports, making modifications if necessary. Information provided by users in Wave 2 was not validated in this manner as the information on their Census Program data uses and requirements was collected via a survey instrument in Microsoft Word or a written submission.

3.3 Findings

This section is organized into sub-sections which highlight the feedback received on uses, including content needs, multivariate analysis requirements, the potential use of alternative data sources, and the importance of a point-in-time estimate (snapshot) versus a 'rolling' estimate.

3.3.1 Uses and content requirements

The information compiled from the data uses and requirements questionnaire has served to inform Statistics Canada on the broad range of uses and has provided additional details on the nature of the information needed to support these uses. Appendix D lists the reported uses by user group and indicates the required topics for each use. The rest of this section provides some highlights of some of the many uses of Census Program information contributed by data users.

Population counts are required explicitly by numerous pieces of federal legislation and are also associated with the population estimates produced at Statistics Canada by the Population Estimates Program (PEP) and used, as part of the funding formula, to determine the distribution of major federal transfers^{Footnote 9} to the provinces and territories under the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act. It is critical that these population estimates, and the census population counts as input, be highly accurate as these transfers accounted for $57.7 billion in 2011/2012 and were estimated to account for about 19% of provincial and territorial revenues in that year (Department of Finance Canada 2012). The PEP is also a source of information for the allocation of House of Commons seats to provinces in the recent Fair Representation Act that received Royal Assent on December 16, 2011. Thus, questions that are required to produce high quality population counts from the census are the highest priority and as such, have always been asked of 100% of the population on a mandatory basis (Royce 2011, p. 48).

The official languages content is an example where there is an explicit legislative requirement for the use of census data for specific language variables where it is stated in subparagraph 3(a)(ii) that the method of estimating the "English or French linguistic minority population" is on the basis of "after the results of the 1991 census of population are published, the most recent decennial census of population for which results are published…" (Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations, SOR/92-48). High quality data are needed, but in the context of a traditional census, sufficient quality has been obtained in the past by asking the question of a sample.

This process confirmed that for all topics in the 2011 Census Program, there continues to be requirements for information on small populations where there are no alternative sources, and for which the information serves a purpose with high importance. For example, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the Public Service Commission and Treasury Board Secretariat reported that Employment Equity Regulations require data on Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities which are not available in administrative databases but are provided by the Census Program.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation indicated that they require housing information at a small area level of geography and for small populations, such as persons with disabilities and Aboriginal peoples living off reserve, to measure core housing needs. The Regional Information Systems Working Group, which is comprised of professional planners concerned with data, systems and research issues primarily directed to land use planning, forecasting and municipal decision-making functions in the province of Ontario, stated that Census Program housing data are essential for the preparation of municipal official plans and for programs related to housing and homelessness.

The Government of Ontario stated that they use Census Program labour market information to support economic development initiatives such as the Canada-Ontario Labour Market Agreement Annual Plan, Employment Ontario Policy Framework and Ontario Job Futures occupational profiles. Data are used to identify client groups and communities in need of labour market programming, including sub-groups such as recent immigrants, youth and older workers, as well as to profile occupations in local labour markets. The Government of Alberta draws on Census Program data for many uses, including the determination of per capita funding under the Municipal Government Act and for input to the Labour Market Information reports which support understanding of the needs of Albertans. The Government of Saskatchewan uses Census Program data to identify the size of specific populations in support of uses such as The Multiculturalism Act, advance gender equality/status of women, and disability policy.

The province of Quebec reported information requirements on the labour market for specific groups of the population when they noted that for the use under the heading « Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale: Act respecting the ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale and the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (2001, c.44, s. 28; 2007) » the need for a broad range of information, including the following:

• Basic data on the labour market (employment income by occupation, age distribution, sex, and job tenure by occupation and the industry, employment level by occupation, educational attainment by occupation).
• Portrait of the most disadvantaged clientele in the labour market (immigrants, Aboriginals, disabled people, etc.)

Their feedback also noted that the Census Program is the most important source of information, not to say the only source that allows the collection of detailed and reliable information about some population groups (labour market activities of the immigrant population, cultural communities, behaviour of seniors, individuals with low level of education, disabled people, etc.).

