• Executive Summary
• Acknowledgements
• Background
• Mission Statement
• Mandate
• Organisational Description
• Environmental Scan
• Organisational Challenges
• Critical Success Factors

Executive Summary

The Vital Statistics Council for Canada (the Council) is a successful partnership between the provincial/territorial registrars who are responsible for the registration of all vital events in Canada and Statistics Canada officials who are responsible for the production and analysis of national vital event statistics. The Council is comprised of the heads of all provincial and territorial government vital event registries and the director of the Health Statistics Division of Statistics Canada. The Council is faced with considerable variety among member agencies including differences in reporting relationships, mandate, size, organisational complexity, available resources, service availability and delivery methods, level of cost recovery, and degree of automation. In addition computer systems, which are recognised as core components of health information systems used by member agencies, lack inter-operability standards. With such variation, any contemplated strategic initiatives will require methodical negotiations and respect for member autonomy. The Vital Statistics Council for Canada has identified six primary objectives to be addressed:

1. The Council exists to support a Canadian system of registering vital events. The Council will ensure that the system is well integrated and employs uniform practices wherever practicable.
2. The Council will monitor technological change and explore ways to implement those advances that have positive impact on the Canadian Vital Statistics System.
3. The Vital Statistics Council will define national standards consistent with the autonomy of the individual member agencies and the integrity of the national system. These standards will ensure national comparability and high quality assurance.
4. The Council will promote the Canadian Vital Statistics System as a key component of an integrated health information system and will develop and promote the use of data and information products generated through it.
5. The Council will establish a clear role in the development and promotion of the data and information products generated through the Canadian Vital Statistics System.
6. The Council will consolidate existing client relationships and develop new partnerships in order to increase The Council's visibility, authority, and effectiveness.

Acknowledgements

Much of the material in this business plan has been excerpted or summarised from an earlier planning document prepared for the Council by the consulting firm Nephin Consulting Partners. We extend appreciation to Dr. Anne Perkins for the insightful comments and strategic challenges recognised in her report. The contribution of reports such as Health Information Needs in Canada (Canadian Institute for Health Information) and The National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Services Strategic Business Plan 1996 - 2000 is gratefully acknowledged. We also wish to thank the staff of the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency for its continued assistance; Bill Kierans, and Brian McKee have contributed their writing and editing skills and Bruce Stuart assisted in formatting the final version. Lastly the staff of Statistics Canada, Health Statistics Division is to be thanked for providing translation services and printing the final document.

Background

The Vital Statistics Council for Canada (the Council) is a successful partnership between the provincial/territorial registrars who are responsible for the registration of all vital events in Canada and Statistics Canada officials who are responsible for the production and analysis of national vital event statistics. The Council acts both as the national co-ordinating body for issues and concerns related to vital statistics, and the forum for the exchange of ideas and initiatives of mutual interest to the participants. The Vital Statistics Council traces its history back to several conferences held in 1918 and 1919 to establish a national system for the compilation and exchange of vital event information. This Canadian Vital Statistics System would ensure standard methods of collecting, compiling, and publishing vital statistics. The Council was formally established under its present name by federal/provincial agreements in 1945. In recent years Council activities have been formalised on a structured and clearly delineated basis. Annual business plans have been produced each year since the 1994/95 business year. Other accomplishments include adopting a nationally standardised data dictionary, preparing a forms manual to compare documents used in each member jurisdiction, developing an orientation kit to delineate Council activities, responsibilities, and achievements, publishing a quarterly newsletter and introducing an internet site. This business plan extends the scope for strategic development and organisational advancement of the Council by extending the planning horizon to a five-year period.

Mission Statement

The Vital Statistics Council for Canada provides leadership in creating, promoting, supporting, and maintaining an effective and efficient Canadian Vital Statistics System that integrates vital record registration and certification and health statistics by;

• developing the Canadian Vital Statistics System with sensitivity to the component provincial and territorial systems;
• acting as an agent for creativity and change in order to maintain high data quality and to set consistent standards and definitions;
• identifying, developing, and promoting "best practices" within the system;
• establishing partnerships within the system as well as with clients and other stakeholders;
• co-ordinating the services and products offered by member organisations;
• developing data resources for statistical purposes;
• liasing with members of vital event collection organisations of other nations; and
• moving towards the adoption of uniform legislation, policies and procedures in the recording and certification of Canadian vital events.

Mandate

The Vital Statistics Council for Canada is mandated to:

• discuss and make recommendations to the respective governments for the betterment of the Canadian Vital Statistics System in the areas of legislation, administration, operations, statistics, and the use and delivery of services;
• establish liaisons with federal, provincial and territorial bodies that use the Canadian Vital Statistics System;
• provide a co-ordinated provincial/territorial voice to Statistics Canada and the provincial/territorial governments;
• plan and organise the annual meeting of the Vital Statistics Council for Canada with an agenda that addresses issues of current and future concern;
• encourage the sharing and retention of information and research among members and other partnering organisations;
• form and maintain liaisons with service providers (e.g., physicians, coroners, funeral directors, clergy, hospitals and law enforcement agencies) to promote co-operation, innovation, information sharing, and common standards across Canada;
• respond to pressures from Canadian society to streamline collection methods and expand service offerings; and
• co-operate in maintaining a national database to achieve the synergy that arises from merging provincial/territorial data.

