Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis (CSABC)

Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis (CSABC)
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Summary of changes
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Detailed information for fiscal year ending March 31, 2023

Status:

Active

Frequency:

Annual

Record number:

1726

The purpose of this program is to provide statistical information on the operations of provincial and territorial liquor and cannabis authorities in Canada.

Data release - March 6, 2024

Description

This program collects data from the provincial and territorial government liquor and cannabis authorities on the sales value and volume of alcoholic beverages and sales value and weight of non-medical cannabis products, and on financial information. Specifically, the program disseminates data on the sales and per capita sales of alcoholic beverages by liquor authorities and other retail outlets, by value, volume, and absolute volume; sales of alcoholic beverages of liquor authorities and other retail outlets by value, volume, beverage type and origin; sales and per capita sales of non-medical cannabis of liquor authorities and other retail outlets by value; and net income of liquor and cannabis authorities and government revenue from the control and sale of alcoholic beverages and cannabis.

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, beer, and cannabis industries, international agencies, and researchers.

Statistical activity

The Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts provides a conceptually integrated statistical framework for studying the state and behaviour 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.

The 'Public Sector statistical program' is a component of the CSMA. 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 maintains a universe of all public sector entities including their multidimensional relationships. It also develops, maintains, and applies the Canadian Government Finance Statistics (CGFS) standard. CGFS is based on the internationally accepted accrual accounting framework for government finance statistics.

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

Subjects

  • Business performance and ownership
  • Economic accounts
  • Financial statements and performance
  • Government
  • Government business enterprises
  • Government financial statistics
  • Retail and wholesale

Data sources and methodology

Target population

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

Instrument design

The questionnaire used for the Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Program, "Government Liquor Authority: Report of Operations" was initially designed in the 1960's to fulfill the requirements of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act. This questionnaire was updated in 2015, after conducting qualitative testing involving field interviews with provincial and territorial liquor authorities. This questionnaire was updated again in 2023 to incorporate non-medical cannabis sales by government liquor and cannabis authorities.

Sampling

This survey is a census.

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

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2023-10-03 to 2023-11-30

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files.

Collection method: Questionnaire is in Excel format, delivered via Electronic File Transfer Service

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 and cannabis 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 and cannabis 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 financial statements, information provided to other statistical programs at Statistics Canada, historical information where historical information is available or donor imputation. The donor imputation procedure involves using available auxiliary information to substitute the data from an entity with similar characteristics.

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 and cannabis 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 information it collects which 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.

However, for the purpose of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, a waiver is signed allowing for the release of aggregate 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 and cannabis 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 and cannabis 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

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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