Financial Performance Indicators

Question

The asset range on the Financial Performance Indicators CD ROM is given as A, B, C and D. I cannot find the dollar equivalent for these ranges on the StatCan Web site. Can anyone tell me what the ranges for each letter are please?

Answer

I did some digging in a related publication (Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises) and they used the A,B,C,D codes as coefficients of varation and it was displayed as a superscript note for some data items. See their explanation pasted below.

Coefficients of variation
A excellent (CV range is 0.00% to 4.99%)
B very good (CV range is 5.00% to 9.99%)
C good (CV range is 10.00% to 14.99%)
D acceptable (CV range is 15.00% to 24.99%)

The standard error as a percentage of the estimate is called the coefficient of variation (CV), or the relative standard error. Small CVs are desirable, since the smaller the CV, the smaller the sampling variability relative to the estimate.

The sample for the Quarterly Survey of Financial Statistics for Enterprises was drawn such that the CV at the Level III (67 categories) aggregation, should be no more than 10% for operating revenue or total assets. The CV indicators are shown next to these variables in the tables according to the scale presented on page 2.

Access to computers

Question

Can someone please tell me if I am missing something?

A researcher here at UNBC is looking for the numbers of people in Northern BC with access to computers.

My first reaction to this was that anyone in Northern British Columbia with access to a public library will have access to a computer and/or the Internet.

However, I suspect that she means number of people with computers at home or access to the Internet from home. I am going on an assumption here – until I get to talk to this person on Tuesday.

In my preliminary investigations, it seems to me that three surveys have addressed this: the Survey of Household Spending (latest data available is 2003), the Household Internet Use Survey (latest data available is 2003) and the General Social Survey 14: Access to and Use of Information Communication Technology (2000). Relevant data for the Survey of Household Spending is summarized on the BC Stats site at http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/dd/handout/dche.pdf
or in CANSIM table 203-0020.

However, it seems that all these provide data down to the provincial or Census Metropolitan Area level only.

Therefore, I think that she cannot get data for the geography that she wants. Using the PUMFS, she might be able to distinguish rural vs. urban households, but that's it.

Am I missing anything?

Answer

As you noted, the three sources which could assist in answering your user's request will not meet the needs of identifying the Northern BC numbers.

Once again, it is related to the fact that the data was collected as a survey and not a census. The simple explanation is that the survey only sampled a small portion of the population and we can not apply all generalities to small areas without compromising the quality of the data.

LifePaths

Question

I have a researcher who would like to find our more about LifePaths which I gather is some kind of simulation model. I have found some general information about it on the Statistics Canada site, but this does not seem to be enough. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Answer

I found some information about LifePaths from the STC Microsimulations Page (http://www.statcan.ca/english/spsd). It seems to have quite a bit of information when you select the LP simulation in particular.

FED 2003 RO reference map

Question

I can't find a map of the 2003 R.O. federal electoral boundaries on the Stats Can web site. 1996 R.O. is there, at:
http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss/Maps/ReferenceMaps/retrieve_fede.cfm

Is the 2003 R.O. map coming soon?

Answer

As you are well aware, the link to the map you included below was from Elections Canada and not STC's Geography Division.

STC does not have an exact replica of the map, but we do have the Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order) Cartographic Boundary File
(http://www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=92F0194X) available.

There is also a free shapefile, coverage, and e00 of the 2004 FEDs at http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/download/electoral/

Visual Arts Workers

Question

We have a student here looking for occupational health statistics related to visual arts workers (painters, photographers, sculptors).

Where can we find statistical data on that subject?

Answer

Try contacting the CSST: they may be cooperative. We were able to get some good data for Ontario from their Worker's Compensation Board.

Organic Products Survey

Question

A power-point presentation on organic food from an Agri-Food Canada, AC Neilson survey is circulating around Macdonald College, and we are being asked if the data is "available".

As it was not done through Statistics Canada, am I right to assume that it is highly unlikely to be made available for academic research?

The title in the presentation says: Organic Products Study 2004/2004
copyright: Agri-Food Canada, ACNeilson, homescan, inc.

Answer

AC Neilson surveys are definitely not part of the Stats Can collection, but we do have a few things that could help your patron in terms of organic production in Canada:

1) From the 2001 Census of Agriculture, Farms classified by certified organic products produced
(http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/95F0301XIE/tables/html/Table12Can.htm)

2) Vista on Agriculture Study: Organic fruit and vegetable production 2000 to 2003
(http://www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=21-004-XIE)

3) A few other ad-hoc reports on the topic by performing a keyword search for "organic" on the STC web site.

1991 Census -- Basic Summary Tabulation for Religion at CSD level

Question

A researcher at Concordia is looking for CSD-level data on religion in the 1991 Census. He is not too keen on the PUMF as it is only a small sample (3%) of the population enumerated.

It seems like this BST would be ideal: Population by Religion (29), Showing Age Groups (13b) (file name: r9101dat1.zip) but I cannot find the record layout anywhere and, as a matter of fact, the table is not even mentioned in the data documentation that I found on the FTP site. The file does exist, I even downloaded it on my computer!

So what am I missing? Is there any documentation and more importantly a record layout for this file? Or would there be be an alternative for getting the complete data for religion at the CSD level?

Answer
It can be found at
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/datalib/cc91/cc91bsts.htm. I believe your table is the last one listed on that page. A link to the record layout is provided.

UK Population Data

Question

A student is looking for population quarterly data for the last 10 years in UK. Where can I find it?

Answer

Experimental quarterly population estimates, follow the links from:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=13523&More=n

Population Trends - Online from Winter 1997, it can be seen at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=6303 .
(For the years prior to that, our users can use the University of Waterloo's holdings [UK1OC P66], at their library from 1975 to 2003.)

Health Statistics Quarterly
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=6725
Also gives quarterly figures. If you look at the Vital Statistics Summary in these, you can get quarterly reports of live births. Population by year is also provided.

Monthly Digest of Statistics can help, too, by giving the monthly population.

Excel verions of T 01 Quarterly Population Estimates for England and Wales by quinary age groups and sex Sept '03 - Sept '05 (experimental)
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=9094&More=Y

Canadian Business Patterns

Question

In Canadian Business Patterns 2005 the Alberta CSD's of Bassano (pop. 1,320); Champion (pop. 355); and Lomond (pop. 171) are listed but the NAICS data lists zero industries in all categories. There may not be many industries in these communities but we know for sure there are a few, such as eateries, gas stations and other service industries. Any explanation why they don't appear? Could it be random rounding downwards - although we have found cells with N's of 1, 4 etc. for other small Alberta CSD's. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer

There could be many factors that would contribute to the businesses not being on the CBP. The population of the CBP has only establishments that report over 30,000 in GST or are federally/provincially incorporated or they have a payroll account registered with CRA. Please also inform the user of the definition of establishments. It could be that these business are locations and do report their financial reporting to an other establishment in a different area, therefore would not be counted. Finally it depends on
the address that we have on base for these business, we define the geo in which they belong to by postal code, could the postal codes of some of these areas cross over into neighbouring towns? If this is the case I believe the PCCF File codes the CSD to the area with the most dwellings. Definitions and Concepts for the CBP would address some of these points. As well to answer the clients question in regards to rounding, we do any rounding on the CBP.

Questions about 1981 CSD Maps on DLI ftp site

Question

I've questions about the three versions of census subdivision digital boundary files available on the DLI ftp site in directory geography/1981/arcinfo - csd1981_dbf.zip, csd_sdr81.zip, and csd_sdr1981.zip (as listed on the Spatial Product Inventory found in geography/1981/document).

Having extracted them out to disk, I see that the ArcInfo interchange files have different dates (12/16/1998, 11/17/1998, and 9/16/1999 respectively).

When I load the files into ArcMap, however (after converting with ArcToolbox), I don't see any apparent differences.

Would someone with more map experience point out to me what I should be looking for and/or at to tell this? Is there one version of this file that should be considered authoritative? What are the different versions used for?

Answer

There are no differences in the files other than the names of some of the columns and the number of columns are different. Check the table for each of the files and you will see the difference.

Historical P/E Ratio for Index

Question

I have a faculty member looking for historical P/E Ratio data for the S&P/TSX Composite Index. I could find the current ratio on both the TSX site and on Datastream, but I could not find any historical data. He'd like to get it for as far back as he can go.

Answer

It is available in Datastream from 1973 in all frequency. If he wants daily or weekly, you need to retrieve several times by breaking the period in smaller chucks since Excel won't handle it. But if he wants monthly, it is easier.

Marketing activities of firms

Question

A student would like to know the percentage of revenue that is spent for marketing in most of the companies that sell computer equipment and printers, etc. such as Future Shop, Office Depot, Compusmart, etc.

I can find sales and revenue information, but not expenditure by the companies.

Answer

Presuming you are after Canadian information, and information at an industry level (no named companies) for both public and private companies, try Performance Plus:
http://sme.ic.gc.ca

KLEMS (Capital, Labour, Energy, Materials and Services)

Question

A UBC researcher has been using the KLEMS CD-ROM and wonders whether the data for 2004 are available yet?

