Bank data furor threatens ability to compile accurate data: chief statistician
OTTAWA — Well before Statistics Canada set out to scoop up private banking information from 500,000 Canadians, it had already collected reams of corporate and individual tax forms and health records — part of its growing reliance on “administrative data” sources instead of traditional surveys.
But the uproar over the banking data threatens more than one project: the chief statistician warns the future path of the agency — whose data analysis drives policy decisions on everything from taxes and interest rates to seniors’ benefits — is on the line.
Anil Arora said the debate is really about whether Canadians want timely information in a rapidly changing digital world.
“To me that’s really what’s at stake,” he said in an interview.