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) uses Census Program data as a denominator to calculate rates of disease among different populations and to describe subpopulations and/or socioeconomic factors and conditions that influence vulnerability to various diseases (e.g., sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis). Census Program data are also used by PHAC to design interventions for these populations, to create documents for public health professionals, and to determine sampling frameworks for research initiatives, work which is critical to the prevention and control of these diseases. Specifically, PHAC reported that no other nationally representative data can support this work which is critical to the prevention and control of these infections and to providing leadership and support to public health professionals working with vulnerable populations.

Census Program data on place of work/travel to work are used by Transport Canada for transportation policy development and planning, and by the Transportation Association of Canada to determine travel demand forecasts for urban areas and to examine and forecast the spatial distribution of employment. The Government of Ontario reported that the NHS is the only source of consistent data across the province that provides place of work and place of residence linkages, commuting patterns and distances, and occupation details, which are critical for performance reports, program monitoring and evaluation, modelling, and geography distributions.

Non-government data users also identified important uses of Census Program data. For example, Census Program data are used by companies for retail site location, market segmentation and human resource planning. Pitney Bowes reported that over the last five years, their customers have relied upon their Statistics Canada­based datasets to direct their investment in billions of dollars in newly built retail outlets. Environics Analytics has developed market segmentation products to help businesses, governments and non-profit organizations improve their ability to segment, target and locate customers. The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association noted the importance of Census Program information on the workforce, especially detailed information on occupation and field of study, in developing human resource plans. The association also reported that the Census Program is the only source of reliable information on these topics.

The United Way of Greater Toronto reported using Census Program data for priority setting and strategic planning. Imagine Canada, a national charitable organization whose cause is to support and strengthen Canada's charities and non-profit organizations so that they can in turn support the Canadians and communities they serve, does policy development, research and marketing using Census Program information. National Aboriginal organizations, as well as the First Nations Statistical Institute, use Census Program data for resource allocation, program planning and policy development. The Quebec Community Groups Network uses Census Program information to support the work of the community sector serving the linguistic minority community, including helping other partners to understand who they are, their differences and what can be done to enhance the vitality of Canada's English linguistic minority communities. The Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA)^{Footnote 10} has said, among other things, that the use of census data is for the enforcement of the regulation in Part IV of the Official Languages Act. NHS data will be used to measure the vitality of communities and identify the positive results of programs and services in communities, as well as weaknesses regarding the development of communities, in order to influence the development and implementation of public policies to promote this community development and growth.

Data users also reported that in addition to the current topics included in the 2011 Census and 2011 NHS, there are information requirements for new content for specific uses. The most frequent of these additional topics are geography and population, and occupation. Various characteristics, such as place of work, employment, wages and earnings as they relate to industry were also among the most reported additional information needs. Users also noted an information need from the Census Program related to dwelling details and unpaid work. Without further details on the nature of their information requirements, such as specific sub-population groups or specific needs related to occupation, industry, and dwellings, it is difficult to confirm whether the current Census Program topics or other data programs at Statistics Canada have content that meets these needs^{Footnote 11} or if the data users have reported an unmet need.

Researchers are also major users of Census Program data. For example, between July 2007 and December 2010, 203 research projects using Census Program data were undertaken by university, federal or provincial government researchers at Statistics Canada's research data centres (RDCs).^{Footnote 12}

These are only a few illustrations of the uses of Census Program data that came out of the feedback in the summer and fall of 2011, and from analysis of the research undertaken in the RDCs. They demonstrate the extent to which Census Program data are integrated into government planning and programs, as well as the use of this information in non-government activities.

3.3.2 Multivariate analysis

An important strength of the Census Program information is its capacity to be used in multivariate analysis. This is the ability to examine the interrelationships among the different variables. This type of analysis is possible using Census Program data because all variables derived from the questions are available for each individual, household and dwelling with a common reference point (e.g., Census Day).

The Census Program, specifically the National Household Survey in 2011, includes two types of content; one of which identifies populations of interest, which are then often compared to the general population and the other which describes conditions of populations of interest.

The feedback received from key data users and stakeholders, during the summer and fall of 2011, on their Census Program information requirements provides evidence of the interplay of these two types of content and the importance of the multivariate nature of the Census Program data to these data users.

