Health Expenditure Data

Question

A researcher at McMaster needs health expenditure data (in current dollars for Ontario) for private sector from 2000-2013, with specific breakdowns for private sector out-of-pocket and private health insurance.

I’ve looked through CIHI’S National Expenditure Trends, 1975 to 2013 but haven’t been able to locate any tables for Ontario. Is this data part of a custom request? 

Answer

The Health Divison explained that: "What I am able to find is from either the National Accounts or the Survey of Household Spending.

Table 380-0085 - Detailed household final consumption expenditure quarterly (dollars x 1,000,000) – Showing Canada level, it contains a section on “Insurance and financial services” and another section called “Health”. -- Maybe a custom?

Table 203-0021 - Survey of household spending (SHS), household spending, Canada, regions and provinces annual (dollars) – I do not know if they are able to refine further as a custom on “Health insurance premiums” or what “Personal Insurance Payments” is.This table, however, only starts in 2010.

Detail in NAICS Codes in 2011 NHS PUMF

Question

A faculty member is interested in obtaining the NAICS codes for Industry sectors for the Alberta Census divisions in the 2011 NHS PUMF. There is a question in the survey that indeed identifies the NAICS codes, but it appears to only use the 2-digit codes which are very general in nature. The NAICS classification system actually breaks down the codes up to 5-digits; the PUMF User Guide seems slightly ambiguous about what is actually available. [Similar NAICS information also appears in the 2006 Census].

1) Do you know if the PUMF itself actually can be used to “disaggregate” the specific NAICS codes from the 2-digit levels to the 5-digit? (from what I can see the answer appear to be “no”)
2) If not available in the PUMF, who should I contact on behalf of the faculty member to inquire about the availability/cost of this particular disaggregated data?

Answer

You are correct: the PUMF does not provide any way to break out any variable into more detailed codes.

More detail on the industry variable should be found in the RDC master files (which would be free to access – but nothing about the NHS is yet listed about it on the RDC data site <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/rdc-cdr/data-donnee-eng.htm>. I don’t know if the NHS in the RDC will go to 5 digits – it might only be 3 or 4 digits. If the prof needs 5-digit codes with all of the rest of the variables in the PUMF, I think that the only hope is the RDC … (Brad, do you have the 2011 NHS microdata, and, if so, can you tell me what level the NAICS (industry) variable goes to?)

If the prof doesn’t need the full PUMF detail, but only the counts by NAICS code for CDs, you can direct him to table 27 on <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Lp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A& FREE=0&GC =0&GID =0& GK =0&GRP =0&PID=0&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=1&SUB=0 &Tempora l= 2013&THEME=96&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF>= - Industry - North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2007 (425), Class of Worker (5), Age Groups (13B) and Sex (3) for the Employed Labour Force Aged 15 Years and Over, in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Divisions, 2011 National Household Survey. Unfortunately, this table still only goes down to the 4-digit code. For the full 5-digit breakdown by CDs, a special tab would likely be needed – contact infostats@statcan.gc.ca for more information. The one thing to be cautious of is the amount of suppression that might occur in the 5-digit table, even at the census division level – you and the prof might want to look at the table above for some measure of how much of a problem that might be.

- Page 62 of the 2011 guide: quoted and italicized below – it’s not totally clear that it goes beyond the 2 digits, but it does mention that there are subsectors, etc.

"Labour market activities NAICS – Labour: Industry sectors (based on the NAICS 2007)
Field: 79 Size: 2 Position: 157-158 Type: num

Description: Refers to the general nature of the business carried out in the establishment where the person worked. If the person did not have a job during the week of Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7, 2011, the data relate to the job of longest duration since January 1, 2010. Persons with two or more jobs were required to report the information for the job at which they worked the most hours. The 2011 National Household Survey industry data are produced according to the NAICS 2007. The NAICS provides enhanced industry comparability among the three North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) trading
partners (Canada, United States and Mexico). This classification consists of a systematic and comprehensive arrangement of industries structured into 20 sectors, 102 subsectors and 324 industry groups. The criteria used to create these categories are similarity of input structures, labour skills or production processes used by the establishment.
Reported for: Persons in private households aged 15 years and over, who worked at some time since January 1, 2010 Code Description Unweighted Weighted Includes: . . ."

