Question
I have a researcher looking for FIPI data for SK, but he’s run into a few problems I haven’t been able to solve myself. Specifically he’s looking for the following:
1. Building repair (2000 – latest) and building depreciation (1991 – latest) price indices. In CANSIM tables 328-0014 (terminated) and 328-0015 there is only one aggregate grouping for "Buildings and fencing”. It appears there’s no longer a specific price index for 'Building repair' after 2000. I also wonder if there is data related to price index of 'building depreciation'.
2. Machinery depreciation and Machinery repair price index for the 1991-2001 period.
3. Property tax. Neither he nor I can find a property tax price index for 2007 forward.
Answer
Thank you for your interest in the Farm Input Price Index (FIPI). Before responding directly to your query, let me provide a bit of context. FIPI was introduced in 1961 and it has seen many changes over the years. In the 1990s, the index was calculated using surveyed data from farm operations. After budget cuts in the 1990s, most of these surveys were phased out and the structure of the index was modified. In fact in 2008 FIPI was terminated altogether. Following this termination, there was a great deal of user feedback indicating the need for this data, but there were still no funds to conduct surveys. As a result, the current FIPI index was developed that strictly uses administrative data or data from other existing surveys. The structure of the index depended on the data that was available. Moreover, the data quality in general is very good, but there are some components for which there was no good data and we had to use the closest approximation. Only the data of good quality is published in table 328-0015. Data of weaker quality is suppressed. For more information about FIPI, please see <http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/document/2305_D2_T9_V2-eng.htm>.
Indices are calculated for “building repair,” “building depreciation” and “property taxes,” but they are at a lower quality and hence are not published. Regarding “machinery depreciation and repair," these indices are currently published, but the structure of the index in the previous FIPI (CANSIM table 328-0014) didn’t include these components.
