Summary: | The 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) was conducted by Statistics Canada to collect data on the lifestyles and living conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada. The survey was designed and implemented in partnership with national Aboriginal organizations. This is the second time the Aboriginal Peoples Survey has been carried out by Statistics Canada; the first time was in the fall of 1991. The data from the 1991 APS were widely used. An extremely important user of the 1991 data was the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP). They used the data as a primary source of demographic, social and economic data for their final report and related research studies. The Commission's final report recommended that APS be conducted regularly to monitor the demographic and social conditions of Aboriginal peoples. The federal government responded to the RCAP recommendations through its Aboriginal action plan, Gathering Strength. In this plan the need for relevant and current data was recognized under the umbrella of developing a new fiscal relationship. Statistics Canada was mandated through Gathering Strength to coordinate a second Aboriginal Peoples Survey shortly after the 2001 Census. The primary objective of the 2001 APS was to provide data on the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada. More specifically, its purpose was to identify the needs of Aboriginal people and focus on issues such as health, language, employment, income, schooling, housing, and mobility. Indeed, there are large gaps in the data that presently exist for Aboriginal people. The 2001 APS was designed to address some of these gaps. This is information that cannot be found anywhere else and it can be used to answer a wide range of questions related to things like community planning, program development and health care priorities. Over 122,000 people were targeted for the 2001 survey and information on a broad range of topics is available. The PUMF should be used together with the data dictionary, which includes the survey ...
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