Friday, February 26, 2010

Workplace Deaths Before 1980

Question

Wondering if anyone has any leads on workplace deaths in Canada before 1980. The students are interested in the top five industries where the most workplace deaths occur. They're currently looking in journals and are looking to contact the Workmen's Compensation Boards - but I thought I'd try here as well.

Answer

I have asked the reference librarians in the Statistics Canada Library to confirm if they have any publications on this topic. I will follow up with their answer as soon as possible.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety and the Association of Worker Compensation Boards of Canada may have some historical statistics on this topic.

The following DLI product, which covers occupational mortality in Canada for 1965-1991, may also be of interest to the students:

Occupational surveillance in Canada : cause-specific mortality among workers, 1965-1991 (84-546-XCB)
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/ftp/osc-dmlpc-eng.htm

"This CD-ROM is the first Canada-wide publication of occupational mortality risks produced in Canada. A previous publication for the province of British Columbia (Occupational mortality in British Columbia 1950-1978) was published in 1986 as Statistics Canada catalogue no. 84-544 (ISBN 0-660-59382-32872-X).

This new publication helps identify occupational groups across Canada with excessive mortality due to specific causes. It also provides a Canadian monitoring system to detect previously unsuspected associations between, for example, cancer and occupation and provide a powerful tool for both generating and testing hypotheses.

The publication gives the results of a longitudinal follow-up of the 10% Canadian Occupational Cohort, a sample of 700,000 individuals, both women and men, in the Canadian workforce during the period 1965-71, linked to the Canadian Mortality Data Base (CMDB) for 1965-1991.

This publication is likely to be of interest to the medical and research community, workers' compensation and safety boards, ministries of health and labour, regulatory agencies and the general public."

Additional Information

The StatCan Library has recommended the following article which may be of interest to the students:

A job to die for. Perspectives on Labour and Income. Summer 1996, vol.8 no.2
(http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?lang=eng&catno=75-001-X19960022889)

The following sections seem particularly relevant:
• Data sources and limitations (p.26)
• Table 1: Fatalities and fatality rates by industry, 1976 to 1993 (p.27)

PUMF for IMDB 5160

Question

Will there be a pumf from the Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada (SLCDC), imdb number 5160? And if yes, when can we expect it, please? The IMDB record is not clear...

Answer

A PUMF will not be produced for the Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada (SLCDC). This survey was a cost recovery project for which a PUMF was not planned. The Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada (SLCDC) file will however be available through the Research Data Centres (RDCs). The author division expects to be able to provide it to the RDCs in a few weeks.

Birth Data for Nunavut

Question

A researcher requires Birth data, for Nunavut, for each year, from 1999 – present. Specifically, the researcher requires, the following data:

1. total number of births in Nunavut, for each year, from 1999 – present
2. total number of Inuit births in Nunavut, for each year, from 1999 – present
3. the % of Inuit births in Nunavut, for each year, from 1999 – present

Answer

The following CANSIM tables provide data on births in Nunavut and may be of interest to your client.

Table 051-0054 Births by census division and sex for the period from July 1 to June 30, based on the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2006, annual (persons) (will provide 1998/1999 to 2008/2009)

Table 102-4512 Live births, by weeks of gestation and sex, Canada, provinces and territories, annual (will provide 2000-2007)

Table 102-4505 Crude birth rate, age-specific and total fertility rates (live births), Canada, provinces and territories, annual (will provide 2000-2007)

I have asked our contacts in the Health Statistics Division if other tables, that include all of the data you describe below, are available and will follow up with more information as soon as possible.

Additional Information

I have received confirmation that we do not have data on Inuit births in Nunavut. (You may wish to consult the INAC website to see if they publish these figures.)

Aboriginal Children's Survey (ACS)

Question

A researcher is requesting access to the Aboriginal Children’s Survey (ACS) which is described at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/aboriginal/acs/5801793-eng.htm. This survey is not yet added to the DLI FTP site (or the DLI web site) so I am wondering if there is a pumf, and, if so, when it will be released to the DLI.

