The Statistics Act

The Statistics Act, C.C.S.M. c. S205 bilingual version (HTML) Table of Contents Section 1 Definitions 2 Bureau responsible to minister 3 Powers of bureau 3.1 Information includes personal and personal health information 4 Director of statistics and other staff 5 Chief executive officer 6 Oath of secrecy 7 Discrimination in exercise of power prohibited 8 Director may require information 9 Secrecy 10 Protection of returns 11 Agreements with Statistics Canada 12 Other agreements 13 Offences 14 Other offences 15 Failure to grant access to documents 16 False representation 17 Prosecution within two years HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows: Definitions 1 In this Act, "bureau" means The Manitoba Bureau of Statistics established by the Lieutenant Governor in Council pursuant to The Executive Government Organization Act ; (« Bureau ») "department" means a department, branch or office of the executive government of the province, and includes the Executive Council Office and an office of a minister; (« ministère ») "director" means the Director of Statistics designated under this Act; (« directeur ») "minister" means the member of the Executive charged by the Lieutenant Governor in Council with the administration of this Act; (« ministre ») "public body" means a public body as defined in The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act ; (« organisme public ») "respondent" means a person, a department or other public body, a business or an organization, as the case may be, from whom information is sought under this Act; (« répondant ») "Statistics Canada" means the statistics bureau referred to in the Statistics Act (Canada). (« Statistique Canada ») S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 2 . Bureau responsible to minister 2 The bureau in carrying out its functions and purposes under this Act is subject to the control and direction of and is responsible to the minister. Powers of bureau 3(1) The bureau has the power to plan, promote and develop integrated social and economic statistics relating to the province or the government or both and, in particular (a) to collect information, directly or indirectly, and compile, analyse, abstract and publish statistical information relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic and general activities and condition of the province and persons in the province; (b) to collaborate with or assist departments in the collection, compilation and publication of statistical information, including statistics derived from the activities of those departments; and (c) to promote the avoidance of duplication in the information collected by the departments. Powers conferred by Lieutenant Governor in Council 3(2) In addition to the powers conferred upon the bureau under subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize the bureau to collect information, directly or indirectly, and compile, analyse, abstract and publish such other statistics or statistical information as the Lieutenant Governor in Council may deem necessary. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 3 . Information includes personal and personal health information 3.1(1) For the purposes of this Act, information includes personal information as defined in The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and personal health information as defined in The Personal Health Information Act . Limits re personal and personal health information 3.1(2) The director and any other person carrying out duties or powers under this Act shall (a) not collect, require, request, disclose or exchange personal information or personal health information under this Act if other information will serve the purpose; and (b) limit the amount of personal information or personal health information collected, required, requested, disclosed or exchanged to the minimum amount necessary to accomplish the purpose. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 4 . Director of statistics 4(1) The minister shall designate a person employed by the government under the minister to be the director for the purposes of this Act and to carry out the duties of director under this Act. Employment of staff 4(2) Such clerical, technical, professional and other staff as may be required for the administration of this Act may be appointed under Part 3 of The Public Service Act . Temporary staff 4(3) The minister may employ or engage persons or temporary assistants for the purpose of assisting with any matter, project or program undertaken by the bureau or under this Act and those persons or assistants shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be employed under this Act while so employed or engaged. Use of government employees 4(4) The minister may, for such period as the minister may determine, use the services of any employee of the government in the exercise or performance of any duty, power or function by the bureau under this Act, and any employee whose services are so used shall, for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be a person employed under this Act. Employment under contract 4(5) The minister may retain any person under contract to perform special services for the minister or the bureau pursuant to this Act, and any person so retained and the employees and agents of that person shall, for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be employed under this Act while performing those special services. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 5 ; S.M. 2021, c. 11, s. 129 . Chief executive officer 5(1) The director shall be the chief executive officer and manager of the bureau and shall (a) advise the minister on matters relating to the bureau; (b) advise departments on and assist with statistical matters, projects and programs; (c) under the direction of the minister, supervise the administration of this Act and matters arising under the Act. Prescribing rules 5(2) The minister may prescribe such rules, instruction, schedules and forms as may be necessary for conducting the work and affairs of the bureau or the collecting, compiling and publishing of statistics and other information. Oath of secrecy 6(1) The director and every person employed for the purposes of this Act or employed or engaged in any matter, project or program to which this Act applies shall, before entering upon his or her duties, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation in the following form: I, , do solemnly swear/affirm that I will faithfully and honestly fulfil my duties as an employee of The Manitoba Bureau of Statistics in conformity with the requirements and provisions of The Statistics Act and all rules and instructions