SPSD/M Version 21

Question

When will version 21 of SPSD/M has been released?

Answer

SPSD/M will be released December 10th.

Hospitals with Operating Rooms

Question

Where can I find information of the number of hospitals with operating rooms in Canada?

Answer
CIHI: <http://www.cihi.ca/CIHI-ext-portal/internet/EN/Home/home/cihi000001>

Botulism Outbreaks in Canada

Question

Where can I access statistics for the number of botulism outbreaks in Canada in recent years (anything from 2005 onwards)?

Answer
The quickest place to find information like this would likely be with CIHI. The STC data holdings on morbidity is limited. CIHI does have botulism listed in their classification of diseases, however, you'll have to search around in their tables to find the incidents.

These sources may also help you:

The PHAC website states that: “While outbreaks of food-borne illnesses in Canada are relatively common, botulism outbreaks are quite rare. In recent years, about two cases per year have been reported in Canada.” <http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/fs-sa/fs-fi/botulism-eng.php> (Under Surveillance tab).

There's also: Estimates of Food-borne Illness in Canada which provides the number of cases caused by a list of 30 known pathogens, one of which is botulism. <http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/efwd-emoha/efbi-emoa-eng.php>

Changes to Data Sharing as a Result of PCCF Licensing

Question

We had our first request for PCCF data under the new license agreement.

The faculty member wants to match postal codes to census geography at the dissemination area for research purposes. Simple and straightforward, and certainly within the constraints of the PCCF license as I understand it.

He then anticipates being asked to share the data about the selected dissemination areas with colleagues with whom he is doing the research, who happen to be at American universities. Previously, if it was public data (i.e., not DA level), he could have done this, I think, since the researchers would have been able to retrieve the census data from the web site, and he could simply have provided them with a list of the census geographies (not including postal codes) in which they were interested. At the DA level, however, I believe that he would have to do the analysis (which he could share), but not the DA-level data underlying the analysis.

Three questions:

1. Am I accurately describing the “public” data level situation?

2. Am I accurately describing what is normally necessary with the DA-level data:

a. that he do the analysis and share results, and

b. that the underlying data can’t leave his machine, since his colleagues are not at DLI-member institutions?

3. Has the new license for PCCF has added any wrinkles to this picture?

Answer

Any aggregate table available through the DLI falls under the STC open licence regardless of the level of geography. This includes the latest addition of the Census profiles at the DA level.

If the researcher is working from a PUMF then you are correct, they can't share the underlying data with their colleagues (though nothing is stopping them from signing a licence themselves).

In terms of the PCCF, I think this is fine... As long as they don't distribute the tool they should be in business.

Ethnic Minorities in the Federal, Quebec and Ontario, Civil Services

Question

I am looking for data on the representation of ethnic minorities in the civil service at the Federal level as well as in Ontario and Quebec. Does the Federal government collect that type of statistics on the civil servants?

Answer

For the federal civil service (employment equity designated groups and demographic snapshots), use: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/chro-dprh/rp-eng.asp

List of Re-sellers

Question

There used to be a link on the StatCan site to the licences and lists of data re-sellers and brokers. Where is this list on the new site?

Answer

With the introduction of the Statistics Canada Open Licence on Feb 1, 2012, they were removed.

Student Enrollment by Region or School Board

Question

I am looking for primary-secondary student enrollment in Quebec at the regional or school board level. I first thought that ESES would provide those numbers as one table is called “Enrolments by Type of Program, Age and Sex, School Boards and Districts (Headcount), 2002/2003 to 2009/2010” . But looking at the table (and the other ESES tables) I could only find data aggregated at the provincial level. Is the school board data available as a custom tab? Is it possible to get information on "School Boards and Districts"?

Answer

The data tables can be accessed from CANSIM(free-online)as per the link below from the Elementary-Secondary Education Survey (ESES)which are aggregated at the provincial level and not at the school board level. We do not produce custom tabulation from the ESES.http://cansim2.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-win/cnsmcgi.exeLANG=e&ResultTemplate =CII &CORCMD=GETEXT&CORTYP=1&CORRELTYP=4&CORID=5102

Yes, that is correct. The following is taken from the IMDB under disclosure control: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.plFunction=getSurvey&SDDS=5102&lang=en&db=imdb&adm=8&dis=2#a4

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

The data is aggregated by province and territory. The tables are evaluated in accordance with Statistics Canada's policies on confidentiality.

In regard to client requests for cross-classified data, Statistics Canada does not supply any tables that could identify a student, graduate or educator. As a guideline, a cell with a count of less than five (5) is suppressed, and in order to avoid residual disclosure, other cells are also chosen for suppression.

Municipal Operating Expenses and Capital Formation

Question

A researcher is looking for data on Municipal Operating Expenses and Municipal Capital formation (or government capital formation) for 1997 to 2013. Is this data available on CanSim? If so, where can I find it?