Organisational Description

The Vital Statistics Council for Canada is the custodian of the Canadian Vital Statistics System. The Council is comprised of the heads of all provincial and territorial government vital event registries and the director of the Health Statistics Division of Statistics Canada. Members meet in person at least once a year to discuss and resolve issues that affect the national system. In addition, teleconference meetings are held quarterly or more often as issues warrant. The Executive Committee of the Council carries on the day to day work of the Council and meets at least once a month by teleconference. Other committees are created as required to handle issues and projects that warrant the concentrated efforts of more than one person. Statistics Canada, under agreement, provides funding for Council activities, and staff resources for administrative support and special projects. The provinces and territories contribute staff resources and in some cases funding for specific projects. Council members are appointed, generally, as an adjunct to their employment mandate.

Environmental Scan

The context in which the Council operates includes a number of factors that affect its direction and its ability to achieve its objectives. Identified environmental factors that will affect the Council during this business cycle include general pressures on government organisations (external) and those that emanate from within the Council itself (internal).

External factors

Most Canadian jurisdictions are dealing with issues such as deregulation, downsizing, and privatisation. Governments must strive to deliver statutory services on a cost recovery or revenue-generating basis, while their client and stakeholder groups demand faster more convenient service delivery. Responsibility shifts from federal to provincial/ territorial governments as a result of reduced transfer payments, off-loading and downloading must be addressed in the same environment that promotes the capture of more data elements from vital event registrations for use by other government organisations. Multicultural recognition and other special considerations in service delivery such as those to Aboriginal groups are coupled with the wish to provide a broader access to data and data services for all client groups. Decentralising of operations to regional levels increases the need to provide statistical information on local issues must be faced. Technological change must address security and anti-fraud mechanisms, as the public becomes less tolerant of crime while the sophistication of criminal processes increases.

Internal factors

A substantial variation in mandate, resources, organisational complexity, and degree of automation exists amongst Council members, as does a variation in the vision of what should be the role and purpose of the Council. These differences arise from differing priorities in senior government policies that affect the direction of each member organisation. Differences in the reporting relationships within governing ministries affect the focus of data collection in each jurisdiction. And the commitment and support from senior governments of the broad uses of Vital Statistics (e.g., for research and planning) for the benefit of Canadian society affect the priorities of the Council.

Organisational Challenges

System Variations

For many years, the Council has managed a cohesive and progressive program operating a national system. However, there is still considerable variety among agencies regarding reporting relationships, mandate, size, organisational complexity, available resources, service availability and delivery methods, level of cost recovery, and degree of automation. With such variation any contemplated strategic initiatives will require methodical negotiations and respect for member autonomy.

Technological Change

Computer technology is recognised as the core component on which other aspects of the national health and health information systems will depend. There are a number of key areas of concern, which include the absence of hardware, software, inter-operability standards among systems, access to data, consistency, and use-literacy at the community/ service provider level. Additionally advances have not been evenly implemented in all components of the national system. Technological upgrades are expensive and some jurisdictions are not large enough with sufficient resources to undertake them. As a result, there is a core capacity building requirement associated with technology issues.

Operational Sphere

The Council is the interface between Statistics Canada, the provincial/territorial vital statistics registries and the international Vital Statistics community. Such a position allows it to promote and co-ordinate the Canadian Vital Statistics System as a national system but also requires that it support and advise its members as they respond to the demands of their distinct environments.

Organisational Infrastructure

That the Canadian Vital Statistics System has functioned for most of this century attests to its necessity, importance, and utility. The informality of the Council's infrastructure, that is, its support framework, accountability, budget, etc. is, perhaps, an advantage when quick adaptation is required. However, drawbacks to such a virtual existence may become more apparent in the next few years when faced with continued changes in relevant government priorities, downsizing, modified reporting affiliations, and health reform.

Health Care Transformation

The modification of the health care system is well known and extensive but certain aspects will affect the Council's activities. There has been a shift to knowledge or evidence based, results oriented, and people centred decision making as well as a focus on home care, prevention and promotion. Those key features of change will be accompanied by an increased need for data, analysis, and information that is both comprehensive and linked.

Public and Private Information

The Canadian Vital Statistics System has an enviable record regarding the protection of private information. The next few years will witness a considerable increase in demands for more specific information generated by the reformation of freedom of information legislation and the proliferation of information technologies. Requests for local data, an expanded client base, and the demand for marketable output products will require the Council's member organisations to find a judicious balance between the need to protect private information and to provide information to clients in the public interest.

Critical Success Factors

The Council recognises that the environment in which a strategic business plan is written is ever changing. The success of a plan does not hinge on divining the exact nature of change, but lies on its ability to foresee the direction of change thereby assisting members to solve problems as they emerge. Success, however, cannot be certain without a degree of stability in the overall structure of government. The following are identified as critical to the success of this plan.

• The Canadian Vital Statistics System will continue to be a shared responsibility between federal and provincial/territorial Vital Statistics agencies and be recognised as essential to the continued health, education, social, and economic interests of Canadians.
• The Council will exist to support the Canadian Vital Statistics System, to facilitate co-operation among its constituents and to meet their shared needs in an ever-changing environment.
• The Council, to fulfil its mandate, will have access to resources of the appropriate quality and quantity and will have the authority to allocate those resources as it deems suitable.
• The demand for Vital Statistics data to meet new and different needs will continue to grow, although the precise nature of those demands may not be apparent at present.