Answer

KLEMS is not a standard product and may not be updated on a regular basis. We receive this as an "experimental database" from the author division and this is the reason we have members sign an additional spcial licence agreement.

CANSIM (CHASS version from U of T) and the Statistics Canada web interface

Question

When I go to CHASS' CANSIM II homepage and click on:

Browse CANSIM II by subjects ---- Trade ---- Retail trade

I get a listing of 24 tables.

When I browse the same subject list on Statistics Canada's CANSIM webpage (or even on the CANSIM E-Stat page) I get 30 tables.

Why?

Answer

All the tables that you may not see when browsing by subject are there and can be accessed by numbers.

This is how it works:

Each Tuesday CHASS receives all new and updated tables and series from Statcan. (Not long ago we ran a full database scan to compare all series and tables at CHASS and at Statcan, to be sure that we do not miss any data.) . New tables (with all their series) are loaded, and table listings are accordingly updated. All new series that belong to existing tables are also loaded. All updated series are handled by each individual record being updated as per the latest data.

However, when tables are added to the database, Statcan does not send us new themes/subjects matrix and that's where the discrepancy creeps in. So, all data are there, and keyword searches work, but themes/subjects listings may start diverging. In some cases it is annoying, in others it was sometimes equally annoying even when we had fully compatible themes/subjects listings. I recall when earlier this year I was running a seminar in New Delhi on large database organization for health care indicators, and used - as an example - Cansim by subject, extracting various series based on their health related subjects - and how frustrating an exercise it was, with classifications being sometimes totally wacky. Keyword searches were much more reliable and produces many more series related to what I was looking for, even though the same "subjects" formally existed.

Having said that, there is no excuse for the discrepancy, and we must work with Statistics Canada to resolve the issue. Ideally, we should be getting updated concordance tables with every new table addition/deletion or change in subject classification. Realistically, such an update once a month would probably suffice.

Employment by NOC

Question

I am trying to find some census/employment data. I have tried E-stat, and I can almost get what I need, but not quite. Ideally, what I would like is the number of people employed in the following NOC codes for Canada, Ontario and if possible for specific regions/cma's/subdivisions within Ontario. Through e-stat, I have found data for Canada and Ontario for SOC E1, which I don't think is quite the same.

College and Other Vocational Instructors 4131
Secondary School Teachers 4141
Elementary School and Kindergarten Teachers 4142

Answer

I have found a standard table on the Census Internet site that has the breakdown for the NOC-S 2001 variable, which I am including below.

http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?
Temporal=2001&PID=60937&APATH=7&GID=431515&METH=1&PTYPE=55496&THEME=46&FOCUS
=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0&PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=99&GK=NA&VID=1625&FL=O&RL=0&FREE=0

I am also including a link below to the 2001 Census Dictionary for the definition on Occupation (based on the 2001 National Occupational Classification for Statistics [NOC-S 2001])

http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Reference/dict/pop090.htm

I have extracted a paragraph below from the definition that will explain the difference between the HRDC NOC codes and Statistics Canada's NOC-S 2001 codes.

Human Resources Development Canada classifies occupation data according to the National Occupational Classification (NOC). This classification has a similar structure to that of the 2001 National Occupational Classification for Statistics (NOC-S 2001). The two classifications have 520 unit groups, 140 minor groups and 10 broad categories in common. However, there are 47 major groups in the NOC-S 2001 and 26 major groups in the NOC. Occupation data from the 2001 Census are available according to both the NOC-S 2001 and the NOC structures.

As the codes your client are citing are from the NOC codes I have provided the codes below for the National Occupational Classification for Statistics.

E121 College and other vocational instructors
E131 Secondary school teachers
E132 Elementary school and kindergarten teachers

2001 Census PUMF Individuals File - Needs Updating

An error has been detected in the coding of the variable INCSTP which is contained in the 2001 Census PUMF Individuals File (95M0016XCB – Re-issued on August 24). The way the variable is currently coded results in a bias. Following a meeting with management on October 17, it was decided to re-issue the file. We will be in a better position to inform you of the re-issue date once we finalize the analysis on the Households and Housing File. We are scheduled to present the content of the Households and Housing File to the Microdata Release Committee on November 21, 2005.

Please notify your users of this finding as soon as possible. Details of the re-issue of the Individuals File as well as release dates for the Families File and the Households and Housing File will be forwarded to you as they become available.

Thank you.

Postpartum Depression

Question

Does anyone know where I can find statistics on postpartum depression in Canada?

Answer

For sure in the microdata (and basic frequencies) for Items 1,2,3, as postpartum; item 4 as post-partum

1. National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Cycle 2 (Primary File)
2. National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Cycle 1 Release 1 (Primary File)
3. National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Cycle 1 Release 2 (Primary File)
4. National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Cycle 3 (Primary File)

Census 1971 - microdata public files

Question

One of the researchers at the UdeMoncton is working with the public files from the census 1971, namely indiv1971_prov. He has reasons to believe that even though the code (three empty spaces) indicates that the person leaves outside of Montreal, in fact in should include the CMR of Montreal. So, the question is : does this file include the CMR of Montreal or does it not?

Answers and Responses

1. Page 2.3.2 of the codebook for the 1971 census pumfs says Sample units on the Quebec tape, residing in Montreal are not the same as those on the Montreal tape. On the Quebec tape residents from Montreal cannot however be recognized as such. The same holds true for Ontario, Toronto sample units.

As I interpret this, the sample of Quebec (including Montreal) and the sample of Montreal (excluding the remainder of Quebec) were drawn independently. The Quebec sample does include Montreal residents, but the CMA variable remains blank for those respondents, so they are not identified as living in Montreal, just somewhere in Quebec. Put another way, the CMA variable, to all intents and purposes, is not used at all in the province-level file, regardless of whether the respondent lives in Montreal or Toronto, or not. The CMA variable is only actually coded in the Montreal & Toronto sample file.

2. You fill find a file that you should be using from the DLI FTP for the CMA of Montreal:
Directory name: Census/1971/Pumf71, File name: indiv71_cma.zip

DMTI Data - 2005

I am starting to load the new DMTI data for this year. I received it on DVDs this year which will mean the procedure for download is going to be a bit different. I have now loaded all the CanMap Routelogistics data onto the server. You will notice, for one, that the edition naming is now different. The current edition is now named V2005.3. Secondly, you will notice that you will not be required to "install" the data. You will simply have to download a provincial zipped file for each province you want and unzip the data. As an example. If you want the CanMap routelogistics data for Ontario, you will need to navigate, on the server, to the following location:
prod.library.utoronto.ca/RouteLog/Arcview/V2005.3/
once in this folder you can download the Ontario files from the ON.zip file and so on. Does anyone require the mapinfo files?
I will update the list as more data is added to the server.

NEW: All DMTI data is now on the server (except the SSV data) in both Shapefile and Mapinfo formats.

1981 to 2001 census of population data tabulated within constant boundaries

I have assembled a set of data from the Census of Population from 1981 to 2001, tabulated for Census Divisions and Census Consolidated Subdivisions, within constant boundaries.

I would like to offer it to academic colleagues via the DLI = Data Liberation Initiative.

The present version is a Beta2 test version and I need some feedback on its usefulness before I proceed.

Thus, if you or your colleagues would be interested in reviewing this database -- or better yet, using these data for academic papers, I would encourage you to ask your DLI librarian (in your university library) to obtain a copy from the DLI gurus in Statistics Canada {Michael Sivyer -- Sivyer@statcan.ca 613-951-6185 or Andre.Blondin@statcan.ca 613-951-6322}

Manitoba GDP - Monthly

Question

I have a student requesting _monthly_ GDP for Manitoba from 1990 to 2004. I thought that would be easy - but the closest I can come is quarterly.

Is monthly available?

Answer

Statistics Canada only produces Provincial GDP annually.

Here is the link to the quarterly e-pub that the Manitoba Ministry of Finance produces using our data and their forecasts.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/iedm/invest/busfacts/economy/ec_outlook.html

Also find an economic highlights pdf that the Ministry of Finance (Manitoba) creates that may be helpful in addressing your student's request.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/finance/reports/pdf/highlights.pdf

Income deciles

Question

A faculty member here wants data from both SLID and SHS by income decile (not quintile, as has already been provided for us in SHS 2003). I know that I can use SPSS to generate the deciles, using

FREQUENCIES
VARIABLES=variable
/NTILES= 10
/ORDER= ANALYSIS.

and then, by using these figures to derive another variable, do crosstabs by income decile. What I'm not sure about is whether I
should calculate the deciles to create the derived variable before or after applying the weight variable. Could someone out
there give me some advice?

Answer

If you want the decile variable to indicate membership in the weighted sample, keep the weight variable on when calculating the deciles using the Frequencies command. To satisfy your curiosity, run the Frequencies command with the weight variable on and then off and compare the differences between the deciles of these two runs. You should see differences between the values of the deciles as a result of the sampling design.

When recoding income into deciles, the weight variable will not be invoked and can be either on or off.

NPHS supplement

Question

I have a grad student looking for the Nutrition Supplement Survey for thefollowing years:
1994-1995
1996-1997
1998-1999
2000-2001
2002-2003
2004-2005

In the StatCan online catalogue it lists supplements of NPHS as being available to DLI members.

http://www.statcan.ca:8096/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=82M0018S

Is this still the case? If so, can we obtain these files for our student?