Answer

For local governments, the most recent data is obtained through a questionnaire as budget estimates are not available and financial statements (obtained through the provincial/territorial departments of municipal affairs) are not available until 2 to 3 years after the reference year. Questionnaire content and wording are reviewed annually to reflect changes in the availability of information and to incorporate additional dimensions to fulfill Statistics Canada needs.

Local government data are maintained from the administrative records of their respective provincial and territorial Departments of Municipal Affairs, from information contained in official provincial and territorial Gazettes, from municipal directories and from responses to on-going sub-annual municipal surveys. I would recommend reviewing the respective provincial and territorial Departments of Municipal Affairs.

This may be of use for British Columbia: <http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/81_ver2.asp> If so, your researcher might be able to get more years by contacting them. They also have this, but it's very new, and I don't see financial data in there: <http://data.civicinfo.ca/>

Canadian Community Health Survey and Health Number

Question
What happens with the health number that StatCan collects with the CCHS data as per the attached screen shot. Who might see the file with this number? What kind of restrictions would there be on this number? Is it available to some areas within StatCan? Does this go to the provinces or territories or go to the RDC’s? 

Answer

The Health Card number collected by the CCHS is stored securely, at Statistics Canada’s head office, on a separate file from the main CCHS data file. This file is called a link file, and it is used to combine data from more than one source for the same respondent, by matching their Health Card Number from each data source.

The provinces may request the link file, in which case they receive the information only for the respondents in that province who agreed to link their information. The Province can link their data to the CCHS data so they can gain a more in-depth picture about health in their province. So if Ontario made the request, they would only receive the data for respondents in Ontario who gave permission to link their data.

From time to time, analysis may be done within Statistics Canada which requires CCHS data to be linked to other datasets, using the Health Card Number. Analysts must go through a lengthy process to have their request to link datasets approved by Senior management.

The Health Card information does not go to the RDC. If there is a proposal that requires linked information, the CCHS data is linked at Statistics Canada’s head office to data provided by researchers, and stripped of all identifiers, including the Health Card Numbers, before being transmitted securely to the RDC.

Child National Immunization Coverage Survey (CNICS)

Question
When will the 2011 CNICS data be released? I've been able to find older immunization rates in some Canadian publications and some Unicef/WHO documents have more current statistics; however, I don't think the Canadian figures in the latter are from the CNICS. When I read the IMBD write-up I also don't see any handy "links to related products," which is why I'm wondering if anything cites the 2011 CNICS.

Answer

There are no data available for CNICS, not even custom tabulations. Any inquiries would be forward to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Aboriginal Demographic Stats

Question

I have a researcher who’s looking for aboriginal demographic information for the Meadow Lake, SK region. She has data from 2006 and would like to find current figures for the sake of comparison. Three of the nine reserves that make up the Meadow Lake Tribal Council are on the list of CSDs for which no 2011 NHS data was released, so I suspect info for the others may be difficult to access.

Answer

Try searching the NHS Aboriginal Population Profile, 2011, the First Nation name associated with the Meadow Lake region: <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/aprof/index.cfm?Lang=E&fpv=10000>
National Household Survey: Data tables – Aboriginal Peoples <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Lp-eng.cfmLANG=E&APATH=3& DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=0&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=94&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=>
Data tables under the subject – Aboriginal People <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/theme-theme.action?pid=10000&lang=eng&more=0&HPA>

The Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) purpose is to identify the needs of Aboriginal people and focus on issues such as education, employment, health, language, income, housing and mobility. There is a PUMF available for 2006 APS: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dli-ild/data-donnees/ftp/aps-eapa-eng.htm
Aboriginal Statistics at a Glance: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-645-x/89-645-x2010001-eng.htm?fpv=10000

NHS data is based on the population enumerated within the Census subdivision affiliated with the first nations. If the First nations communities that the student is looking for are not available in the above resources, the data may be available through a custom tabulation, which is cost recoverable.

Calgary CMA -Census Tract Conversion 1996-2006

Question

I have a student who is working with census tract data from Calgary for a geography assignment. He’s looking for a conversion table that he can use to match up the tracts from 1996 until 2006, which have changed. Do you have any suggestions on where he could find this?

Answer

Try the correspondence files :
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?lang=eng&catno=92-156-X
but working with census tracts should be easy to trace back – from the Illustrated Glossary
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/92-195-x/2011001/geo/ct-sr/def-eng.htm

Changes to census tract boundaries are discouraged in order to maintain maximum data comparability between censuses. Boundary revisions rarely occur, and only when essential. Road construction, railroad abandonment, community redevelopment, neighbourhood growth and municipal annexations may contribute to changes in census tract boundaries. A census tract may be split into two or more new census tracts (usually when its population exceeds 8,000). CT splits are usually done in a way that allows users to re-aggregate the splits to the original census tract for historical comparison. Census tract naming is consistent from census to census to facilitate historical comparability. When a CA enters the census tract program, the census subdivision (CSD) that gives the CA its name is assigned the first CT 'name,' starting at 0001.00. When all of the CTs within the first CSD are named, then the CTs of the adjoining CSDs are named, and finally those on the periphery are named. If a census tract is split into two or more parts due to a population increase, the number after the decimal point identifies the splits. For example, CT 0042.00 becomes CT 0042.01 and CT 0042.02. If CT 0042.01 is subsequently split, it becomes CT 0042.03 and CT 0042.04. Similarly, if CT 0042.02 is split after CT 0042.01, it becomes CT 0042.05 and CT 0042.06. Any splits occurring after this would be numbered in a similar fashion, with the next sequential number. This allows users to re-aggregate the splits to the original census tract.

