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A special message to Canadian teachers

In our knowledge-based society and economy, the average person is confronted with figures on a daily basis and is asked to form judgments based on the story they tell. The skills to understand and use numbers are now part of provincial curricula for children in virtually every grade.

At Statistics Canada, we collect information on most aspects of Canadian society and economy. But our job doesn’t stop there. We must also make certain that the information is published and made available to the public, in a variety of formats, for use by those who rely on it to provide services, set policy and make decisions—or who are simply interested in gaining a better grasp of their country.

Our role at Statistics Canada is to help Canadians understand issues. We know that reams of statistical tables can’t do the job: to become ‘information,’ statistics must be analysed and portrayed effectively. But we also need to make this information easy to digest and use for Canadians of all ages. That is where our interaction with you, the teachers, is very important.

Statistics Canada is working with teachers to help bring Canadian information and technology into their classrooms in order to improve the statistical literacy of their students. Our active involvement with education began several years ago and has grown significantly since 1986, when we launched the first version of E-STAT. Today, we are proud of the excellent selection of high-quality, relevant education resources, much of it contributed by teachers. With the teaching community’s help we have created curriculum-supportive teaching activities, lessons and kits, designed specifically to assist you, the teachers, in integrating the information that helps define and preserve our Canadian heritage into your student learning activities. I invite you and your students to take advantage of the vast array of free and easy-to-access information available at www.statcan.ca.

—Dr. Ivan Fellegi
Chief Statistician of Canada