- Page 4 also lists:

“The smallest geographic unit in the 2011 PUMF is the census metropolitan area (CMA). Data at the scale of geographic areas smaller than CMAs are not provided for this product. Also, the user will find that this product contains only information on the largest census metropolitan areas and the provinces. The Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are grouped under the term 'Northern Canada.' Furthermore, the data have been aggregated in such a way as to preserve confidentiality while, at the same time, providing as much detail as possible in order to maintain the analytical value of the file. For example, the data on mother tongue do not indicate 'Mandarin,' but rather the more general category 'Chinese languages.' This category also includes other mother tongue languages, such as 'Cantonese.'”

Cranberry Production

Question

Where could I find historical producer prices for cranberries (besides the local producers association APCQ)? The provincial producers’ groups seem the most likely source of up to date information.

I did find a couple of CANSIM tables that include cranberry production figures, but they only go back to 2008

Answer

The Agriculture Division, Horticulture Unit explained that:

"We do not collect prices in the Horticulture Unit. All the data we have are collected in the Fall Fruit and Vegetable Survey and the data can be found in CANSIM 001-0009: <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26> area, production and farm gate value of fresh and processed fruits, by province, annual, 1926 to 2013.” 

I changed the date range from 1926 to 2013 and you can see that in Canada we started to produce cranberries in 1996.

Stats Canada Mortality Data

Question

I have a researcher looking for information about the Stats Canada data available to UBC researchers? Canadian mortality data, in particular, with the following specifications:

• Leading causes of death, total population, by age group (10 year cohorts) and sex
• Geography: For each province and territory
• Data frequency: Annual
• Year: 2011
• Characteristics: Number of deaths

It appears that the data are available an administrative database (Vital Statistics - Death Database). How does the researcher gain access to these data?

Answer

The Vital Stats Contact in the Health Division explained that: "The vital data will be available to RDC researchers in September. However a custom tabulation (cost: $730.) would probably provide the researcher with quicker turnaround.”

Canadian International Merchandise Trade

Question

I have a researcher who is looking for the December 2013 Domestic Exports by Country and Imports by Country from Canadian International Merchandise Trade (65-001-X).

From the website: <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/olc-cel/olc.action?ObjId=65-001-X&ObjType=2&lang=en&limit=0> – I can get the December 2013 tables, but the Imports and Exports by Country are not listed. From searching the website, I can see that the last time these tables are listed is August 2012 <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/65-001-x/2012008/tablesectlist-listetableauxsect-eng.htm> - table 4 and table 8 are the ones the researcher wants for 2013.

Are the tables for Imports and Exports by Country available for December 2013 or will he have to do a custom tabulation?”

Answer

The information for imports and domestic exports by country for December 2013 is not accessible through our publications. It would indeed require custom tables that would include fees. However, there are other solutions:
- The first would be to manually gather the information from the CIMT database for every country for the designated period.
- The second would be follow the second link on this webpage <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/trade-commerce/data-donnee-eng.htm?MM> and search through Industry Canada’s Database.This would be the most efficient in my opinion.

Survey of Innovation 2002-2005

Question

There were more questions on the Survey of Innovation 2002-2005. I have the following questions:
1) Is SIBS data available at the provincial level? The Excel files I downloaded from the FTP site only give data at the national level, whereas the Survey of Innovation (2003) gave provincial data in the Excel sheets.
2) For SIBS, we are only finding limited documentation: Data Accuracy, Standard Symbols and the list of files. Is there any intention to develop something similar to the Survey of Innovation's more detailed "How to Read the Tables" PDF document?
3) Is the division ready and able to provide custom tabulations for SIBS 2012 data?

Answer

As indicated, Data for SIBS 2012 has been stratified by regions: Atlantic provinces; Ontario; Quebec; Alberta; and Rest of Canada. This data for 2009 and 2012 is available on CANSIM.

We have already released all questions for the innovation
<http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140617/dq140617c-eng.htm>
module and global value chains <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140730/dq140730d-eng.htm>.

SIBS 2009 was not stratified with these regions and we suggest that users use this data with caution. This note appeared in our Note to Readers for all three major releases.

