Multicultural Must Read: Wednesday July 11

Every day MIREMS consultants are reading, watching and listening to Canada's multilingual and multicultural media. We bring you the day's must read story.

Social Planning Toronto: Report on Language

A new report released by Social Planning Toronto released this week has been picked up by Canada’s multilingual and multicultural media. There’s no surprise why. The findings are a reflection of the communities that read, write for and advertise in these sources.
​
The report revealed that more Torontonians are speaking multiple languages than in previous years and shows that Tagalog, Farsi and Bengali and have seen the largest increases in the number of speakers, while Italian, Tamil and Urdu experienced the largest decreases. As well, an interactive mapping element shows that in some areas of Toronto more than 70 percent of residents speak a language other than English or French, and lets the viewer explore the city’s neighbourhoods by language. ​

The most surprising finding speaks directly to MIREMS’ mandate. The report “Taking Access & Equity: A Profile of City of Toronto Residents Who Speak Neither Official Language explains that over 130,000 people—a population the size of a small city—do not speak English.

Chinese online news source 51.ca reported on the study along with the Epoch Times and Sing Tao Vancouver. Epoch Times highlighted the language barrier as an impediment hindering residents’ ability to find a job. Sing Tao Vancouver highlighted the fact that nearly five percent of Toronto’s population can’t hold a conversation in English or French.

Only two mainstream news sources, Global TV and the Toronto Star have covered the report to date.
​
MIREMS knows well the importance of looking at and listening to language demographics as a way to ensure all members of a community are being listened to and reached by decision makers.