I do see the 1994-1995 supplemental files on the ftp site but those are the only ones available.

Is this a matter of custom tab or RDC as options for receiving the data?

Answer

First, there was never any supplement on nutrition in either of our surveys. We did have something related to nutrition but it is the Food Insecurity Supplement of the NPHS, and it was done as a one-time special survey in 1996-1997. This Supplement was sponsored by Human Resource Development Canada to help them in developing policies. The file was never released as a public use microdata file, unfortunately, and is available on request in Research Data Centers.

Second, we recently published the CCHS - Nutrition - General Health component, which is focused on nutrition. The Public file will be available at the end of November, and is also available in request in Research Data Centers.

Weather Data

Question

Does anyone know if weather data is available in either ASCII or GIS format? A student wants Hourly data for 200+ weather
stations in Alberta for 1990-2002.

Answer

You'll find what you need at the national climate archive:
http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/

Posting survey subsets onto WebCT

Question

A lab instructor for a large Research Methods class has inquired about possibly using DLI data for their labs. It is a large class, with 6 sections, and a total of about 180 students. Given the large size of the class, the instructor would like to try to use small subsets of the GSS, 10-15 variables, to correspond to specific research methods. The instructor would post these subsets onto WebCT for the students to use during the labs. The instructor could put these files up before the classes and take them down at the end of the week, or right after the classes if required. The students would complete small assignments during class tie and submit them at the end of the class period. Only students registered in the class would have access to the files. Would this be allowed under the DLI license? The "use" would of course be educational. However, would this be viewed as "redistribution" of the data?

Answer

This is a wonderful example of the teaching value of DLI data. Yes, this is definitely an acceptable use of the data licensed under DLI. In addition, WebCT adds another level of authentication to gaining access since students are required by WebCT to use an ID and password to enter this instructional webspace. The experiences of this lab use would make a great DLI Update article.

NLSCY Cycle 5 - Download Problems

Question

I have downloaded from the ftp site the files for NLSCY Cycle 5. The Coefficient of Variation Interface works fine from my pc, but when I loaded onto our website (using the same file structure and file name), I get the following errors:
Children 0-5 years - Run time error '1004' Method 'Sheets' of object'_Global' failed Children and Youth 8-19 years - Run time error '9' Subscript out of Range (same error for French or English version). Any suggestions?

Answer

I just met with an individual of Special Surveys Division to see if there was a simple answer to your question. We reviewed the files on the FTP and as the product is installing properly on your PC, which is the intended use of the product, there is no support for using the files as you describe. However, they suggested that perhaps not all files were being transferred over? Please ensure that all files listed on the FTP are transferred to the web. Also, they suggest that you create two folders (0-5 and 8-19) and follow the same reporting structure and demonstrated on the FTP. It could be that the program is looking for a file in a certain folder but it is found elsewhere - thus causing the trouble. Apologies for not being able to completely resolve the problem, but I hope the suggestions bring you one step closer.

Low Income Lone Mothers

Question

Is it possible to find a number or percentage of poor (low income or "LICO" status) lone mothers in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax by Census Tract, or at least, an area smaller than just a CMA?

Answers

1. The lowest geography I found crossing incidence of low income and family type was at the CMA level. I did not see any standard tables with this information at a lower level. The Census PUMF would not be an alternative as the lowest level of geography is the CMA. Unless someone out there knows another source for this information, I would say cost-recovery is your only option for STC stuff.

2. This would be far too detailed a table with income in it. I am quite sure that CMA is the lowest for which standard data would be available. I am not sure about a custom table but one must remember that income is a sensitive varaible.

Number of Jobs by Census Tracts

Last August, I had a special request from a professor working in the Transportation Department of Ecole Polytechnique and I would like to share results of my request with you.

The professor wanted the number of jobs by census tracts in Montreal related to place of work and not residential location. The only documents that answered that request are the following:

http://www.statcan.ca:8096/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=97C0036

Place of Work Status (3), Industry - 1997 North American Industry Classification System (21) and Work Activity (4) for Employed Labour Force 15 Years and Over Having a Usual Place of Work or Working at Home, for Census Metropolitan Areas, Census Agglomerations and Census Tracts of Work, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data

http://www.statcan.ca:8096/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=97C0037
http://www.statcan.ca:8096/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=97C0038
http://www.statcan.ca:8096/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=97C0039
http://www.statcan.ca:8096/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=97C0040
http://www.statcan.ca:8096/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=97C0041

These files are available in the ftp dli collection. I used the file Dirlist.txt with the command "CTRL F" to find the documents.

Census/2001/B2020/Topic-Based-Tabulations/place-of-work-b2020/ct-sr/workplace_travail:
total 13684
dr-xr-x--- 2 dli dli 512 Jun 17 11:31 ./
dr-xr-x--- 4 dli dli 512 Jun 17 11:31 ../
-r-xr-x--- 1 dli dli 2140777 Jun 17 11:31 97c0036.ivt*
-r-xr-x--- 1 dli dli 796517 Jun 17 11:31 97c0037.ivt*
-r-xr-x--- 1 dli dli 1608198 Jun 17 11:31 97c0038.ivt*
-r-xr-x--- 1 dli dli 1142969 Jun 17 11:31 97c0039.ivt*
-r-xr-x--- 1 dli dli 778060 Jun 17 11:31 97c0040.ivt*
-r-xr-x--- 1 dli dli 463295 Jun 17 11:31 97c0041.ivt*

N.B. The professor will contact the Census Division for Montréal to obtain the data for 1996.

Survey Names and Acronyms

Introduction of a new WEB page for the DLI Community:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/dli-collection.htm

Personal income per capita (and more!)

Question

A patron is looking for any/all of the following:

Market income per capita
Disposable income per capita
Personal income per capita

Most importantly, he is looking for these variables from 1957-present (annually up to 5 year intervals) and he wants to compare provinces to the national average.

I think I can find some of these if I dig hard enough, but I was hoping someone might have a source at the tips of their
fingers. It could be a data or statistical source.

Answer

CANSIM table 380-0050 has personal income, personal disposable income, and income per capita, by province, annually from 1926-1990.

384-0012 has personal income and personal disposable income from 1980-2004, by province.

Any series that are totals can be divided by the estimated population for the same year, to produce per capita figures, no? The economists on this list will, I am sure, correct me if I am wrong here.

202-0201 has market income, from 1980-2003, for different economic family types, by province.

Since Stats Can defines market income as: Average market income is the sum of earnings (from employment and self-employment), investment income, (private) retirement income, and items under "Other income". It is equivalent to total income minus government transfers. see:
http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/famil22a.htm

You should therefore be able to derive market income from 1961-1991 from appropriate series in CANSIM table 384-0034, and earlier numbers from the print volumes of the National income and expenditure accounts (13-531).

International Trade Classification

Question

Students here are looking at the prospect of analyzing trade statistics for renewable energy technologies (e.g., windmills and components). Are these components explicitly identified in the SITC (and if so, where)?

Answers

1. The classification system of goods does not define whether the commodities are used for specific reasons (eg. energy). I did visit the Canadian International Merchandise Trade page
http://www.statcan.ca/trade/scripts/trade_search.cgi
and performed a keyword search for "windmills." I got some results and the codes that accompany the commodity. You can maybe use that code to access data through the Stats Can trade databases.

I always find this to be a useful tool to find commodity codes.

2. There's an outline of the SITC (4-digit) at:
http://pacific.commerce.ubc.ca/trade/sitc3-4.html

Code 7189 contains: Power generating machinery and parts thereof, n.e.s.: Engines and motors, n.e.s. (e.g., wind engines and hot air engines) and parts thereof, including parts of reaction engines (other than turbo jet parts).

Annual Estimate of the Number of Households in Canada

Question

Where can I find an annual estimate of the number of households in Canada? (1990 - present)

Answers

1. How close would CANSIM table 051-0003 come to satisfying your patrons needs? It provides estimates of the number of census families annually from 1986 to 2004. Census families are different from households. The STC definition for household
is "a person or group of persons who occupy the same dwelling and do not have a usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada
or abroad."

http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/definitions/household.htm

On the other hand, the definition of census family is "a now-married couple, a common-law couple or a lone-parent with a child or youth who is under the age of 25 and who does not have his or her own spouse or child living in the household."

http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/definitions/cen-family.htm

Table 051-0003 would miss out on all single individuals in its estimates. But maybe your patron would be willing to go with census families.

2. The first answer is a nice alternative to the number of households. The closest I was able to find was 1997-2004 from the Survey of Household Spending on CANSIM. It has the estimated number of households, but would still leave you short from 1990-1997. The surveys which SHS replaces were only performed every four years or so, which still leaves a gap for your series.

3. You can find the estimated number of households, in the publication FP markets. Canadian demographics, 1998- It was known as Canadian markets from 1985 up to 1998 and it is publish by Financial post. Hope it can help!

DLI On The Web

DLI "collection on the web" page is located at
http://www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/spider/dli_list.cgi.

International Students

Question

I am looking for the information re: international students, by province and - university, number of, how many graduated, how many dropped out. Does such information exist?