For example, more than half of the uses reported to Statistics Canada need information from the Aboriginal topic, which includes four questions (Ethnic or cultural origins; Aboriginal groups; Registered or Treaty Indian Status; and Membership in a First Nation or Indian band). Close to 80% of these uses that require information from the Aboriginal topic were reported to also need additional Census Program information derived from the education, labour market, housing and income topics.

Some of these uses include those related to programs and policies associated with the National Housing Act and the Employment Equity Act and its Employment Equity Regulations; recruitment at National Defence and the Canadian Forces; strategic policy research at Public Safety Canada; modelling, projections and risk assessments at the Public Health Agency of Canada; multiple programs under the First Nations and Inuit (FNI) Health policy planning and analysis at Health Canada; provincial programs and policies, such as Health Program planning, monitoring and evaluation in New Brunswick; Child Welfare Services, Career and Employment Services in Saskatchewan; the Alberta Government Health and Wellness Business Plan 2011-14; Poverty Reduction Strategy in Newfoundland and Labrador; local government uses, such as the City of Toronto Diversity and Positive Workplace Strategy; and the use of this information by the First Nations Statistical Institute (FNSI) to support FNSIs sister institutions in terms of First Nations financial and economic activities.

Similar requirements were reported for the topics on visible minority/population group, and citizenship and immigration. This provides clear indication that while counting specific subpopulations is of importance to users, characterizing the conditions in which these subpopulations live and how these conditions are changing over time is even more critical.

3.3.3 Potential use of alternative data sources

Users were asked ''Are there other data holdings, within your organization, which can provide the same information as census and NHS data?'' and to list them, along with the barriers associated with accessing or limitations in using these data holdings.

Among those responses received,^{Footnote 13} for over 90% of uses the user indicated that there were no alternative data sources within their own organizational holdings. Of those uses where an alternative source was identified (mostly by federal or provincial government users) the responses were focussed on the limitations and barriers of using alternative data in the event that Census Program data were not available.

The process associated with gaining access to alternative data sources, such as administrative data, specifically, privacy controls and the Privacy Act, were noted by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada as considerations for those who might wish to use these sources in lieu of Census Program data. Canadian Heritage echoed this point in their submission, noting that the costs and accessibility of obtaining data were barriers to the use of administrative data in the event that Census Program data were not available. Other federal government data users, including Industry Canada, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and Health Canada noted limitations of alternative data sources in terms of reliability, data quality and the range of information these sources might provide. Costs associated with alternative data sources were also mentioned by Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada as barriers.

When analyzed by topic, the pattern of feedback was consistent: no topic stands out as having a suitable alternative data source. For every topic, more than 80% of the uses were reported not having a suitable alternative data source within the holdings of the data user.

3.3.4 Importance of a point-in-time estimate versus a 'rolling' estimate

The Census Program in Canada provides a point-in-time estimate (snapshot), but one of the other approaches to census-taking, used in France for the census and in the United States in the American Community Survey, provides a different type of estimate called a 'rolling' estimate.

Data users were asked to provide their opinion on the suitability of such an estimate for their Census Program information uses. To ensure a common understanding of these rolling estimates the following definition was provided, that rolling estimates are defined as data collected via a continuous survey, which are cumulated over time to provide sufficient sample size. Rolling estimates are based on moving averages over a certain time period (e.g., one-year averages for large areas, three-year averages for medium-sized areas and five-year averages for small areas). Each year, new estimates are produced by replacing the oldest year of data with the most recent year.

Information provided by responding organizations indicated that there was limited support for rolling estimates as a replacement for point-in-time estimates, but it is possible that some data users did not understand sufficiently what a rolling estimate was, and that some users may not have been able to assess the potential use of such an estimate in lieu of a point-in-time estimate. The majority of the uses (61%)^{Footnote 14} were identified as having an essential or a strong need for a point-in-time estimate, meaning that a rolling estimate would not be appropriate. A further 33% of the uses reported some need for a point-in-time estimate. A very small number of uses (6%) were reported as having no need for point-in-time estimates and that a rolling estimate would be appropriate.