thereunder and that I will not without due authority disclose or make known any matter or thing that comes to my knowledge by reason of my employment. Administration of oaths 6(2) The oath or affirmation referred to in subsection (1) shall be taken before a person authorized to administer an oath or affirmation under The Manitoba Evidence Act . S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 7 . Discrimination in exercise of power prohibited 7(1) The minister, the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the bureau or the director shall not, in the performance of their functions or the execution of the powers conferred by this Act, discriminate between individuals or companies to the prejudice of any such individual or company. Use of sampling method 7(2) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the minister may authorize the use of sampling methods for the collection of statistics. Director may require information 8(1) The director may require persons, departments or other public bodies, businesses or organizations to provide information in their custody or control that is necessary to carry out the duties and powers under this Act. Duty to provide information 8(1.1) A person, department or other public body, business or organization required to provide information under subsection (1), shall do so. Voluntary information 8(1.2) The director may request that information be provided on a voluntary basis for the purpose of carrying out duties and powers under this Act. When information is requested to be provided on a voluntary basis, sections 14 and 15 do not apply in respect of a refusal or neglect to provide the information. Informing respondent 8(1.3) Where the director requests or requires information under this Act, the director must advise the respondent (a) of the purpose for which the information is sought; (b) whether the respondent is required to provide the information; (c) whether the information collected will be or may be shared pursuant to an agreement with Statistics Canada under section 11; and (d) whether the information collected will be or may be shared pursuant to an agreement with another entity under section 12, and, if so, the director must advise the respondent of the respondent's right under clause 12(2)⁠(b) to object to the sharing of the information. Evidence of appointment 8(2) Any document purporting to be signed by the minister or the director that refers to any appointment or removal of, or setting forth any instructions to, any person employed in the administration of this Act is evidence of the appointment, removal or instructions, and that the letter was signed and addressed as it purports to be. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 8 . Secrecy 9(1) Except as otherwise permitted by this section and except for the purposes of a prosecution under this Act (a) no person, other than a person employed or engaged under this Act and sworn under section 6, shall be permitted to examine any identifiable individual return made for the purpose of this Act; and (b) no person who has been sworn under section 6 shall disclose or knowingly cause to be disclosed, by any means, any information obtained under this Act in such manner that it is possible from any such disclosure to relate the particulars obtained from any individual return to any identifiable individual person, business or organization. Duty to adopt security safeguards 9(1.1) The director and any other person carrying out duties or powers under this Act shall protect all information, including personal information and personal health information, by adopting reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards that ensure the confidentiality, security, accuracy and integrity of the information. Safeguards for sensitive information 9(1.2) In determining the reasonableness of security safeguards adopted pursuant to subsection (1.1), the degree of sensitivity of the information to be protected shall be taken into account. Minister may authorize certain disclosure 9(2) The minister may authorize (a) the particulars of any information obtained in the course of administering this Act to be communicated to Statistics Canada pursuant to an agreement under section 11; or (b) the particulars of any information collected jointly with a department or other public body, a business or organization, or the Government of Canada or of a province or territory, pursuant to an agreement under section 12 to be communicated to the entity that was party to the collecting of the information. Director may authorize certain disclosures 9(3) The director may authorize the disclosure of (a) information collected by persons, departments or other public bodies, businesses or organizations, or the Government of Canada or of a province or territory, for their own purposes and communicated to the bureau, but the information when communicated to the bureau shall be subject to the same secrecy requirements to which it was subject when collected and may only be disclosed by the bureau in the manner and to the extent agreed upon by the collector thereof and the director; (b) information relating to a person or organization in respect of which disclosure is consented to in writing by the person or organization concerned or, if the organization is a corporation, by a person authorized by the corporation; (c) information relating to a business in respect of which disclosure is consented to in writing by the owner of the business or, if it is a corporation, by a person authorized by the corporation; (d) information available to the public under any statute or other law; (e) information in the form of an index or list (i) of the names and locations of individual establishments, firms or businesses, (ii) of the products produced, manufactured, processed, transported, stored, purchased or sold, or the services provided, by individual establishments, firms or businesses in the course of their business, (iii) of the names and addresses of individual establishments, firms or businesses that are within specific ranges of numbers of employees or persons engaged or constituting the work force, or (iv) that indirectly reveals the price of a consumer product sold by an individual establishment, firm or business. Conflict with The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act 9(4) If a provision of this section is inconsistent or in conflict with a provision of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act , the provision of this section prevails. S.M. 1997, c. 50, s. 95 ; S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 9 . Protection of returns 10(1) Except for the purposes of a prosecution under this