Please note (unless I am missing something) that the DLI web site is quite confusing, as follows:

1) The ACS (survey of under the age of 6 years) is not listed as a DLI product in the Browse the DLI Survey Collection at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/spider/dli.cgi

2) The ACS is listed as a DLI catalogued product in the View catalogued DLI Products at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli_idd/start_debut.do?lang=en.... AND…

a. When you hit the Description link, you are taken to the correct StatCan page for the ACS.

b. BUT… when you hit the DLI link beside this survey, you are taken to the DLI web page for the Aboriginal Peoples Survey, 2006 Children and Youth - aged 6 to 14 (APS) at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/ftp/aps-eapa/aps-eapa-2006-cy-eng.htm .

c. This is misleading and confusing because the ACS (survey of under the age of 6 years) is NOT the same survey as the APS survey which has the 6- 14 age group data set.

3) Given there is not yet an ACS folder on the DLI FTP site, I am thinking the ACS should not be listed as DLI Catalogued Product?

The researcher wants the Aboriginal Children’s Survey (ACS), as she is interested in the under 6 age group.

• There is ACS 2006 Concepts and Methods Guide at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=89-634-XWE2008006?=eng#formatdisp.

• There is a Product main page at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=89-634-X?=eng but this only links to a document titled Evaluation of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

If there is no pumf for the ACS, can you let me know if the master file is available via the RDC program.

Answer

Thank you for your questions regarding the Aboriginal Children's Survey (ACS). I will answer your questions in the order they were asked below.

1) This survey is not listed in the Browse the DLI Survey Collection page because we don't have any products for this survey in the DLI collection presently.

2) The ACS should therefore not be listed as a DLI product in the View catalogued DLI Products at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli_idd/start_debut.do?lang=en

The ACS will be removed from this list.

A. Yes.This link is technically correct but it will disappear when we remove the ACS entry from the View catalogued DLI Products page

B. You are correct, they are not the same. The APS 2006 entry on View catalogued DLI Products presently only links to the Aboriginal Peoples Survey (15 years and over) - 2006 page (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/ftp/aps-eapa/aps-eapa-2006-eng.htm). The APS page it links to should provide links to both the APS 15 years and over file and the APS children and youth file. We will modify the APS 2006 page accordingly.

C. You are correct, they are not the same.

3) There is no ACS folder on the FTP site because there aren't any ACS products in the DLI collection presently.
According to the Aboriginal Children's Survey, 2006 : Concepts and Methods Guide (89-634-XWE2008006),

"The master data file for the 2006 ACS is available in Statistics Canada's Research Data Centres (RDCs). Accompanying the file, is the record layout, SAS and SPSS syntax to load the file, as well as metadata in the form of a codebook that describes each variable and provides weighted and unweighted frequency counts.

Supporting data tables that provide provincial and territorial estimates, as well estimates for Inuit regions, for key indicators from the released analytical article are available.

Profiles that provide information on a variety of topics covered in the ACS are available on Statistics Canada's website. Information is displayed for different concepts and levels of geography.

A remote data access service will be available in the spring of 2009. This service will allow researchers to write and test programs on a "synthetic file", which has the same layout as the ACS master data file, however it does not contain the real information from respondents. Once programs have been written and tested, researchers can submit their programs to Statistics Canada, who will run the programs using the master data file, vet the results for confidentiality and return the aggregate data tables to the researchers. This service will be offered on a cost-recoverable basis.
Custom tabulations will be produced, upon request, on a cost-recoverable basis."

Additional Information
I wanted to confirm that the DLI will be receiving a copy of the Aboriginal Children's Survey (ACS) synthetic file. Users will be able to use this file to request data via remote job submission (which will be a fee based service according to the Aboriginal Children's Survey, 2006 : Concepts and Methods Guide (89-634-XWE2008006), cited below) or to prepare a visit to a Research Data Centre (RDC).

The author division hopes to release the file before the end of March but this date may change as the file must be be approved by the Statistics Canada Microdata Release Committee before being released.

Updated Product- Canadian Business Patterns (CBP)

Please note the updated products listed below and the path to access them via the DLI FTP and web sites.

Canadian Business Patterns - December 2009

"The Canadian Business Patterns contains data that reflect counts of business establishments and locations (as of December 2008) by: 9 employment size ranges, including "indeterminate" (as of December 1997); geography groupings: province/territory, census division, census subdivision (before December 2008), census metropolitan area and census agglomeration; and industry using the North American Industry Classification System (tables at the 2, 3, 4 and 6-digit level) as of December 1998. Before December 2004, these data were also presented using the Standard Industrial Classification (tables at the 1, 2, 3 and 4-digit level). A concordance table showing the relationships between both classification systems is included with the product." (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=61F0040X?=eng)