I was also wondering if we have some local (Atlantic) statistics.

Answers

1. This might be helpful:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/monitor/issue07/04-students.html

2. I have had similar requests in the past so was interested in this. I explored further and found more at
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/index-2.html#statistics and
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/research/menu-fact.html.

Lots here on numbers, where they're coming from, and where they're going.

SLID 2001 and 2002 SPSS syntax files

Question

I was wondering if anybody has put together the compete SPSS syntax files to the 2001 and 2002 SLID surveys, and would be willing to share? The DLI site presently offers the parts, but not the complete file.

If not, perhaps I could get some advice on the parts of the syntax available for these surveys. I have pasted together the parts of the 2002 SLID persons survey, and edited as necessary, but SPSS does not seem to like the variables list. It has several numbers that end in decimals, or have a number with a decimal in brackets after the column numbers. For example, "icswt26 23 - 32.4 (10.4) " . If I strip out the decimals and numbers in brackets, SPSS will pull in the data, and several frequencies I have run match the documentation. However, I am still a little concerned that the decimal numbers must have been there for a reason, and thought I should check before giving the student access to this and other recent SLID files.

Answer

No need to doubt your SPSS skills. The decimal point in the column range, i.e., 23-32, is incorrect SPSS syntax. I suspect that the SPSS code was generated from SAS code, where the variable "icswt26" is declared correctly for SAS as: icswt26 10.4 .

Synthetic files for SLID

Currently: The new SLID-RET (Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics - Data Retrieval System) files were just loaded on the FTP at the following location ://ftp/dli/slid/SLIDRET-Ver-2_3. The website will be updated shortly.

2005 Road Network File (92-500-XWE).

The 2006 Census Dissemination Project is pleased to announce the official release of the 2005 Road Network File (92-500-XWE).

The 2005 Road Network File (RNF) is the first official release from the 2006 Census Geography suite of products and services. The RNF is a digital representation of Canada's national road network, containing information such as street names, type, direction and address ranges.

The unrestricted release of the RNF allows Canadians to preview the national road network which is the source for the creation of geographic units being used for 2006 Census of population. Other applications of this file include: mapping, geocoding, geographic search, area delineation, and database maintenance as a source for street names and locations.

The 2005 Road Network File (RNF) is available for Canada and individual provinces and territories in three formats: ArcINFO (.SHP), MapInfo (.TAB), and, for the first time, Geography Markup Language (.GML).

For the first time, the RNF is available free of charge to Canadians on the Internet and can be found by clicking on the "2006 Census" button located on the top navigation bar of the Statistics Canada home page and can be accessed under the "2006 Census." It can also be found by clicking on the "2001 Census" button on the top navigation bar of the Statistics Canada home page and can be accessed under "Recent Releases."
http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss/2006Dissemination/Data/FRR_RNF_e.cfm

DLI and StatsCan Updates (October 2005 - February 2006)

Please note the updated products listed below and the path to access it via FTP. The web site will be updated shortly.

Small Area and Administrative Data
Canadian Capital Gains 1998 - 2003
Charitable Donors 1995 - 2003
Canadian Investment Income 1995 – 2003
Canadian Investors 1995 - 2003
Canadian Savers 1995 - 2003
Canadian Taxfilers 1995 - 2003
Economic Dependency Profiles 1989 – 2001 and 2003
Families 1995 - 2000 and 2003
Labour Force Income Profiles 1989 - 2000 and 2003
Neighbourhood Income and Demographics 1995 - 2000 and 2003
RRSP Contribution Limits (Room) 1995 - 2004
RRSP Contributors 1995 - 2003
Seniors 1995 - 2003
FTP: /ftp/dli/saad

------------------------

Inter-corporate ownership (ICO) 2005-1, 2005-2, 2005-3
FTP: /dli/ico_CD
Web: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/ico.htm

------------------------

We have just completed a new and improved “Browse by subject” feature on the Statistics Canada website. We would appreciate your feedback/comments on the changes and any further improvements we could make.
http://www.statcan.ca/start.html

Please use the feedback button provided at the bottom of the first page of “Browse by subject”.

------------------------

General Social Survey - Cycle 16

Please note that new SPSS/SAS codes have been included on the revised CD-ROM.

FTP: /ftp/dli/gss/cycle16-2002
web: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/gss/gssc1602.htm

------------------------

Please note that E-Stat is looking at adding “Canada Food Stats 2005″ (cat. No. 23F0001XCB) onto their site in the new year. Only the most recent issue of the cd-rom will be available through E-Stat. As I receive more information, I will let you know.

------------------------

Postal Code Conversion File Plus V4G - October 2005

The Postal Code Conversion File Plus (PCCF+) (82F0086XDB), Version 4G with postal codes through October 2005, complements the Postal Code Conversion File

(PCCF). When the association between the postal code and census geography is not unique, the PCCF+ allows for a proportional allocation based on the population count.

In Version 4G, federal electoral districts according to the 2003 representation order, riding names and definitions have been updated to include changes in 2004 and 2005. Also, Ontario health region definitions have been updated to include changes through August 2005.

Users also need SAS to run this application.

FTP: dli/health/pccf4g-fccp4g
WEB: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/health.htm

------------------------

Labour Market Activity Survey - 1986 - 1990 (SPSS codes)

FTP: /ftp/dli/lmas/1986 (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990) /doc

FTP: /ftp/dli/lmas1986 (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990)job.sps
FTP: /ftp/dli/lmas1986 (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990)per.sps

WEB: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/lmas.htm

------------------------

Social Policy Simulation Database Model - V 14.0
The Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M) Version 14.0, based on 2002 microdata, is now available. The most recent SPSD/M can be used to study the impacts of changes to federal and provincial tax and benefit programs on families and governments from 1991 through 2010.

The SPSD/M is a static microsimulation model. It is comprised of a database, a series of tax/transfer algorithms and models, analytical software and user documentation. The SPSD/M has been produced as an occasional product starting in 1985. It has been in wide use by policy analysts in Canada studying virtually every change to the tax and transfer system since that time.

The SPSD/M is a tool designed to analyze the financial interactions of governments and individuals and families in Canada. It estimates the income redistributive effects or cost implications of changes in the personal taxation (including the GST and other commodity taxes) and the cash transfer system. The SPSD/M also helps researchers examine the potential impacts of changes in taxes, earnings, demographic trends, and a wide range of other factors.

The SPSD/M allows users to answer questions such as what if there are changes to the taxes Canadians paid or transfers they received who would gain and who would lose? Would single parent households in a particular province be better off and by how much? How much extra money would federal or provincial governments collect or pay out?

WEB: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/spsdm.htm
FTP: /dli/spsdm/spsdm-v14

Data on Advanced Voting

Question

I am interesting in getting my hands on a dataset which summarizes advance and regular voting by candidate and riding in the 2000 and/or 2004 elections. I realize these data are available for the above elections aggregated at the provincial level, and disaggregated at the riding level by poll. However, I am interested in a set which would have the results by riding with some indication of the amount of advance voting for each candidate.

Answer

My guess is you would have to contact Elections Canada for that - they do provide the number of advance polls in some of their standard tables (in 2004 election results, tables 1 and 5), but only at the province level: http://www.elections.ca

Update on SAAD Files

Question

Any chance of an update to the SAAD files, especially 13c0016: Families? The latest data available under DLI seem to be to 2000.

Answer

I am pleased to announce that our FTP site was just updated with 2003 SAAD tables. There remains some gaps in the collection, but the author division is working at filling in those gaps through time.

Wholesale Prices

Question

There is a class of students doing business plans here, and one of them is looking at making energy drinks using 100% fruit juice as one of the ingredients. What he would like to find is the price that he would have to pay for fruit juice. This would be the wholesale price, not the retail price. I was able to find retail price in CANSIM Table 326-0012. But, so far, I have not been able to dig up wholesale prices. Does anyone have any ideas?

Answer
You can get futures prices of commodities (such as orange juice) via Thomson Financial's Datastream database.

I would also look at the US Dept of Agriculture's AMS page of Wholesale Terminal prices here:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/mncs/terminal.htm

There are links for fruits and tropical fruits.

Also: You can find wholesale to retail prices of many types of food on Agriculture Canada's website in a database at
http://infohort.agr.gc.ca/index.cfm?action=dspWklyWhlsl&lang=eng

This database allows you to select the year, month, and day, as well as type of commodity, and location of market.

It then gives you an output, and allows you to export the data as a .csv file

DLI Updates

Just a quick note to let you know that the DLI just released a new DLI Update (Volume 8, issue 1). You can retrieve the DLI Update from the following web address: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/update.htm

Publication highlights:
DLI is Coming Out of Its Shell by Chuck Humphrey (University of Alberta)
STC Mainframe Computer by Mike Sivyer (Data Liberation Initiative)
The DLI Training Repository by Jane Fry (Carleton University)
The Licensing Portal by Monia Bergeron (Data Liberation Initiative)
Data Gaps in the DLI Collection by Mike Sivyer (Data Liberation Initiative)
Difference between DLI's FTP and Web Sites by Jackie Godfrey (Data Liberation Initiative)
Additions to the DLI Collection from July 2004 - 2005 by Monia Bergeron (Data Liberation Initiative)

---------------------------------
Canadian Business Patterns June 2005

FTP: /dli/cbp/2005/cbp2005-june.zip

WEB: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/cbp.htm

New Version of Beyond 20/20

Question

Is the Version 7.0 of the Beyond 20/20 Browser available?