StatsCan Open License Agreement

Question

When a custom tabulation is purchased and the purchaser agrees to share the purchased files, do they become part of the Statistics Canada Open License Agreement?
I was asked by a DLI member what the terms of use would be for the NHS FSA Profiles and my understanding was that if purchaser agrees to share they are part of the STC Open License.
I think it gets potentially confusing, partly because the DLI License in 6(a) seems to imply that there could potentially be odd exceptions to custom products (beyond postal code data) that are not part of the Open License Agreement.
“6) authorized users shall be made aware, by my educational institution, of the conditions of use of the data by being provided with the appropriate licence as outlined in a, b and c below:
a) With a few exceptions, including the Postal CodeOM Conversion File and Postal CodeOM Federal Riding File and Postal CodeOM Conversion File Plus
(see: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/reference/exceptions-eng.html); the majority of our standard and custom products will be disseminated under the terms and conditions of the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.”

Answer

You are correct that custom tabulations fall under the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement, and thus can be subject to this agreement. Statistics Canada grants you a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to: "use, reproduce, publish, freely distribute, or sell the Information; use, reproduce, publish, freely distribute, or sell Value-added Products; and, sublicence any or all such rights, under terms consistent with this agreement."

Please also refer to the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) :

3. Does the Statistics Canada Open Licence apply to all Statistics Canada products?

The Open Licence governs the use of aggregated free and priced information, regardless of medium, format or reference year, that is published on Statistics Canada's website or available through a Statistics Canada representative. The Open Licence applies to both standard and custom products and services with the exception of Statistics Canada's postal products (see list) and Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs). When you obtain a PUMF or a postal product from Statistics Canada, you will be informed of its terms and conditions of use. If you already have one of these products and would like information on its conditions of use, please Contact Us.

Home Schooling in Canada

Question

One of our researchers is looking for statistics on home schooling in Canada. I understood that Stats Canada started collecting home schooling data for the 2011/12 collection period. When will this data be accessible?

Answer

There will be no separate data by home schooling however it will be included under: "Other: includes private schools and/or home schooling data" as provided by the jurisdictions. It will be available in the publication “Summary Elementary and Secondary School Indicators for Canada, the Provinces and Territories”. The ESES release will be in December of 2013.

A custom tabulation cannot be done simply because the data collected for “home schooling” is considered not reliable.

LFS Exclusions

Question

I have some questions about LFS exclusions:

Does the LFS exclude official representatives of foreign countries living in Canada and their families (regardless of Canadian citizenship)?

Does the exclusion of people living in institutions include residences for seniors, chronic care patients, hospitals, psychiatric wards and rehab centers?

Answer

Government representatives of another country, who are posted to that country’s embassy, high commission, or other diplomatic mission in Canada, and family members living with them, are excluded from the LFS sample.

Full-time members of the Armed Forces are also excluded.

Residents of institutions such nursing homes, seniors’ residence, chronic care facilities, etc. are excluded.

Temporary residents of institutions (collective dwellings) who have been, or expect to be, in the institution for less than six months are considered as usual residents of their family dwelling, i.e., the dwelling that is their usual place of residence. Temporary residents of institutions are persons who have a usual place of residence but who are receiving care, or who are in custody, while living or staying at an institution.

NHS at FSA Level

Question

Is NHS data available at the FSA level in our collection, or would it be available only by custom tab?

Answer

Statistics Canada will not be releasing any NHS data at the FSA level of geographies on the website, or as "standard products". The Regional Offices are able to provide data at these levels of geography, but at a cost-recoverable basis.

Opening .EXE Files

Question

I have a 1991 boundary file from the FTP site which is an .EXE file type and I cannot make it do anything. The error messages tell me that I don't have the right Windows version. I have changed the compatibility settings but nothing seems to work. Is there anything I can do?

Answer

There's 3 things to try:

1)The boundary files are self extracting zip files. To unzip, drop to the command line and type
unzip [filename].exe.

2)Alternately, just use one of the many GUIs for unzip

3)You can even change the extension from .exe to .zip and double click and you're done. ArcGIS 10+ can now open .e00 directly -- no painful conversion process is required. Just drag them into Arcmap and save as whatever format you'd like.

Survey of Young Canadians

Question

How can a researcher access this Survey of Young Canadians? <http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5179&Item_Id=81300&lang=en#b4>

Answer

The file is available through the RDCs, or your researcher can request a custom tabulation