Survey on the Importance of Nature to Canadians

Detailed information for 1996

The major objective of this survey was to collect information on nature-related activities, and what these activities contributed to the Canadian economy.

Data release - June 29, 1999

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology

Description

This survey was revised from the Survey on the Value of Wildlife to Canadians for 1981 to the Survey on the Importance of Wildlife to Canadians for 1987 and 1991, and then to the Survey on the Importance of Nature to Canadians for 1996. The survey was discontinued in 1997.

It was conducted by the Special Surveys Group for the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada, provincial wildlife agencies and non government organizations.

The major objective of this survey was to collect information on nature-related activities (such as viewing, studying, and photographing nature, camping, hiking, skiing, boating, hunting and fishing), and what these activities contributed to the Canadian economy.

Subjects

• Culture and leisure
• Environment
• Natural resources

Data sources and methodology

Target population

All persons 15 years of age and over residing in Canada with the exception of inmates of institutions, full-time members of the armed forces, and residents of the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and Indian Reserves. (These exceptions represent less than 3% of the population.)

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

The survey is based on the multistage stratified, clustered, probability, area sample of the Labour Force Survey (Survey ID 3701).

Error detection

Studies of non-respondents show no particular bias.

Estimation

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) (SDDS ID 3701) records are weighted using what can be thought of as a three-stage process. The first stage involves the assignment to each record of the inverse of the design sampling ratio applicable to the geographic area where the respondent represented by that record resides. The second stage involves adjustments to the weight assigned in the first stage. These include an adjustment for the rural/urban distribution of the population and an adjustment for non-response (both performed for relatively small sub-provincial areas). It also includes an adjustment for unanticipated population growth in particular small areas selected for the sample (clusters) and an adjustment for the fact that the sample size remains constant (88,00 respondents) resulting in a slowly declining sampling ratio as the population grows. The third stage involves the comparison of the sum of the weights assigned to the records in the first two stages to population totals derived from sources independent of the LFS. These comparisons are done for 38 age-sex groups for each province. The weights for all records belonging to an age-sex-province group are then adjusted so that their sum is equal to the corresponding independently derived population total. The independently derived population totals are obtained as projections from the annual post-censal estimates of population produced by Demography Division with adjustments to reflect the exclusions described in "Design and Procedures".

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.