Answer

CD-ROM products started using version 7.0 at the beginning of this calendar year. I am not sure of the exact number of products, but possibly 3 or 4 so far.

Version 7.0 of Beyond 20/20 is now available on the FTP site at the following address: /ftp/dli/util/b2020-70.exe

Installing Beyond 20/20

Question

I have been trying to get Beyond 20/20 installed on computers at the University -- particularly in the computer labs. I was able to get our systems people to do this in the past, but now they seem to have an issue with this. I received the following response as a result of a recent request:

"The Beyond 20/20 browser does not obey group policy, it cannot be installed on ADM machines. If there is a new version of the application available please let me know and I can test that to see if they have fixed the application. The easiest way to fix the problem would be to use standard Windows Open dialog boxes."

Has anyone experienced this at their institution? Does anyone know if the problem this systems person is describing is being addressed? I would very much like students to be able to open and work with IVT files at any computer in the university, particularly those in the labs.

Answer

2005: As far as I know there are no restrictions to the number of desktops that can have the Browser installed within the DLI community.

From the Past: Several years ago I requested the installation of the B2020 browser in our campus computing labs to increase access to the 1996 Census tables (like i said, the request was several years ago.) The Computing Centre would not install the browser until they had a license confirming that the copy they were installing was legitimate. Lynda Richardson, who was the DLI Liaison at the time, provided me with a document stating that the U of A was licensed through DLI to installed B2020 on our
campus.

I'm passing along this "old" news in the event that your computing centre raises the same concern. The DLI Unit will provide you with a document that you can give the software license administrator on your campus.

National Survey of Giving, Volunteering

Question

I'm writing about the 1997 Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participation. A student here raises a question about the variable AGEGRP, which has a frequency distribution as follows, from the User Guide:

Variable: AGEGRP Position: 518 Length: 1
Public microdata variable. Respondent Age
FREQ WTD
1 15-24 years 2,389 3,980,297
2 25-34 years 3,636 4,625,964
3 35-44 years 4,280 5,123,614
4 45-54 years 2,883 3,979,917
5 55-64 years 2,109 2,580,451
6 65 years and over 3,004 3,517,908
======= ==========
18,301 23,808,151

In the SPSS command code provided on the DLI FTP site, this variable is assigned a missing value for "6". So, in the converted SPSS System file we have 6 coded as 'missing', but the frequency 'missing' matches those "65 years and over" in the User Guide. Since our student is particularly interested in those 65 and over, this is a problem.

Is the AGEGRP value "6" incorrectly assigned as missing in the SPSS command code?

Answer

Just spoke with the DLI Team, and he confirmed that you are correct in your assumption - AGEGRP value -- incorrectly assigned as missing in the SPSS command code.

If you wish to go ahead and adjust the SPSS code to make use of the data immediately, please go ahead. We will work on fixing the SPSS code and reloading it on the sites.

International Cost of Living

Question

I have a user who is looking to compare cost of living in France, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Scotland, Japan, and Canada. She wants comparable figures for basic categories like food, housing, clothing, etc.

The only things I could come up with were tables showing household final consumption figures (i.e., not per capita or per household, but total figures per country). I don't think this would be useful for her. I think she just wants to know how much someone would spend on housing, for instance, in each of these countries, and she wants the figures to be comparable.

Anyway, what I was able to find were the following:

1. Statistical Yearbook (United Nations): The 48th issue (2004). Table 24, starting on page 194, shows household final consumption figures by country. It also shows a breakdown in terms of percentage spent on food, clothing, furnishings, etc.

2. World Development Indicators (World Bank), 2004. Table 4.10, starting on p. 218 also shows household final consumption by country. Here, the figures are standardized into US dollars, but, again, this is total consumption, not per capita or by household, and there is no breakdown in terms of food, housing, etc.

Can anyone tell me if anything exists that would be more useful for this student, who is, I believe, is an undergrad, not an advanced researcher?

Answers

1. World cost of living survey (Gale publisher), 2nd edition, 1999.

Conveniently arranged by country and then by cities within that country, World Cost of Living Survey provides quick, comparative analysis of such major topics as:

*Child care, Clothing, Communications, Education, Energy and fuels, Groceries, Health care, Housing, Travel, Utilities, and many others for 740 locations throughout the world. You will find a more complete description in the Gale catalog.

2. I found interesting statistics in SourceOECD (database that contains books, periodicals and statistics from the OECD). If you don't have it, you probably have OECD subscriptions.

There is also the International Financial Statistics (paper and database) from the International Monetary Fund but there is only a few data that could be useful (by country: labor force, employment, consumer prices).

Other suggestions:

- International Marketing Data & Statistics 2005 from Euromonitor
(http://www.euromonitor.com/International_Marketing_Data_and_Statistics_2005).

- World Consumer Spending 2005/2006 from Euromonitor
(http://www.euromonitor.com/World_Consumer_Spending_2005-2006).

3. The United Nations also keeps detailed and up-to-date indexes on cost-of-living of its employees. You can download their data free of charge at http://icsc.un.org/col-rpi-d.asp. The cost-of-living is not available at the national level, but at the 'duty station' of the UN (e.g. Paris, Canberra and Melbourne, Montreal, Toyko, and so on). There is no data for New Zealand. Data is available as indices and US $ and covers:

Food and non-alcoholic beverages
Clothing and footwear
Housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels
Health
Transport
Etc.

*If encounter problem with this data: Go to Tools -> Macro -> Security, and then decrease your security level to Medium to enable macros. Restart your Excel and you will have access to the pull-down menu.

Using 1971 Basic Summary Tabulations

Question

We have researchers working on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. They would like to utilize 1971 Census data. In print, this is easy, as Grand Manan is a Census Subdivision on CD5 (Charlotte).

However, as I interpret the BST files, they do not refer to CD's or CSD's. Is there a way to find the Electoral District for Grand Manan, or its EA code(s) for 1971?

Answer

There were actually a number of BST files at the CSD level (called 'municipality' in 1971. See:
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/datalib/cc71/cc71bsts.htm#mcsfdem

And according to the Geography tape file from the 1971 census, Grand Manaan NB is in CD 3, CSD 05A, which as far as I can tell, would seem to be FED 1=Carleton-Charlotte (1966 representation order), and EAs 9 and 10.
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/datalib/other/referenc.htm#sgc

1901 Aggregate Data on Occupations

Question

A graduate student is looking for census data about occupations in 1901, and I can't find that information in our 4 volumes of the 1901 census. We'd really prefer aggregate data if it exists. I know the microdata is available through the Canadian Families project - and I see that there are fields for occupation, so we can aggregate these ourselves if necessary, but I thought I'd check first to see if it's already been done.

So am I missing something, or was the occupational data not published in aggregate form for that year?

Answers

1. Have you tried table D86-106 in Historical statistics of Canada? It includes 'gainfully employed' by occupation (7 categories only) and sex for census years 1891 thru 1961, including 1901.

The table gives as it's source:
Notes to Accompany Tables of Working Population by Industry and Occupation Group, R. Marvin McInnis, Queen's University.

2. There are "Census of Industry" statistics on our web site, Baldwin-Green Study Canada-US Census of Industry 1867 - 1940.

See URL: http://library.queensu.ca/webdoc/ssdc/cdbksnew/
Baldwin-Green/Baldwin-Green_Industrial_Census.htm
to access these data. There are figures for numbers of employees in various industrial sectors. Not "occupation", but perhaps of some use.

Mortality Rate 2001

Question

I am looking for total mortality rate for 2001, by cause of death, ideally by age group (mainly 15-24 years old + general population). Is Health Status in 2005 Health Indicator good for me (Mortality by selected causes => Total mortality) ?

In Canadian Statistics the information is older - tables from 1996, 1997 etc...

What about age groups?

Answer

If you subscribe to SourceOECD, you can get it from the 2004 edition of the OECD health data base - those data, at least for health and mortality statistics, are more up-to-date than those on the STC site, although they come from the same source.

Of course, on the SourceOECD site, the 2005 edition of Health data is available as well, for even more up-to-date mortality figures for Canada.

Health Region Boundary Files

Question

A researcher at UBC is looking for health region boundary files dating back to 1994. I searched very thoroughly I think, and could find the 2000 CD-ROM and the 2003 Health regions boundaries and correspondence with census geography, available for free on the Statistics Canada website. Are there any more - did I miss anything?

As a fallback I recommended she contact BC Stats for the BC regions. But I am curious to know whether Statistics Canada has anything earlier than 2000.

Answer

The HR 2000 product on CD-ROM was the first, at least produced by Statistics Canada. I think the advice to follow-up with the province is worthwhile, to find out about earlier files. Certainly the health regions in some provinces existed back in '94, but it would take some research to determine if the boundaries of that vintage were reflected in the HR 2000 product. There have been numerous boundary changes and complete regional restructuring across the provinces over the past 10 years.

