Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages in Canada

Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages in Canada
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Detailed information for fiscal year ending March 31, 2009

Status:

Active

Frequency:

Annual

Record number:

1726

This program provides statistical information on the operations of provincial and territorial government liquor authorities.

Data release - April 20, 2010

Description

This program collects data from the provincial and territorial government liquor authorities on the value and volume of sales of alcoholic beverages and on financial information. This information is collected within the context of the 'Public Sector statistical program' of Statistics Canada. It is used by governments, by the liquor, wine and beer industries, international agencies, and researchers.

Statistical activity

The Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA) provides a conceptually integrated statistical framework for studying the state and behavior of the Canadian economy. The accounts are centered on the measurement of activities associated with the production of goods and services, the sales of goods and services in final markets, the supporting financial transactions, and the resulting wealth positions.

To produce financial statistics, the CSNA measures the economic dimensions of the public sector of Canada, including the financial inter-relationships among the thousands of entities that make up the three levels of government in Canada (federal, provincial and territorial, and local). In order to carry out this program, the CSNA maintains a universe of all public sector entities including their complex inter-relationships.

The 'Public Sector statistical program' is a component of the Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA). The program measures and analyses the economic dimensions of the public sector of Canada, including the multidimensional financial interrelationships among the thousands of entities that make up the three levels of government in Canada (federal, provincial and territorial, and local). In order to carry out this program, the Public Sector Statistics Division (PSSD) maintains a universe of all public sector entities including their innumerable relationships. It also develops, maintains, and applies the Financial Management System (FMS). The FMS is an accounting standard with imbedded, standard statistical classifications unique to the public sector.

The Public Sector Statistics Division (PSSD) of Statistics Canada is responsible for Statistics Canada's statistical information related to the public sector.

Reference period: The statistical information on the operations of provincial and territorial government liquor authorities that are derived from the survey and administrative data sources are for the April to March fiscal year.

Subjects

  • Accommodation and food
  • Business, consumer and property services
  • Economic accounts
  • Government
  • Government business enterprises
  • Government financial statistics
  • Retail and wholesale
  • Retail sales by type of product

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target and observed population consists of all provincial and territorial government liquor authorities.

Instrument design

The questionnaire used to gather the statistical information needed was initially designed in the 1960's to fulfill the requirements of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act. Since then, it has been extended to include information required by other divisions of the CSNA such as information on taxes collected or on capital expenditures.

Sampling

This survey is a census.

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents, extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

Data are collected directly from provincial and territorial government liquor authorities and complemented with data extracted from administrative files. Additional data is also provided by the International Trade Division of Statistics Canada.

First, detailed data on value and volume of Canadian and imported sales of alcoholic beverages are collected through a direct survey of provincial and territorial liquor authorities. Liquor authorities are requested to report for themselves and on behalf of companies to which they have granted an alcohol beverage resale permit, such as breweries and wineries. Secondly, financial data on liquor authorities, which includes revenues, expenditures and balance sheet information, are compiled by extracting the appropriate data from their annual reports.

Additional information on imports and exports of alcoholic beverages is extracted from Statistics Canada's International Trade Division publications. Data from other organizations involved in alcoholic beverages such as the Brewers Association of Canada is also collected.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Direct survey data is validated with the audited financial statements of provincial and territorial liquor authorities; therefore, minimal error detection procedures are required. Several automated checks are performed on the data to verify internal consistency and identify extreme values. Current year data is also compared to prior years to ensure consistency. Any discrepancies in the data are verified with survey respondents.

Imputation

Since this statistical program is a census of provincial and territorial liquor authorities, the coverage is complete. However, questionnaires received are sometimes missing data. Imputation is then performed for certain information not provided on the questionnaire. For non-response, imputation is performed using historical information where historical information is available; otherwise, donor imputation is used. The donor imputation procedure involves using available auxiliary information to substitute the data from an entity with similar characteristics. Overall, the imputation rate is less than 2%.

Estimation

The estimates are derived from the compilation of data obtained from the data sources of each unit of the target population.

Quality evaluation

The validation of data that occurs before publication includes a detailed review of the individual responses, a review of general economic conditions as well as historic trends and comparisons with original financial statements of the liquor authorities. Any anomaly is verified and resolved before data are published. Cross-checking to the provincial and territorial public accounts is also performed.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data that would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. 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.

However, for the purpose of the Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages in Canada publication (63-202-XIE) and the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements, a waiver is signed allowing for the release of data.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Input data from the survey are not subject to revision or seasonal adjustment. Input data from audited financial statements are subject to their release by the respective entities and governments. For Statistics Canada's purpose, no provision is made to revise data due to prior-year restatements in the presentation of financial statements by liquor authorities.

The treatment of certain financial items and transactions can be subject to revision as provincial and territorial governments release their public accounts data and the process of comparing transfer payments between governments and their liquor authorities is finalized. To this end, Statistics Canada has adopted a one-year revision cycle to allow for these revisions. The per capita statistics are subject to a longer revision period to reflect revisions made to the population estimates.

Data accuracy

Statistics Canada has no control over the accuracy of the input data at the time they are received, although it does have the advantage of eventually having access to audited financial documents. We ensure that no errors are introduced through automated checks that verify internal consistency and identify extreme values, and we apply procedures that maximize the error-detection possibilities inherent in the data.

While considerable effort was made to ensure high standards throughout all data gathering of administrative records and surveys, the resulting estimates are inevitably subject to a certain degree of error.

There are two categories of errors in statistical information - sampling errors and non-sampling errors. Non-sampling errors are the only type that applies to the provincial and territorial data of this program, given that there was no sampling process used to produce these data.

Non-sampling errors can arise from a variety of sources and are difficult to measure and their importance can differ according to the purpose to which the data are being put. Among non-sampling errors are gaps in the information provided by public sector bodies and errors in processing, such as data capture. Efforts have been made to minimize non-sampling errors in a number of ways including, designing survey questionnaires to reduce misinterpretation by respondents, performing edits on data during and after data capture, making efforts to reduce non-response, and maintaining ongoing communication with data suppliers.

Documentation

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