Statistics Canada is considering a pilot project to pay citizens to answer questions on at least one national survey, and is seeking information for how to execute the incentive program.

"The pilot test would be using the Survey of Household Spending (SHS) as a vehicle," states a document published online by Statistics Canada this week.

The document seeks input primarily from financial industry experts about activating, monitoring and paying fees on prepaid cards.

The pilot would "explore the option of using a prepaid card as a method for providing financial incentive," the document says.

Drop in response rates

There has been a drop in response rates for the Survey of Household Spending, according to Statistics Canada.

The survey collects information about how much households spend on things such as food, clothing, shelter and transportation. It involves a one-hour in-person interview followed by two weeks of diary entries.

In 2015, only 60.8 per cent of possible survey respondents agreed to participate. That was down from 67.2 per cent in 2013.

Statistics Canada is concerned about "non-response bias" because of smaller and smaller sample sizes. The survey targeted for this pilot "feeds mission critical programs," the document published online states, including calculation of the Consumer Price Index on odd years.

Nearly 10,000 prepaid cards

It is still too early to know how much respondents might be paid, an official with Statistics Canada told CBC News.

The agency has not yet made the decision to proceed with the pilot project.

Two scenarios are possible for this pilot — one would distribute 835 prepaid cards, another would send out 4,410.

The pilot is scheduled to begin in February 2017, and if it's successful, Statistics Canada will begin sending out 10,000 prepaid cards the following September.

Industry experts interested in providing feedback or information to Statistics Canada have until June 29 to do so.