FTP: /DissFTP/dli/DLI Collection- **except Census; Geography and Trade**/Canadian Business Patterns - cbp/2009/cbp2009-dec.zip

WEB: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/ftp/cbp-sic/cbp-sic2009-eng.htm

Canada Student Means Survey

Question

A document I have, entitled "An analysis of the Canadian post secondary student population. Part 1: A report on Canadian undergraduate students" (link to Amicus record here:

http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_tim=2010-02-03T15%3A04%3A50Z&url_ctx_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=1577842&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fcollectionscanada.gc.ca%3Aamicus

published in 1966, makes reference to a "Canada Student Means Survey" run in Feb 1965. The last sentence of the last paragraph of the Foreword states that "The raw data from the Survey has been stored on magnetic computer tape and is available for future use."

A researcher here at York would dearly love to get his hands on the aforementioned raw data. Any chance that it still exists and is, in fact, accessible?

Answer

I have consulted a few divisions that work in this area and this doesn't appear to be StatCan survey.

I know that we were fairly certain of this given the additional research you conducted and another individual's  findings (" (...) the implication from the McMaster Archives finding aid is that it was conducted from University of Victoria, under the aegis of National Federation of Canadian University Students / Canadian Union of Students") but I wanted to give you this additional confirmation as well.

Canadian Travel Survey 2006

Question

I had a request for this file last week; according to the Daily, it was released May 30, 2008, but it has yet to appear in the DLI collection. I can't check to see if this has been discussed on the list (since I've forgotten the password to access the archives); can someone tell me why this file is not available to us? The page at says that it is part of the DLI collection, so I am perhaps understandably confused ...

Answer

We checked with the author division and this catalogue record is wrong and will be corrected. The CTS was discontinued in 2005 and replaced with the Travel Survey of Residents of Canada.

We have microdata for 1980-2004 for the Canadian Travel Survey (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/ftp/survey-travel_enquete-voyage-eng.htm) and microdata for 2006-2008 for the Travel Survey of Residents of Canada (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/ftp/tsrc-evrc-eng.htm) in the DLI collection.

Census Geographic Products

Question

I am helping a researcher in gathering various census geographic products for the 1986 to 2006 period. I have two questions.

First, I have not been able to find a geographic attribute file for the 2001 census. Where is it stored?

Second, is there any correspondence file (for any census form 1986 to 2006) at the CSD level? I’m pretty sure the answer is no, but I want to confirm this. The only correspondence file are at the DA (or EA), DB and land area levels.

Answer

A Geographic attribute File wasn't produced for the 2001 Census. We asked our geography consultants about this in January 2008 and were told it wasn't available as a product. (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/mhonarc/dli-ild-msg/msg12686.html)

Living in Canada Data?

Question

Could you check on the status and plans for the Living in Canada pilot survey (5144)? If not through the DLI, can you check to see if RDCs will have it?

Answer

Data from the Living in Canada Survey is presently being prepared for release in the RDCs. The author division expects that it will be available in the RDCs in May or June. There are no plans to produce a PUMF for this survey.

Question

Any word from the division as to whether the Living in Canada survey will pass the pilot status grade and achieve longitudinal status as dreamed?

Answer

The author division is presently analysing the results of the Living in Canada (LCS) pilot and it hasn't yet been determined if it will become a longitudinal survey. I have asked them to let me know when a decision has been taken so that I can share this information with all of you.

Excel Tables for the Survey of Household Spending, 2008 and Back

Question

We are receiving more demand for these tables and in the process, we have hit a couple of coverage/documentation roadblocks.

I’d like to inquire about the following please …

1. Is the “Accompanying User Guide”/« Guide de l’utilisateur en annexe» available for these tables as referred to on the Notes worksheet for the tables, or does this refer to the User Guide to the microdata? If this is available as a guide to the tables, how could we access this (in English and in French)?

2. This question may be answerable by the answer to question 1. What does the Size of Area of Residence refer to when it gives ranges like: 30,000-99,000, 100,000-249,000*, etc. (e.g., is it the “market value” of the dwelling?)?

*… as noted in 62FPY0035XDB, Detailed Average Household Expenditure by Size of Area of Residence and 62FPY0045XDB, Dwelling Characteristics and Household Equipment by Size of Area of Residence

3. Our researchers noticed a while ago that some CMA’s (e.g., Ottawa and Quebec City**) were dropped around 2007. Is there any chance of these being reinstated in the next round?

