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Islanders now have easy online access to social, economic and environmental data on their communities, says Finance and Municipal Affairs Minister Wes Sheridan.

“Among its many benefits, the new Community Accounts system will provide Islanders with information to better understand the issues affecting their community and to develop programs that meet their community needs,” said the minister.

Anyone can use the tool to easily access information such as: population by age and gender, population shifts, family structure, ethnic origin, mother tongue, household size and income, educational attainment, skills training, literacy levels, employment rates and health status.

The system was developed as part of Government’s commitment to build a common foundation of knowledge and information that will strengthen public engagement and discussion on public policy issues.

The accounts were also established in response to Action 26 of the Rural Action Plan which recommends that businesses and development organizations be given access to the best available statistical information about Prince Edward Island.

“The establishment of new partnerships between governments and communities, and supporting community-based decision making is a key principle of the Rural Action Plan,” said Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development Minister Neil LeClair. “Providing more information to businesses and communities will allow them to develop strategies for growth and development.”

To establish the accounts, an online portal was established by the Department of Finance and Municipal Affairs and a new Statistics Act was passed to allow people to access federal, provincial and community information via the portal.

The accounts were developed in cooperation with the Quality of Island Life Cooperative and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

For more information on Community Accounts, go to www.gov.pe.ca/communityaccounts.

BACKGROUNDER

Community Accounts

The Community Accounts system contains detailed accounts of social, economic and environmental data that can be used to develop community, regional and provincial profiles. The information comes from Census data and available research. A new Statistics Act was proclaimed in Prince Edward Island on June 19, 2010, to give Government a legislative mandate to collect, compile, abstract and publish statistical information.

The PEI Community Accounts system is based on the Newfoundland and Labrador system. It was developed in collaboration with NL and community organizations such as the Quality of Island Life Cooperative. Community Accounts information is available in user-friendly statistical tables and interactive maps.

Users may search Prince Edward Island communities for such information as:

• Population by age and gender and population shifts

• Family structure, ethnic origin and mother tongue

• Household size and income, employment rates

• Occupation, educational attainment, skills training and literacy levels

• Water quality and watersheds

• Health status

The information can be used for a variety of purposes such as to:

• Understand the socio-economic status of Island communities

• Assess the nature, scope and extent of issues facing Island communities

• Develop programs and services to meet community needs

• Monitor and report on the impact of programs and services on communities

• Develop business plans that include an assessment of market conditions, location options and labour force availability

• Develop municipal and community strategic plans

• Develop community profiles for use as marketing tools

• Inform research, teaching and learning

Until now, this information was located in many places and could only be accessed by a few people. Now it is easily accessible to everyone in an organized and user-friendly fashion. Community Accounts responds to Government’s commitment to build a common foundation of knowledge and information from which both Government and communities can assess and discuss public policy issues:

“Utilizing the Community Accounts system developed by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and with the assistance of groups such as the PEI Quality of Island Life Cooperative, my Government will strive to ensure that public engagement and dialogue is not just crisis driven but an ongoing and constructive process.” - 2008 Throne Speech

It also responds to Action #26 of the Rural Action Plan: Facilitating Access to Data and Statistics, which aims to help community groups, business and development organizations to develop strategies for growth that are based on the best available statistical information about Prince Edward Island.