As part of the government's response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Statistics Canada has been given the responsibility to assist in the development of statistical capacity among Aboriginal peoples.

The main course objectives are to train Aboriginal people working in jobs requiring the use of statistics to be able to find and use statistical data effectively to support their organization’s decision-making, planning, programming, evaluation and related activities. If data do not exist and primary data are needed, the course will also provide fundamental information on an introduction to survey taking.

The main thrust is to teach Aboriginal people about how to define their data needs when they have to address a variety of issues that their organizations may confront. The training comprises two one-week modules. Each module can be conducted at different times so as not to pull people out of their organizations for two weeks in a row.

Using relevant Aboriginal data, Module 1 focuses on data needs, identifying data sources, learning basic statistical indicators (frequency distributions, mean, median, mode, rates, ratios), learning about graphs (the do's and don'ts), and how to prepare presentations on selected topics. Module 2 is teaching what is involved in conducting a survey from start to finish, covering sampling methods, questionnaire design, weighting and estimation and interpreting the results. The courses are offered at no cost to Aboriginal organizations.

For more information, contact us

• to be announced

Regional Offices Mailing addresses:

• Atlantic
• Quebec
• National Capital Region
• Ontario
• Prairies, Northwest Territories and Nunavut
• British Columbia and the Yukon