**… as noted in: 62FPY0031XDB, Detailed Average Household Expenditure - Geographic and 62FPY0041XDB, Dwelling Characteristics and Household Equipment - Geography

We’d like to answer these questions for our users and ensure that the page we’re in the process of putting up to meet demand is accurate at http://uottawa.ca.libguides.com/content.php?pid=14806&sid=695367 (French under construction) .

Answer

Answers to your three questions about the Survey of Household Spending (SHS) 2008 standard tables follow:

1- The 2008 SHS User Guide should be used. I will send you a copy of these guides (French and English) by email and we will add them to our website and FTP.

2- Size of area of residence refers to the population size of the area in which the dwellings are located. The user guide defines it as follows:

"4.6.8 Size of area of residence:
Sampled dwellings are assigned to the following groups depending on the 2001 population size (according to the 2001 census boundaries) of the metropolitan area, municipality, or area in which they are located.

– Urban
• 1,000,000 and over
• 500,000–999,999
• 250,000–499,999
• 100,000–249,999
• 30,000–99,999
• under 30,000
– Rural"

(Source: User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2008, p.22)

3- Ottawa and Quebec City were not dropped, there were insufficient respondent responses to offer reliable SHS data in these tables. Data for these areas may be available in future editions.

Data Reference Service Levels

Question

I'm curious to see whether anyone has a policy or a set of guidelines for their data service? A document that highlights what service you provide and how you provide it? I'm looking for any information regarding reference service levels you provide for data.

Answer

It was recommended that I send you this link to Statistics Canada's Standards of Service to the Public (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/about-apercu/standards-normes-eng.htm). This may be an interesting complement to the descriptions of reference service levels you will receive from other DLI contacts.

Minimum Wage Research

Question

I have a researcher who is looking at individuals who are working for the minimum wage. He is looking for demographic characteristics particularly the age, sex and educational attainment. Recognizing that the minimum wage differs between provinces he is interested if those provinces with a higher minimum wage have a different demographic profile, so he wants provincial level data...

Any ideas, as I have exhausted my limited knowledge.


Answer

This looks promising, I think:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/studies-etudes/75-001/comm/5018829-eng.pdf
The researcher may also be interested in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) public use microdata files (PUMF) that are available in the DLI collection and in the following documents:

Minimum wage . Perspectives on Labour and Income. January 2009.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/topics-sujets/pdf/topics-sujets/minimumwage-salaireminimum-2008-eng.pdf

Minimum wage . Perspectives on Labour and Income. October 2006.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/topics-sujets/pdf/topics-sujets/minimumwage-salaireminimum-2006-eng.pdf

Minimum wage workers. Perspectives on Labour and Income. March 2004.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?lang=eng&catno=75-001-X20041036824

Working for minimum wage . Perspectives on Labour and Income. Winter 1989.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?lang=eng&catno=75-001-X19890042284

You may also find additional (non-StatCan) papers on the topic by searching bibliographic databases in your collection.

Use of DLI Data

Question

An instructor would like to use the GSS Cycle 19 pumf from the DLI for a research paper he is writing. A member of the public is paying him a stipend to write the research paper. The research within the paper may be used to find the correct location for a radio station in Alberta. Can the researcher use the GSS Cycle 19 pumf available through MRU free of charge, or does he have to purchase the data within the GSS Cycle 19 pumf? Thirdly, does he have to "pay" the DLI a percentage of his profits from the stipend he receives for writing the article? How does that work, and what are the licensing rules for the DLI datasets in this case?

Answer

In this case, the proposed use of the data file is not authorized under the DLI license (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/caselaw-jurisprudence/license-licence-eng.htm). The DLI collection may be used for teaching, academic research and publishing and planning of educational services within the educational institution. It may not be used for commercial contracts, income generating or commercial purposes.

In this case, the end user or researcher will therefore need to purchase a copy of the data file for this project. I will send you the name and contact details of an Account-Executive in our Calgary office who will be in a position to provide more information about the product, its cost and licensing.

Help Seeking Rates: Mental Health

Question

I have a researcher looking for trends in male versus female help-seeking rates in the areas of health and mental health over the last 20 years.  The NPHS does the trick nicely, but doesn’t cover the entire time period he is looking for. Does anyone have any further suggestions?

Answer

In addition to the surveys recommended off-list (also listed at the end of this message), the researcher may wish to look into the Hospital Mental Health Database maintained by the Canadian Institute for Health information (CIHI) (http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/dispPage.jsp?cw_page=services_mhdb_e). CIHI assumed the data collection and dissemination responsibilities for mental health related administrative data from Statistics Canada as of 1994/1995.

