Montréal, Quebec, November 14, 2007 Acting on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of Canada Economic Development, Senator Pierre Claude Nolin today announced that the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) will receive $3,019,650 in non-repayable funding to, among other things, help cover the development costs of a new annex and the organization's operating expenses. With the $15,414,350 in funding already committed by the Government of Canada over a 20-year period to have the Institute established in Montréal, this latest contribution brings the total level of federal funding to the UIS to $18,434,000.
Senator Nolin noted that the Institute's establishment would not have been possible without the ongoing collaboration of UNESCO, the Canadian and Quebec governments, Montréal International and many of the country's leading universities. "The presence of the UIS here focuses the spotlight on both Canada and Montréal as important hosts of international agencies. With its new annex, the Institute will be even better positioned to meet the demand for statistics on various topics of concern to member-country development and to thereby play a pivotal role in Canada, North America and the world," he added.
"The UNESCO Institute for Statistics brings considerable prestige to Montréal. Its activities help make the city a top-notch centre for statistics by promoting Montréal's international reach and contributing to its tremendous intellectual vitality. The UIS also generates considerable socio-economic spin-offs, most notably by fostering network-building among researchers and statisticians from here and around the world," commented Minister Blackburn.
"Reliable statistics help us better understand the social phenomena around us and make enlightened decisions as to the appropriate programs, laws or incentive measures to implement. With larger facilities, the UIS will be better able to pursue its growth and bring in additional resources to help it fulfil its mandate to the full degree expected by UNESCO member states," said UIS Director Hendrik van der Pol.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics was formed in July 1999 and established in Montréal in 2001 to meet the growing needs of UNESCO member states and the international community for a wide range of policy-relevant, timely and reliable statistics in the fields of education, science and technology, and culture and communications.
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Sources:
Nathalie Jutras
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 514-283-2800
E-mail: nathalie.jutras@dec-ced.gc.ca
Yan Plante
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-953-5646
E-mail: yan.plante@hrsdc-rhdsc.gc.ca