Homelessness

Question

Does anyone have any good places to look for homelessness data for Canada at any level and for Montreal in particular?

As far as I can tell, the census does not really pick up citizens with no fixed address unless they have been living in a shelter for more than 6 months; and there is no counting of citizens actually living "on the street".

Answers

1. For francophones, an important site is:
http://www.frapru.qc.ca/

They are a community group that advocates on behalf of the homeless.

2. The Census, for the first time in 2001, attempted to get some population counts for persons without a fixed place of residence. The homeless component was investigated in the large urban centres of Canada.

There are some strict reservations about using the data collected. Only one report was created and it is available on the Census web site at the following address:
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/coll/contents.cfm

This cautionary note accompanies the data:

In view of the classification issues related to collective dwellings and the census concepts related to usual place of residence, care must be taken in interpreting the data on the census population enumerated in shelters. The census count of the population in shelters should not be interpreted as a count of the "homeless" since homeless persons may well have been enumerated in other types of collective dwellings e.g. hotels, motels, YM/YWCAs, etc. Furthermore, the census count of persons in places classified as shelters does not represent the total population of persons who slept in a shelter on Census Day, since in some cases persons temporarily residing in shelters would have been enumerated at their usual place of residence.

Asian Immigration in New Brunswick

Question

My patron would like to have as much information as possible about the asian immigrants in New Brunswick for the last 10 years (who, when, why, where etc.) The tables that I could find contain only general numbers of immigrants, where should I go?

Answer

I found a great product that I think will meet your needs for 2001 - 97F0009XCB2001040

Selected Demographic and Cultural Characteristics (69), Immigrant Status and Place of Birth of Respondent (21B), Age Groups (6), Sex (3) and Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (11) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data

It is available on the web as an html file, but I would strongly recommend that you download it from the FTP or the web in Beyond 20/20 format. It will be a lot easier to manipulate the data and paint the picture you want.

The path to follow is:
/ftp/dli/census/2001/B2020/Topic-Based-Tabulations/immigration-citizenship-b2020

For 1996, You will need 94F0004XCB - Dimension Series (Ethnocultural and Social Characteristics of the Canadian Population - Package # 10 , Profile of Immigrants).

CRA and GST/HST Statistics Compendium

Question

I have a user who is looking for the amount of GST revenue earned/generated by NAICS or SIC industry classification, in 2001, 1996, and 2001. I have checked the STC web site, CANSIM (E-stat), Financial performance indicators, and Industrial monitor.

I'm now stumped - what am I missing?

Answer

Try the Compendium of GST/HST Statistics on the CRA website.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/agency/stats/gst_hst-e.html

They include tables on GST/HST collected, which they define as "This amount is based on all GST/HST charged, at 7% GST or 15% HST, on paid and unpaid invoices during the reporting period. The total of GST collected in a reporting period is based on
all GST/HST collected and collectable reported on line 105 of Form GST34, and includes adjustments from all forms filed by
GST/HST registrants."

They use SIC to classify industries.

Table 7g is the distribution of GS/HST collected by major industry group.

The time series runs from the 1994-95 fiscal year to 2003-04.

Canadian mortality microdata

Question

Yet another researcher is looking for microdata from Canadian registration of deaths records, or whatever they are called now. All years from 1984 to 2004 would be appreciated.

The variables needed (and that were available at least in the 1980s) are: year and month of death; province, county, locality of residence; marital status; sex; age; year of birth; place of birth; province, county, locality of death; ethnic origin; occupation; industry; place of death (hospital, sanatorium, etc.); autopsy; cause of death, nature of injury (International classification of disease, ICD-9); birthplace of mother, father.

I am aware that not all these variables are consistently filled in by all provincial vital statistics agencies, but for those that are, the info would be great.

The alternative, I suppose, is to use again US mortality records, which are fairly readily available.

Answer

Statistics Canada does not disseminate vital statistics information as a PUMF. Aggregated statistics at the Canadian level is all that is available for detailed tables.

Vital statistics are administrative data (meaning: they are collected by another government department and then remitted to Statistics Canada for publishing). The owners of the data (provincial ministries of vital statistics) still own the "rights" to the data and do not allow any release of the information by Statistics Canada to other users.

STC's Health Division advised that every single provincial ministry would need to be contacted in order to release the data. The rumour is that requests have been pending for over two years and the outcome is not looking favourable.

Most unfortunately, your user may need to do as you describe - use American data.

Pension Plans

Question

A student working on a research projet here at Concordia is looking for the following data:

Number of pension plans (or members of those plans) by industry and by type of plans (Defined benefit and Defined contribution pension plans) at the national level. This data seems to be available from the "Pension plans in Canada" database but I could find no currently available product that would answer the question. I know custom tables could be produced at a cost, but would the information be available in any other form through DLI or DSP?

The other aspect of the research has to do with level of unionization by industry also at the national level. Those numbers are available from CANSIM (Labour force survey estimates (LFS), employees by union coverage, table 282-0077). Now, would there be any survey that would cross-index this variable (unionization by industry) with the other one (type of pension-plan per industry)? In other words, would it be possible to associate, say the "defined benefit segment" of industry X with its level of unionization?

Answer

I researched what I could for you, but came up with very similar results:

1) Pension Plans in Canada : Key Tables (74-508-XWE) has some great tables, but nothing that crosses industry with union participation. It does cross public vs. private firms, but that is not detailed enough for your patron. I think that one of the only options to you then is to explore a custom extraction for a fee.

2) The Labour Force Survey does not ask pension questions, so it would never be crossed with union participation.

Ethnicity of Doctors

Question

A faculty member is trying to look at the trends in the number of doctors by ethnic origin and/or place of birth in Canada. I haven't found any profile or topic-based tabulations which will provide both sides of the issue and unfortunately, the PUMF doesn't break out doctors (physicians) from other occupations in health.

Have I overlooked something? Can anyone offer suggestions? Perhaps a custom tabulation could be done?

Answer

I found this table (97F0012XCB2001048) which provides visible minority by detailed occupation (SOC).
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?
Temporal=2001&PID=60932&APATH=7&GID=517770&METH=1&PTYPE=55496&THEME=46&FOCUS
=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0&PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=99&GK=NA&VID=1676&FL=O&RL=0&FREE=0

And this one with the same variables only for NOC : (97F0012XCB2001050)
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?
Temporal=2001&PID=60937&APATH=7&GID=431515&METH=1&PTYPE=55496&THEME=46&FOCUS
=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0&PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=99&GK=NA&VID=1625&FL=O&RL=0&FREE=0

If you are looking for place of birth, and the level of detail is too aggregated with the PUMF, I know you can custom order it. Of course, it would be subject to confidentiality suppressions, etc.

Merging 1991 Profiles

Question

I have the census 1991 enumeration profiles (short and long version) and the census tract 1991 short and long version profiles. I wanted to know if one can merge the enumeration short and long version by region code, fed and EA or if such a merge is even meaningful? Similarly, I would like to merge the CT census profile (short and long version as well) however I am not sure what the identifying variables are for such a merge....(by ct, rp, cma)?

Answer

The files could be merged on the Geography using SAS Software. The client should also consider that the 100% database suppression is based upon the total population while the 20% sample database suppression is based upon the non-institutional population.

NPHS 2002-2003 documentation

Question

I have a user looking for documentation pertaining to the 2002-2003 longitudinal National Population Health Survey study. Is there any way we can obtain this? Or does the user have to contact the RDCs directly?

Answer

Check here:

http://www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS
=3225&lang=en&db=IMDB&dbg=f&adm=8&dis=2#4

University and College Academic Staff System - Part-time Staff

Question

I have a researcher looking for the University and College Academic Staff System - Part-time Staff (PTUCASS) data. Can this be made available through DLI?

Answer

As it turns out, the survey no longer collects part-time information -- all we have is full-time info! This is a recent change. We stopped collecting data on part-time faculty staff since it was not well reported and there was not much demand for such data. Eventually the title will change to reflect the difference.

Units of Measure for Trade Data

Question

A UBC researcher recently purchased some Statistics Canada trade data and now has a question about the measurements used. She reports that some of the commodities are measured in kilograms (KGM) and some in kilograms of known substance (KNS). What difference is there between the two (and a third, KSD, kilogram air dry)? Are they all equally kilograms?

I have looked at the customs tariff and related documentation, at multiple sources of trade statistics, and anywhere else I can think of, but can find nothing more than lists of abbreviations and their full names. Can the merchandise trade experts provide definitions for these terms?

Answer

Stats Can does not officially have any definitions of units of measure per se, but did confirm that it is based on the individual commodity.

An example that was provided will drive home this point I believe:

Code 2815200010 Potassium hydroxide (caustic potash), solid (UOM = KG)
Code 2815200020 Potassium hydroxide (caustic potash), in aqueous solution (UOM = KNS)

Commodities which are in liquid form often have UOM as KNS, while solids have UOM as KG. It is very dependant on the commodity, its composition, etc.

Our contact did mention that Canada Border Services have a publication defining all of the codes and some information on their state (solid/liquid) when applicable. You may wish to pursue that option as well.