The Business Strategy module is set to be released for August 25, 2014.

In terms of custom tabulation, we are presently not prepared to offer this service as we have other priorities to fulfill to complete this project. We will be discussing a custom tabulation strategy at the start of the month for it involves three divisions.

Financial Performance Indicators

Question

Can you tell me what the status is of the Financial Performance Indicators. It appears to me that there was no release date in 2014. Is 2009-2011 the most recent version? Will these continue to be released?

Answer

The 2009-2011 release is the most recent version available of publication 61-224-X <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?lang=eng&catno=61-224-X>. The publication is ongoing but no release date has been announced.

For information from our Financial and Taxation Statistics for Enterprises Survey, <http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=2510>, we invite you to consult the following table: Table 180-0003 - Financial and taxation statistics for enterprises, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) -annual at <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a05?searchTypeByValue=1&lang=eng&id=180000 3&pattern=1800003>

To view/manipulate the variables and time frame available for this table:
Select the “Add/Remove Data” tab
Select at least one variable in each step and “Apply” in order to view your customized table
Select “Back to original table” if you wish to view the pre-selected data by default
To modify the data in percent changes, sums or averages:
Select the “Manipulate” tab
Select the desired option from the drop-down menu and “Apply”
To download the data:
Select the “Download” tab
Select the variables of choice from the drop-down menus and click on “Download Data”
You may, at any time, select the “Help” tab for further assistance on the CANSIM database.

Discontinued Surveys

Question

Does anyone have a list of surveys that have been discontinued since 2006? A former StatCan employee stated this morning that only inconsequential surveys have been cut at the agency. His work focuses strictly on economic surveys. I seem to recall that social surveys took a large hit. I know that the longitudinal surveys were all cut but would like to have more information about the rest of those that have been discontinued.

Answer

We started to keep track of some surveys that had discontinued PUMFs, but because researchers use old data and discontinued data we have never thought of keeping a list. We just check IMDB if we need to know the status of a survey. We will discuss starting a list.

Indian Reserves

Question

Is there a newer shapefile containing reserve boundaries available? I have the file produced by Equinox, but it’s from 2006. I don’t know how much reserves have changed in the interim, but I would like to see something a little more contemporary, if possible.

Answer

It’s been a while since I have had ArcGIS at my disposal, but have you used the boundary files from statcan?

The Census Subdivision Boundary Files portray the census subdivision boundaries for which census data are disseminated. A census subdivision is a municipality or an area treated as equivalent to a municipality for statistical purposes (for example, Indian reserves and unorganized territories). 2011 Census boundary file – Census subdivision<http://www 12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/geo/bound-limit/bound-limit-2011-eng.cfm>.

Census subdivision types associated with 'on reserve' population. "On reserve" population is a derived census variable that is captured by using the census subdivision (CSD) type according to criteria established by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC; formerly Indian and Northern Affairs Canada [INAC]). On reserve population includes people living in any of the six CSD types legally affiliated with First Nations or Indian bands (described below), as well as the northern village of Sandy Bay in Saskatchewan. You can sort through CSD type (CDTYPE) in the boundary file to create another layer.

The following census subdivision types are based on the legal definition of communities affiliated with First Nations or Indian bands: Indian reserve (IRI), Indian settlement (S-É), Indian government district (IGD), Terres réservées aux Cris (TC), Terres réservées aux Naskapis (TK), Nisga'a land (NL)

For more information see: <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/92-195-x/2011001/geo/csd-sdr/def-eng.htm>

Education Stats

Question

I have a student looking for post-secondary enrolment figures and the number of universities and colleges in Canada. We can extract the numbers from PSIS and UCASS up to 2011, but he’d like more current stats.

Answer

Have you looked at the CAUT Almanac of Post-secondary Education in Canada? You can find 2007 – 2013/14 online at: <http://www.caut.ca/resources/almanac>. (I've had more success downloading these using Firefox than Internet Explorer).

Housing Affordability in Montreal and Vancouver

Question
I am helping a graduate student who wants to use housing affordability in Vancouver and Montreal using the residual income approach. So he needs to use the Disposable income for Market Basket Measure (MBM) (variable MBINC46 in the 2010 PUMF file). The problem is that he needs data at the CMA level and the PUMF only provides data at the provincial level.

