2. Is there a legitimate need for any contracting out of even some preparatory work for the census? Given technological changes, the 2006 Census will have to be conducted in a manner that is different from previous censuses. We have to offer Canadians a user-friendly option to return their questionnaires via the Internet - with security that exceeds that used by on-line banking operations. Among other requirements, this necessitates the practically instantaneous scanning of even those questionnaires returned via the regular mail. These tasks are enormously difficult to implement: they require an on-line operation capable of tracking the census returns of over 12 million households from one end of the country to the other to ensure that at all times we know who returned their questionnaires by mail and who did so via the Internet; and the practically instantaneous scanning of over 12 million questionnaires. Statistics Canada simply has no experience with the development of software involved in a huge and specialised scanning and Internet operation. Consequently, it was decided that it would be more cost-effective to leverage outside expertise in the development of these systems.
3. When we decided to contract out the software development necessitated by the Internet, we wanted to be able to hold accountable the eventual contractor for the smooth functioning of the software and specialised hardware involved. We therefore specified that they must be responsible for the operation of the questionnaire scanning - of course, under our supervision and our own security arrangements so as to ensure the total security of Canadians' census returns up to the very high traditional standards of Statistics Canada. In addition, they were all to be sworn in under the Statistics Act and so be subject to all the confidentiality constraints and penalties to which regular Statistics Canada employees are subject. Statistics Canada was unqualifiedly certain that it could continue to be the guarantor of the confidentiality and security of census information.
4. The contracting was carried out with the most scrupulous and meticulous care. The group of Canadian companies headed by Lockheed Martin Canada submitted what was clearly the best bid, based on their experience in carrying out similar tasks in other countries' censuses.
5. To reiterate, even though Statistics Canada was unambiguously clear that it could protect confidentiality, we feel that public trust in the census is fundamental. Consequently, we have made arrangements to limit the contracting out of census work to nothing more than the provision of printing and specialised software and hardware. Under the new arrangements, all operational activities of the 2004 Census test and the 2006 Census will be carried out by regular employees of Statistics Canada - as in past censuses. Only employees of Statistics Canada, sworn to secrecy under the Statistics Act, and subject to significant penalties should their oath be violated, will have access to census returns. All completed census returns will be secured in facilities controlled by Statistics Canada. All of the Census data will be stored on a secure computer network, with no link outside of Statistics Canada. To verify this, we will have a security audit completed by at least three independent firms with expertise in Information Technology security.
The ability to produce high quality statistics is dependent on the trust of Canadians. Statistics Canada would never betray this trust by making available census returns to anybody outside of the Agency, especially a foreign country.
Ivan P. Fellegi
Chief Statistician of Canada
Note: Response from Chief Sta...
Stumble It!
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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?
"The greatest price of not participating in politics is being governed by your inferiors." Plato
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Jesse
"The greatest price of not participating in politics is being governed by your inferiors." Plato
The real question is why should we be paying our tax dollars to a corporation that is involved with the making of weapons of mass destruction? Plus I would rather see a completely Canadian company get the contract.
Let stats can explain that.
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If we are standing still we are moving backwards.
This statement by Stats Can is almost the same one that was issued under Fellegi's name last time. This time they added printing questionaires to the list of critical duties to be performed by LM.
They hold us in such contempt that they don't even bother to write a new statement, they just add a couple of words to the old one.
Also I agree, if we can't use a Canadian company for something this important, then do it the old way, it worked for us before why doesn't it work now?
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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?
Anyways, what Dr Caleb is describing sounds pretty secure. If the information goes directly to a 'secure' server and is then physically transported to another machine not connected to the internet, the majority of the information would be be untouchable over the internet.
However, there is still a possibility that the forms submitted via internet are intercepted. The rest (an anticipated 80%) of the data would never come in contact with the internet. But that 20% would be as easy to steal as hacking a bank, which, as Doc described, has not happened since the release of these new servers in the 80's.
In my opinion, the information is still somewhat vulnerable, but more importantly, I don't want my tax dollars to pay wages at Lockheed. I saw the interview Michael Moore did with the head of that Lockheed plant near/in Columbine. There's no way I'd pay nutcases like that guy to count for me (the other guy, not Moore).
-KY
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Kory Yamashita
"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
What I am not clear about, is this: what determines the winning bid, in a close decision? Cost? Quality? It appears not nationality......I'm just confised, because couldn't a government just break this clause easily, by teasing foriegn companies with every intention of giving a contract to a Canadian company?
..............Just wondering.
The damage done to people and the environment with depleted uranium is unconscionable. Our government supporting a company like LM makes them just as responsible for these crimes against humanity as the people landing the bombs.