Confidentiality: Your right

Statistics Canada attaches the highest importance to protecting the confidentiality of your census information.

By law, Statistics Canada must protect the confidentiality of the information you provide on its surveys and censuses. All Statistics Canada employees must take an oath of secrecy, and are subject to fines and/or imprisonment should they reveal identifiable information derived from the Census. Any possible breach of the confidentiality of Census returns is an exceedingly serious matter which would be investigated immediately and thoroughly and be subject to the full force of the Statistics Act.

Only Statistics Canada employees working directly with the census ever see completed census forms, and only on a need-to-know basis.

Confidential 2006 Census data never leave the premises of Statistics Canada. No court or investigation agency, foreign or domestic, can access or demand access to confidential information.

In order to preserve the confidentiality of respondents, no information is released from the census in a form that would identify individual respondents. Detailed census data are never released for geographic areas with a population of less than 40 people — 250 people in the case of income data.

Statistics Canada also ensures that respondents understand what is involved when they are asked for access to their personal records. In the 2006 Census, two new questions ask for respondents' permission to access their income tax files and to release their personal information after 92 years. Without permission from each respondent, Statistics Canada will neither access income tax records nor provide files for eventual release in 92 years. Questions left blank will be viewed as a "no" response.

The Statistics Act protects the confidentiality of respondents' information.

Security of your information

The security of your information is of paramount importance to Statistics Canada. Census data are stored on Statistics Canada systems that are isolated from any other network. External connections such as telephone dial-in services are not available to Statistics Canada's systems where confidential data are stored; therefore it is impossible to break into Statistics Canada's databases.

In addition, Statistics Canada has controlled access to its premises so that only persons with the appropriate security clearance and who have taken the oath of secrecy may enter facilities housing confidential data. Any private sector employees that may require entrance to these premises are escorted at all times by a Statistics Canada employee.

Contracts

Contract staff are never in possession of confidential data. Contract staff are only allowed escorted access to Statistics Canada's secure facilities if they have been security cleared and sworn-in under the Statistics Act. They are accompanied by a Statistics Canada employee at all times during their visit to any secure facility. Contract employees are not allowed to bring in or take out any electronic device such as a laptop, CD-ROM, memory stick, etc.

Processing of census returns

The processing of individual census returns will be undertaken by employees of Statistics Canada. NO private sector employees will be involved in the processing of 2006 Census questionnaires or any other census information.

Internet security - completing your questionnaire on-line

Statistics Canada takes the protection of confidential information provided on-line very seriously. A secure login process and strong encryption are key elements in helping to prevent anyone from eavesdropping or tampering with your census information when you complete and send it on-line.

To protect the security of your personal information when you are using the Internet, Statistics Canada has incorporated the following safeguards:

We use strong bi-directional encryption technologies to ensure end-to-end security of data passing between your PC and our web server.
We use encryption methods based on Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and on a public-key infrastructure (PKI) to offer one of the highest levels of encryption for on-line transactions available today.
Census data are processed and stored on an internal isolated network that cannot be connected to any outside link or accessed by any person or organization outside of Statistics Canada.
We use powerful firewalls, intrusion detection and stringent access control procedures to limit access to back-end systems and databases. Census employees who have proper authorization can access census data but only from secure Statistics Canada sites.
We conduct independent verification of our systems to ensure that security meets or exceeds government policies and standards and those commonly used in e-commerce.

IP Address

The 2006 online Census questionnaire employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that has contacted our Web site and the date and time of the visit. No attempt is made to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.


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Questionnaire Home page Message from the Chief Statistician About the online questionnaire Computer requirements and settings Need help? Important updates CENSUS JOBS / General information Statistics Canada	Confidentiality: Your right Statistics Canada attaches the highest importance to protecting the confidentiality of your census information. By law, Statistics Canada must protect the confidentiality of the information you provide on its surveys and censuses. All Statistics Canada employees must take an oath of secrecy, and are subject to fines and/or imprisonment should they reveal identifiable information derived from the Census. Any possible breach of the confidentiality of Census returns is an exceedingly serious matter which would be investigated immediately and thoroughly and be subject to the full force of the Statistics Act. Only Statistics Canada employees working directly with the census ever see completed census forms, and only on a need-to-know basis. Confidential 2006 Census data never leave the premises of Statistics Canada. No court or investigation agency, foreign or domestic, can access or demand access to confidential information. In order to preserve the confidentiality of respondents, no information is released from the census in a form that would identify individual respondents. Detailed census data are never released for geographic areas with a population of less than 40 people — 250 people in the case of income data. Statistics Canada also ensures that respondents understand what is involved when they are asked for access to their personal records. In the 2006 Census, two new questions ask for respondents' permission to access their income tax files and to release their personal information after 92 years. Without permission from each respondent, Statistics Canada will neither access income tax records nor provide files for eventual release in 92 years. Questions left blank will be viewed as a "no" response. The Statistics Act protects the confidentiality of respondents' information. Security of your information The security of your information is of paramount importance to Statistics Canada. Census data are stored on Statistics Canada systems that are isolated from any other network. External connections such as telephone dial-in services are not available to Statistics Canada's systems where confidential data are stored; therefore it is impossible to break into Statistics Canada's databases. In addition, Statistics Canada has controlled access to its premises so that only persons with the appropriate security clearance and who have taken the oath of secrecy may enter facilities housing confidential data. Any private sector employees that may require entrance to these premises are escorted at all times by a Statistics Canada employee. Contracts Contract staff are never in possession of confidential data. Contract staff are only allowed escorted access to Statistics Canada's secure facilities if they have been security cleared and sworn-in under the Statistics Act. They are accompanied by a Statistics Canada employee at all times during their visit to any secure facility. Contract employees are not allowed to bring in or take out any electronic device such as a laptop, CD-ROM, memory stick, etc. Processing of census returns The processing of individual census returns will be undertaken by employees of Statistics Canada. NO private sector employees will be involved in the processing of 2006 Census questionnaires or any other census information. Internet security - completing your questionnaire on-line Statistics Canada takes the protection of confidential information provided on-line very seriously. A secure login process and strong encryption are key elements in helping to prevent anyone from eavesdropping or tampering with your census information when you complete and send it on-line. To protect the security of your personal information when you are using the Internet, Statistics Canada has incorporated the following safeguards: We use strong bi-directional encryption technologies to ensure end-to-end security of data passing between your PC and our web server. We use encryption methods based on Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and on a public-key infrastructure (PKI) to offer one of the highest levels of encryption for on-line transactions available today. Census data are processed and stored on an internal isolated network that cannot be connected to any outside link or accessed by any person or organization outside of Statistics Canada. We use powerful firewalls, intrusion detection and stringent access control procedures to limit access to back-end systems and databases. Census employees who have proper authorization can access census data but only from secure Statistics Canada sites. We conduct independent verification of our systems to ensure that security meets or exceeds government policies and standards and those commonly used in e-commerce. IP Address The 2006 online Census questionnaire employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that has contacted our Web site and the date and time of the visit. No attempt is made to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.
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	Date modified: 2005-10-17			Important Notices