Hospital Mental Health Database (CIHI)

"Source: Data are gathered from administrative separation records of psychiatric and general hospitals. They are obtained electronically through selected extracts of the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) for those provinces/territories participating in DAD. Data for the remaining hospitals are submitted by the appropriate province or territory. (...)

Data Elements: Data consist of demographic and medical diagnosis information on inpatient hospital stays. All provinces and territories are represented.

"Availability: Most recent year - 2005/2006

Next release - 2006/2007 (April 2009)

Historical series:

- 1994/1995 to 2005/2006
- 1930/1931 to 1993/1994 (data maintained by Statistics Canada under the name Hospital Mental Health Database)"

The researcher may also be interested in some of Statistics Canada's older print publications that contain pre-1994/1995 mental health statistics. For example:

Mental health statistics / Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Health Information = La statistique de l'hygiène mentale / Statistique Canada, Centre canadien d'information sur la santé. (83-245). 1990/91-1993/94

Preceded by:

Health reports. Supplement. Mental health statistics / Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Health Information = Rapports sur la santé. Supplément. La statistique de l'hygiène mentale / Statistique Canada, Centre canadien d'information sur la santé. 83-245 1985/86 to 83-245 1989/90.

More detailed descriptions of these publications are available in BiblioCat (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/biblionet/index-eng.htm).

The CCHS and NPHS based CANSIM tables listed on this page may also be of interest: http://cansim2.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-win/cnsmcgi.pgm?Lang=E&SP_Action=Result&SP_ID=2443&SP_Par=2966&SP_TYP=4&SP_Sort=1&SP_Portal=2

Surveys suggested off-list: National alcohol and drug survey, 1989, General social survey cycle 6, 1991, Canadian study of health and aging, 1991-1992 (CSHA-1), Canada's alcohol and other drugs survey, 1994, National population health surveys (NPHS) health file 1994, National population health surveys (NPHS) household file 1998-1999, Canadian community health survey (CCHS) cycle 1.1, 2000-2001, Canadian community health survey (CCHS) 1,2, 2002 Canadian community health survey (CCHS) 2.1, 2003, Canadian community health survey (CCHS) 3.1, 2005.

I hope that these suggestions are helpful.

Labour Force Survey

Question

I was just checking out the Labour Force Survey on the STC Nesstar site and noticed that it was monthly. But I have a memory of annual LFS files in the past. And this was reinforced when I checked out the
odesi site. My question - which files do we use - or can we use both the annual and the monthly files. eg. LFS 1980. I do remember seeing a note about this in the distant past and went searching for it but was unable to find it.

Answer

I searched the dlilist archives and did find references to "annual" LFS files being received from the author division. According to the dlilist archives, at one time, we received LFS data annually instead of the monthly LFS files we now receive. (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/mhonarc/dli-ild-msg/msg04282.html).

“The LFS "annual file" is NOT a real annual file. That is there has not been any re-manipulation of the weights so that the data reflects an annual estimate. All you get is all the records from each monthly file put into one huge file. The monthly weights associated with the records for that month still has to be used - there is NO annual weight. Trying to use the records in this file to reflect annual estimates means that you must use each of the monthly weights and then divide the result by 12. The result will not be exact and will probably not match any estimates previously released and reported.
My advice would be to use the monthly files only.”

(Full thread available at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/mhonarc/dli-ild-msg/msg08827.html

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

2006 Census Dictionary Now Available

January 29, 2010 RELEASE: 2006 Census Dictionary in PDF format

The 2006 Census Dissemination Project is pleased to announce the official release of the 2006 Census Dictionary in PDF format.

As of 8:30 a.m. (Ottawa time) today (January 29, 2010), the 2006 Census Dictionary in PDF format is available for free to all users, via the Internet.

This product can be accessed via the Statistics Canada home page, by clicking on the 'Census' button, selecting the 'Reference materials' link under the 2006 Census header and selecting the '2006 Census Dictionary' link (PDF version link is located in the left-hand sidebar). This product can also be directly accessed through the 'Spotlight' section of the census home page.

Please note that this PDF version of the 2006 Census Dictionary being released today is currently an 'un-indexed' version. Work is continuing on the development of an index which will be incorporated into the PDF version later in the first quarter of 2010.

Thank you.