In short - they are all kilograms, but different UOM are used based on the state of the product (liquid, solid, air dried).

Telecommuting

Question

We are looking for data on "telecommuting". Synonyms are teleworking, remote working or e-working. On Stat Can wbsite, I have found this article
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/11-015-XIE/studies/wes006.htm
using WES survey data. Researches in CANSIM have been unsuccessful. Any ideas?

Answer

The "Survey of Work Arrangements" (91 & 95) collected data on work at home.
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/was.htm

*the 1995 version is the most recent

International students and immigration status

Question

Statistics on the number and source countries of international students in the Canadian post-secondary system who have applied for/been granted permanent resident status subsequent to graduation.

It was suggested to her that DLI products would help. Can anyone suggest which one? I looked through the list and found the National Graduates survey but when I read the description and checked the questionaire it did not seem appropriate.

Answer

I just confirmed with our Education Division and we can provide university enrolments/graduates by country of citizenship and
immigration status from 1992 to 2001. However, we do not have data on how many students remain in Canada after they finish school.

Labour Market Activity Survey 86-90

Question

There are no SPSS or SAS syntax files for the LMAS data files on the DLI FTP site. Does anyone out there have such files they would be willing to share?

Answer

Lots - just make sure you are using the right edition:
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/datalib/codebooks/cst/lmas.htm

Body Mass Index

Question

What early surveys would have collected data on body mass index or body weight or body weight and height. I can find back to GSS 1, 1985, Health and Social Support. Any STC survey prior to that for this information? We're looking at Kendall's National Canadian Health Surveys, 1950-1997, but it's not clear who conducted the early surveys.

Answer

The Canadian Health Surveys, 1950-1997 provides a history of Canadian Health Surveys.

As I look at it, the earliest nutrition survey which asks questions on physical assessments, is the Nutrition Canada Survey (1970-1972).

The sponsor for this survey was the Food and Drug Directorate, Health and Welfare Canada.

The data collector was Health and Welfare Canada and the contacts for that survey were:

Peter Fisher at 957-0919 and Government Archives Division, National Archives of Canada at 996-8507 (These numbers are probably not in use anymore)

Permission to use CCHS Questionnaire

Question

A researcher here at Dalhousie would like to get permission from Stats Canada to use the CCHS 2.1 questionnaire in a CIHR project proposal. Can you point me in the right direction?

Answer

You can contact Statistics Canada's Licensing Section at licensing@statcan.ca.

Occupation and Mortality - Sydney, Nova Scotia

Question

I have a patron looking for cause of death for coal miners in Sydney Cape Breton (historical 20th century). I have found Occupational Surveillance in Canada: Cause-specific mortaility among workers, 1965-1991, but this doesn't do geography. Any other suggestions?

Answer

Here are notes a couple of sources for mortality data which if I remember correctly break down data by province and major cities. I was looking for taxi drivers so I can't tell you if these cover coal miners.

Vital Statistics Branch Annual Report, 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1927 (Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, 1926, 1927, 1929 and 1930).

The reports for these four years give numbers of deaths by occupation for five selected causes (accident, suicide, cancer, pneumonia and tuberculosis). Data is broken down by 5-year age groups (under 15 to 75 and over). Homicides are not included. Total deaths for all causes are given in the 1925, 1926 and 1927 reports.

Special Report on Occupational Mortality in Canada, 1931-32 (Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Vital Statistics Branch, 1937).

Gives numbers of deaths by occupation for "ten important causes" and another "fifteen causes for which rates have not been computed". Homicides are not included. Data, based on the 1931 census, is broken down into five age groups (20-24 to 55-64). Also gives total population of males in each occupational group as well as death rates.

Replacement for Education in Canada

Question

Education in Canada has been discontinued and I was wondering if there is anything available that does the same job? Seems to be surveys done through the Centre for Education Statistics, but I can't find a publication of aggregate tables that does the same job as Education in Canada. Am I missing something obvious?

Answer

Education Indicators in Canada, PCEIP 2003 cat#81-582-XPE replaced Education In Canada Cat# 81-229 for the most part Education Matters 81-004 replaced the Education Quarterly Review -Cat#81-003

Yoga Statistics

Question

I'm looking for occurrence of yoga practice in Canada - either how many have tried it or how many have done it regularly. The question was asked in "National Population Health Survey, 1994. Supplemental surveys: nutrition, safety and accident prevention, smoking, breast-feeding, alcohol use during pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and use of health care services", but I was looking for something a little more up to date. Any ideas?

Answer

Searching in Vince's database at:
http://janus.ssc.uwo.ca/idls/variable.html
reveals that there are questions re yoga in CCHS 1.2 and 2.1, in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

Survey of Household Spending 2003

Questions

1. Does a purchase price or selling price of $0 for a house indicate that there was NO purchase or sale of a house by that household? Or were there houses that were bought and/or sold for $0 in the sample?

2. There was no coding documentation for the variables LARGEDWG, SMALLDWG, and OTHERR - do they use the same coding as the other variables in that group (CHEAPDWG, BETTRDWG, etc.)?

Answers

1. There was NO purchase or sale of a house if it's = $0
2. Yes, they are the same coding as the other variables

NOCS Characters

Question

We have a faculty member who would like population statistics at the census subdivision level by NOCS classification.

I can find these values down to the NOCS major category (2 NOCS characters), but he requires the statistics right down to the unit group level (4 NOCS characters). Does anyone know if this is available through the DLI?

Answer

The data can be run as a custom tabulation but for standard products, it was decided that the 4 digit level was too detailed for most of the CSDs and the resulting table would contain a large number of 0 cells. The lowest level of geography for which 4-digit NOCS standard tables exist is the CMA/CA level.

Household TV Ownership

Question

I have a researcher looking for data on television ownership in Canadian households going back to 1950 if possible. Percentages would be fine. I have tried several sources, but I only seem to find "hours viewed" and Broadcaster ownership data. Any ideas?

Answers

1. The recent data is found at this web page:
http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/famil09c.htm?sdi=television

CANSIM for series 1997 - 2003- Table 203-0020 - Survey of household spending (SHS), household equipment at December 31, by province, territory and selected metropolitan areas, annual (2542 series)

The last HFE publication (Household facilities and equipment, Catalogue no. 64-202-XPB) was for the reference year 1997.

2. This is available in the Household Facilities and Equipment surveys as well - part of the SCF. Goes back there to 1972, generally at 2 year intervals.

Book Publishers

Question

Does anyone have any leads on book publishing industry - specifically sales and wages at the city or county level? I have looked at the tables in the Book publishers and exclusive agents: data tables, but they only are for provinces and regions. Canadian Business Patterns has already answered one part of this - it has the number of establishments for CMAs/CAs. I've tried Strategis too with no further luck. Should I tell the faculty person about the custom tabs on Book Publishing (cat 87C0012) or is there something in DLI that I have missed?

Answer

In regards to the book publishing request by CMA or county, It is possible to provide data on certain a few large CMA. In the last book survey (2000-01) only 627 publishers and 45 exclusive agents operated in all of Canada. The major ones operate in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

The data does not have a CMA code, but it can be derived via the postal code.

It is possible to produce a report on a cost recovery basis.

GDP for CMAs

Question

I have a faculty member looking for GDP for Vancouver and Winnipeg. I think this would be available from the Conference Board of Canada and a substantial cost, but is it lurking somewhere beyond my reach in a CANSIM table?

Answer

Stats Can does not compute any GDP for cities or sub-provincial regions.

As far as I know, the only place where you can find GDP for regions/cities is at the Conference Board, though I am not aware of their methodology.

Also, the Institut de la statistique du Quebec is currently developing a methodology to calculate GDP by administrative regions (there are 13 administrative regions in Quebec) and they already have put some numbers on their website. It is still experimental though, and they plan to reveal final numbers as well as their methodology in 2006 (according to their website).

Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey 2003 Annual vs. Cycle2

Question

We have a researcher who has been digging into the CTUMS 2003 Person files. Now as I understand it, and from what I've read - the annual file is simply a complete file with Cycle1 and Cycle2 data put together. So in theory all the variables that were contained in the Cycle2 Person file should also be available in the Annual Person file. However... with the 2003 file we have found this anomaly:

We have 9 variables that are available in the Cycle 2 file (Q096B, Q097B, Q098A, Q098C, DVLOWTAR, Q200, Q201, Q202, Q203) but are no where to be found in the Annual file. Should these variables be included in the annual file?

Answer

It turns out that if the question was asked in both cycle 1 and cycle 2, the annual data will have the results. However, if the question was posed only in Cycle 1 or only in Cycle 2, it is not included in the annual results.

Agricultural Census Data / Practicum Student Licensing Question

Question

A graduate student in community psychology is looking for Stats Canada Agricultural Census data. There is data for the 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986, and 1981 Canadian Agricultural Profile. Is there any older data 1960 onward? Can you direct me to a source for such data?

The need for such data has to do with a project that the student is completing for a Practicum Course. The data will be used to write a report on the historical trends in agriculture and to possibly make data projections into the year of 2041.

Answer

The DLI has Census of Agriculture data back to 1986, and anything prior should be accessed through the DSP publications.