Act, any return made to the bureau or the director pursuant to this Act and any copy of the return in the possession of the respondent is privileged and shall not be used as evidence in any proceedings whatever, and no person sworn under section 6 shall by an order of any court, tribunal or other body be required in any proceedings whatever to give oral testimony or to produce any return, document or record with respect to any information obtained in the course of administering this Act. Application of section 10(2) This section applies in respect of any information that the bureau is prohibited by this Act from disclosing or that may only be disclosed pursuant to an authorization under subsection 9(2) or (3). Agreements with Statistics Canada 11(1) The minister may, subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, enter into an agreement with Statistics Canada for the exchange with or transmission to, Statistics Canada, of (a) replies to any specific statistical inquiries; or (b) replies to any specific classes of information collected under this Act; or (c) any tabulations or analyses based on replies referred to in clauses (a) or (b) or both. Agreement not retroactive 11(2) Except in respect of information described in subsection 9(3), no agreement entered into under this section applies to any reply made to or information collected by the bureau before the date that the agreement was entered into or is to have effect, whichever is the later date. Agreement must protect information 11(2.1) An agreement under this section must include provisions protecting information, including personal information and personal health information, from such risks as unauthorized access, use, disclosure or alteration. Notice to respondent 11(3) Where any information, in respect of which an agreement under this section applies, is collected by the bureau, the bureau shall when collecting information advise the respondent of any agreement under this section with Statistics Canada and to which the information secured from the respondent may be communicated under that agreement. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 10 . Other agreements 12(1) The minister may make and enter into an agreement with a department or other public body, business or organization, or with the Government of Canada or of a province or territory, for the exchange of information collected jointly with any one of them and for subsequent tabulation or publication based on such information. Contents of other agreements 12(2) An agreement under subsection (1) shall provide that (a) the respondent shall be informed that the information is being collected jointly on behalf of the bureau and the department or other public body, business or organization, or the Government of Canada or of a province or territory, as the case may be, by a notice to that effect; and (b) the agreement shall not apply in respect of any respondent who gives notice in writing to the director that he or she objects to sharing of information between the bureau and the department or other public body, the business or organization, or the Government of Canada or of a province or territory, as the case may be. Supplementary information 12(3) An exchange of information pursuant to an agreement under this section may, subject to subsection (2), include replies to original inquiries and supplementary information provided by a respondent to the bureau, the department or other public body, the business or organization, or the Government of Canada or of a province or territory, as the case may be, jointly collecting the information. Agreement must protect information 12(4) An agreement under this section must include provisions protecting information, including personal information and personal health information, from such risks as unauthorized access, use, disclosure or alteration. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 11 (as amended by S.M. 2010, c. 33, s. 63 ). Offences 13 Every person who, after taking the oath or affirmation set out in section 6 (a) wilfully makes any false declaration, statement or return in the performance of duties or powers; or (b) in the pretended performance of duties or powers, obtains or seeks to obtain information that the person is not duly authorized to obtain; or (c) violates clause 9(1)⁠(b); or (d) wilfully discloses or divulges directly or indirectly to any person not entitled under this Act to receive the same, any information obtained by him or her in the course of his or her employment or engagement that might exert an influence upon or affect the market value of any stocks, bonds or other security or any product or article; or (e) uses any such information for the purpose of speculating in any stocks, bonds or other security or any product or article; is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding $50,000. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 12 . Other offences 14 Every person who, without lawful excuse (a) refuses or neglects to answer, or wilfully answers falsely, any question requisite for obtaining any information sought in respect of the objects of this Act or pertinent thereto; that has been asked of him or her by any person employed or engaged under this Act: or (b) refuses or neglects to furnish any information or to fill in to the best of his or her knowledge and belief any schedule or form that the person has been required to fill in, and to return the same when and as required pursuant to this Act, or knowingly gives false or misleading information or practises any other deception thereunder; is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding $1,000. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 13 . Failure to grant access to documents 15 Every person (a) who, having custody or control of information, refuses or neglects to comply with a requirement of the director to provide that information under subsection 8(1.1); or (b) who otherwise in any way wilfully obstructs or seeks to obstruct any person employed in the execution of any duty or power under this Act; is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding $1,000. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 14 . False representation 16 Every person who falsely represents himself or herself to be making an inquiry under the authority of this Act or under the authority of the minister or director, is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding $10,000. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 15 . Prosecution within two years 17 A prosecution under this Act may not be commenced later than two years after the day the alleged offence was committed. S.M. 2009, c. 22, s. 16 .