Confidentiality of Statistical Information

Résumé du livre

The paper first identifies some of the factors which have recently made it more difficult for statistical agencies to satisfy society's growing needs for information, while at the same time reassuring respondents that their privacy is adequately protected. These factors include the growth in the statistical data systems themselves, the concurrent growth in administrative data systems, and the use of the computer in information processing generally. The paper discusses the conceptual basis of privacy, and then reviews the privacy provisions of the new Canadian Human Rights Act, as these apply: first, to public rights of access to the contents of administrative data banks and to rights of consultation and consent with respect to further uses of such contents; and, second, to overall control over the creation of new, or the discontinuance of existing, information banks, both administrative and statistical. The paper next reviews the confidentiality provisions of Statistics Canada's Act by which the privacy rights of respondents are protected, with special attention to the provisions governing data-sharing agreements. There then follows an account of the circumstances under which the confidential treatment of corporate information is being challenged, and the way in which Statistics Canada is endeavouring to meet governmental needs for access to individual corporate returns in a foreign ownership context without prejudicing traditional confidentiality practices in mainstream statistical reporting. Finally, the paper notes two subjects which are likely to feature in future discussions of confidentiality: first, scholarly access to historical statistical records; and, second, the possibility of future freedom of information legislation in Canada.