I tried to locate the documentation for the SLID Master File which is apparently available from the RDCs, but could not find it on Nesstar. Could I obtain the documentation for that file so that my student has enough information to decide if he wants to go through the application process to access the Master File. Is it possible to obtain the documentation for my researcher only (rather than posting it on Nesstar)? The more information he has, the better he will be able to make his decision on whether he needs to go through the application process.

Answer

We will not post the documentation of the Master Files through Nesstar as they would have confidential information in them. 

I followed up with the RDC’s and here is the response they provided me: "If we have any non-confidential documentation we can usually provide it to them."

In this case the focal point got back to me with the following: ‘The main RDC website, on the data sets page and from clicking SLID, can take you to the following electronic data dictionary link: <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75f0026x/75f0026x2013000-eng.htm>

Suppressed 2011 Census Tract in Vancouver

Question

I have a researcher asking why Census Tract 058 in Vancouver (Code: 59 933 0058) is suppressed in 2011, but not in 2006. You can find 2011 population, private dwellings, density, and land area for this tract, but no other statistics (age, sex, marital status, etc). With a 2011 population of 3792, shouldn’t there be enough data to produce these statistics for this Census Tract?

The only other Vancouver Census Tract that shows no 2011 statistics is 59 933 0270, but it appears the same was true in 2006. And the population in 2011 was 5, so suppression makes sense. Not so for Tract 058.

Answer

Looking in the IVT file notes under the Geography tab...they can view the data quality flag descriptions. For this CT there is a 3 in the second spot (03000).

Notes:
2011 Census – Data quality flags and descriptions
Data quality flags for place of residence
Digit Description

1st (0XXXX) Incomplete enumeration flag
2nd (X0XXX) Data quality flag
3rd (XX0XX) Population and dwelling counts error flag
4th (XXX0X) Not applicable
5th (XXXX0) 2006 adjusted population flag


Flag description
Data quality flag

0 = Default.
1 = Data quality index showing, for the short census questionnaire (100% data), a global non response rate higher than or equal to 5% but lower than 10%.
2 = Data quality index showing, for the short census questionnaire (100% data), a global non response rate higher than or equal to 10% but lower than 25%.
3 = Data quality index showing, for the short census questionnaire (100% data), a global non response rate higher than or equal to 25% (suppressed).
Global response rates

Global response rates are determined for each of the census geographic areas. These areas are flagged on the database according to the non-response rate. Geographic areas with a non-response rate higher than or equal to 25% are suppressed from tabulations. Geographic areas with a global non-response rate higher than or equal to 5% and lower than 25% are broken into two categories and are flagged according to the following ranges: falling between 5% and 10% and falling between 10% and 25%. These geographic areas are identified in tabulations, but not suppressed. In electronic products, a numeric flag is provided with the area identifier indicating low data quality.

In 2006 the following data quality notes were applied to the same CT for the 2A Census hence why there are results in 2006.

Data quality index showing, for the short census questionnaire (100% data), a global non response rate higher than or equal to 10% but lower than 25%.

For more information regarding Data quality flags, they can consult the Data Quality and Confidentiality Standards and Guidelines (Public) guide: <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/ref/DQ-QD/qual-eng.cfm>

Canadian Income Survey Variables

Question
I have Economists who are interested to know what Immigration variables there will be in the Canadian Income Survey PUMF.

I know that this is not slated for release until some time next year. But the Survey of Consumer Finances, and the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics which are predecessors to this survey both had variables which identified participants who were immigrants, and how long it had been since they immigrated. They are hoping to update their work with these variables.

Can we get any information about what variables are in the new survey, and what might be included in the PUMF?

Answer

the Author Division explained that:

"No date has been set yet for the 2011 SLID PUMF. We are aiming for late spring with this PUMF too. As for the Canadian Income Survey (CIS), there are tentative plans to produce a PUMF. However, until we release the initial data from CIS (most likely in fall, 2014), we cannot even think about a timeline for a PUMF. Most likely, such a PUMF will not be until 2015."

We will update the Tentative Release dates accordingly for CIS with a tentative release date in 2015.