Did you know that across Canada, people speak a total of more than 200 languages in their homes?  That fact comes courtesy of a book just released on November 13th titled the 2011 Canada Year Book.

The almanac-styled volume, published by Statistics Canada, is a thorough report on the social and economic life of our country and its citizens – according to the answers you (and the rest of us!) supplied in the 2011 Census. It hasmore than 500 pages of tables, charts and analytical articles on every major area of Stats Canada's expertise.

The book tells more about the languages spoken in Canadian homes. For instance:

• In 2011, 17.5% of the Canadian population, or 5.8 million persons, reported speaking at least two languages at home. In 2006, 14.2% did so (nearly 4.5 million persons).
• In 2011, 63.5% of the population whose mother tongue was neither English nor French reported speaking English at home.
• Nearly 7 million Canadians reported speaking French most often at home in 2011, compared with 6.7 million in 2006. However, they made up 21% of the Canadian population, compared with 21.4% five years earlier.
• Between 2006 and 2011, the number of persons who reported being able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages increased by nearly 350,000 to 5.8 million. The bilingualism rate of the Canadian population edged up from 17.4% in 2006 to 17.5% in 2011.

While those facts may be little more than a curiosity, you may be interested to know why the answers you supply in the Census are important – or, for that matter, the answers you supply to one or more of the 350 or so other surveys that Statistics Canada regularly conducts.

The surveys ask about almost every aspect of Canadian life and livelihood –everything from how, when and where you work, to how much money you make and spend, to which vegetables you grow – and how many.

Some people find these surveys annoying, but the information they gather is invaluable in helping us all to better understand our country.  Statistics Canada, the organization that conducts them, is a member of the government’s industry portfolio. Stats Can, as many have dubbed it, is mandated to collect vital and reliable information on Canada’s population, resources, economy, society and culture. Our elected representatives as well as many businesses, unions, non-profit organizations and individuals make better decisions because of Stats Can surveys –decisions that ultimately affect us on many levels most of us could never imagine.

Constituents sometimes call my office to ask whether or not they must participate in Stats Can surveys. While some surveys are, in fact, mandatory, others are not. For instance, the Labour Force Survey must be completed. So must agricultural and business surveys. However, other surveys are voluntary. If you are someone who chooses to participate, know you are benefitting your fellow Canadians.

You can find more information on the 2011 Canada Year Book, and much more about Stats Can surveys at www.statcan.gc.ca.

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The audio version of Garry's Nov. 26, 2012 op-ed column can be heard by clicking here