In terms of the licensing issue, there are three rules that need to be considered before the decision can be rendered:

1) Is the user enrolled and in good standing in a DLI institution?
Assessment: The student is currently enrolled at a DLI institution and is in good standing.

2) Is the proposed use of the data for the exclusive purposes of teaching, academic research and publishing, and/or planning of educational services within my educational institution?
Assessment: The part she is completing for PS600 to be remitted to the professor is covered under the license. The work she is performing for the Region of Waterloo Public Health Unit is not covered. The findings of the research can be shared, but not the actual data.

3) Is the researcher receiving money in exchange for the work?
It does not appear to be a paid position as it is for a practicum course.

As I mentioned, those are the three basic questions we ask before the use is authorised under the DLI licence. The researcher is welcomed to share the findings of her research with the Region of Waterloo Public Health Unit, but no data should accompany her report.

Use of Youth Smoking Survey

Question

One of our faculty members has called to see if he can give a school which was part of the Youth Smoking Survey access to the PUMF under our DLI licence. I am pretty sure the answer is no, but wanted to be sure. Should I just direct him to the Special Surveys Division or can you provide a contact?

Answer

You are absolutely correct! The students do not have access to the data through the DLI licence.

In order to qualify as users under the DLI licence, they must be registered students in good standing in a DLI institution. As the students do not meet this first criteria, they can not use the data under the licence.

Your professor should follow-up with Special Surveys Division at ssd@statcan.ca and ask them for written permission to use the data.

IT Sector in Canada and North America

Question

I have received a faculty request for information regarding the "status and future of the IT sector in Canada and North America".

Information and Communications Technologies in Canada was released in 1999, and I can't find an update. Is there any data available through the DLI that would give me updated information? Or even through the DSP if that's where it's found?

I have also been looking for data on employment in the ITC sector, but most of it covers only up to about 2002, which hardly qualifies as current status.

Answer

Industry Canada has some statistics in Strategis under "Canadian ICT Statistical Overview"
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inict-tic.nsf/en/h_it06155e.html.
Most of the tables are 2003 or 2004 and there are also "Detailed Industry Statistics". The "Sources and Technical Notes" section lists a number of different annual surveys and CANSIM tables from Statistics Canada which might give you other leads.

The Survey of Electronic Commerce and Technology is listed in the Definitions, Sources and Methods section of the SC web site with a release date of April 2005. But there is old message on the DLIList from May 2002 that says no pumf was produced from this survey.

DLI Access for Visiting Professor

Question

I have received a request for Census 2001 individuals PUMF from a professor from Economics Department at the University of Winnipeg who is visiting McMaster University for the academic year (September 2004-August 2005). The data is going to be used for research purposes only. He normally access the DLI material through the "Landru" portal of the University of Winnipeg but because of IP restrictions he has not been able to access the data from McMaster. Is this a legitimate request? Is it ok if I give him access to the Census data?

Answer

Yes, visiting professors are considered to be members of the academic community in which they are working. His request is legitimate as long as the use is allowed under the DLI.

Time Series Statistics on Depression, Stress, Anxiety

Question

A patron wants time series on this topic going back roughly 30 years. The NPHS, CCHS and GSS don't provide such a long time stretch, and neither does CANSIM. Any suggestions?

Answers

1) Others might have a better idea, but we've used the hospitalization statistics in 83-245 for depression and affective disorders. The data are not inclusive by any means, but offer a bit of a stable indicator (okay, that might be a stretch). The data are continued on CIHI's site under hospitalizations as an interactive table, if memory serves.

2) The other alternative is to go with the microdata. The Canada health survey 1978/79 (available from DLI) contains standard depression indicators, as does the Social Change in Canada survey, 1977-1979-1981 (available from ISR/York), which would take you back to almost 30 years ago.

Tracking Cited Survey Data

Question

A student here is working on a literature review and wants to compile a complete-as-possible list of published academic studies using data from Canada's Alcohol and Other Drugs Survey (1994). Is there any tracking done of research projects that use STC survey data? Perhaps through the RDCs? And if so, is this information accessible/public?

Answer

Upon initial discussions with Sage, she confirmed that Statistics Canada does not keep track of all literature produced outside of HQ using our data sets.

Sage did however wish to relate to you an excellent article written by Elizabeth Hamilton and Chuck Humphrey titled "DLI and NPHS: a Study in Compatibility". You can retrieve this article from the DLI web site by following these simple steps:

1) Visit our website (http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/dli.htm)
2) Select "Reports and Reference Materials"
3) Click on "DLI Update"
4) Download Volume 5, issue 2 (Fall 2002).
** The Background section of the paper tells you how they found evidence of secondary data analysis

Income Status in 1981

Question

I am looking at the definition of income status in the 2001 census dicitonary:
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Reference/dict/fam020.htm

and I am puzzled.

The detailed definition states: "Refers to the position of an economic family or an unattached individual 15 years of age and over in relation to Statistics Canada's low income cut-offs (LICOs)," followed by "Censuses: 2001 (1/5 sample), 1996 (1/5 sample), 1991 (1/5 sample), 1986 (1/5 sample), 1981 (1/5 sample), 1971 (1/3 sample)".

The latter implies that this variable or concept is covered in every census since 1971; however, examination of the PUMF codebooks reveals coverage only since 1991. A researcher here is looking at the relationship between immigrant status, age and
position above or below the LICO line. The above definition implies that he should be able to use the 1981 census, but the concept does not appear to be present there. Can someone explain this to me? Was it in the master file, but left out of the PUMF?

Answer

Low income cut-off variable is not included in the 1981 PUMF, however it does exists on the source database. It is important to remember that the content of the PUMF is a selection of variables only.

LICO is a derived variable based on a number of non-census resources including FAMEX/SHS and CPI, see:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/13-551-XIB/free.htm

Using the incomes listed on pages 22 and in that document, your user should be able to code his/her own LICO in those pumfs which are currently missing such a variable - using either the 1986 or 1992 base years specified. Alternatively, the formulae are given from which one could derive LICOs for earlier base years working from earlier versions of FAMEX. It would be a bit of work, but as far as I can tell, it could be done.

Maternal Weight Gain & Childhood Weight

Question

A graduate student here would like to find a survey that looks at "maternal weight gain through pregnancy and childhood recorded weights"... I found a number of sources that dealt with birth weight, but did not have maternal weight gain as a variable. I'm not sure whether 'childhood recorded weights' means birth weight or a longer record of weights through childhood, but am sure either would be of potential use.

Answer

Statistics Canada does not have a survey which collects this information.

Religiosity in Canada

Question

A student here at Concordia is doing research on the religious impact on politics in Canada. They are interested in finding some concrete numbers on how religious people are (the depth of their religiosity measured in some way, i.e. self-reporting, or some other measure of religiosity) in relation to the stated number of people of a certain religion from the census. For example, of the 12 million people who state to be Roman Catholic, how many of those 12 million are actually religious in their day to day lives?

Answers

1. One possibility is to use the Canadian election surveys, which include measures of religiosity:
http://www.ces-eec.umontreal.ca/ces.html

Another option is Reginald Bibby's surveys of Canadian religiosity, at ARDA:
http://www.thearda.com/

2. There is an article in Canadian Social Trends (spring 2003) called "Pockets of belief: religious attendance patterns in Canada". This lead us to the General Social Survey. In each year of the survey they ask "Other than special occassions (such as weddings, funerals, or baptisms) how often did you attend religious services or meetings in the past 12 months?"

Although this may not completely answer your question, it's probably the closest Statscan comes to asking how religious are you.

3. Another source may be the International Social Survey Programme. They did two religion surveys, 1991 and 1998. You can find the documentation at:
http://www.library.carleton.ca/ssdata/surveys/issp.html
and scroll down to both years.

FED Cartographic Boundary File

Question

I had a faculty member ask me for the FED Boundary Layer for the 2004 Federal Election. I found, on the FTP site a Cartographic Boundary file for Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order). Could someone please confirm that these would be the boundaries that were used for the 2004 election?

Answer

I just checked on Elections Canada's web site and it is stated at this precise link
(http://www.elections.ca/scripts/fedrep/main_e.htm)
that for the 2004 elections, the 2003 representation order was used.

Home-based Businesses

Question

A student here has asked for data on the number of home-based businesses in Toronto. I can easily find the number of people
employed in home-based businesses, but not the number of such businesses. In the hope that I have somehow missed the blindingly obvious, is this information available somewhere?

Answer

The only information I found, which is fairly dated, is from the 1995 Survey of Work Arrangements 1995. There was an article written in Perspectives on Labour and Income (catalogue 95-001-XPE, Autumn 1998 - Vol. 10, no. 3) entitled "Home-based entrepreneurs" which reports findings from this survey and publishes some results at the Canada level.

Short of this survey, I can not imagine we have very much information to help you.

The issue stems from the fact that business counts primarily come from administrative data (from CRA). A business needs to register with CRA under two circumstances: 1) They have employees and need to register for a payroll account, or 2) the business makes more than $30,000 a year and needs to register for a tax number from CRA.

As you can see, home-based businesses are often entrepreneurs with a fairly low income and without employees. Unless we have a special survey seeking them out, it does not seem as though the information we collect covers your patron's needs.