Page 7 - Annuaire Statistique Québec - 1956-57

PHEFACE

The 1955-57 e<1ition of the 8tutistical Year Book i::; the fortieth to be pub-
lished by the Que bec Bureau or Statistic:>,

As usual, the editors Imve enJeavoul'cd to induJe the most l'ecent Ilumericll.l
data and to give an account of the 8ituution existing at the time the materia1
weil t to the prin ter. That their l.a.'lk i8 not al ways easy must be recognized.
The Province of Quebee is in Juil economic expansion and to meet new cir-
cumstances far-reachin/.!; chan~ps are taking place in its -traditionaI structure.
This means that ne\\' orga,nisms are eoming into being, which requin' at least
summary description, and which upseL 1-:Htublj~lH'd clas~ificut,ions and render
obsolete en nen l~ definition::; and nOl'm~ etc.
With regard to the Province'~ lI.gricultul':.d eCl.lnOlllY, the creation of the
Quebee Marketing Board is without doubt the most important event to have
taken place within l'ceen t years. ln the dJ:lpter on Agricult.urc, the e8tabli~:I11­
ment of this organization iF> I.racecI [,0 its incr,ptiün and the mec!uwism of its
joint plans is clr:w:ribed.
Quehec's reSOUl'ces ilL hyJru-elcctric power have been incr0.ased to Il prodi-
gious extent ~inet) the laRt world WUl'. i\stounding progl'esK ha~ heen made,
particularly on the NorLh Shore of the St. Lawrence wherc miniug operations
al'() goin1!: ahcacl nl.pidly and creating a conxl.unLly hcavim' demand for electric
power. Tl) point out the advances made ab weil as the Jarg~-scale projects
being carried out, the present edition of the Yeu!' Book eontains a special article
devoted to the .Province of Quebec's hydro-eleetrie power. A new ta.ble showing
the principal hydl'O-l'Icetrie elevelopment::; and t.h() turbine installation in Quebec
completel) the section.
For over ten yea!'::; 110W, ;:lctivity in lohe Con::;truction field has becn rising
steadily. SLa,tit'tics pel'taining to Construetion are available in greater detail
and new data have been adJed to already exit'lting statistics. For titis reason
information on Construction has been detuched from the chapter on Manu-
factures and forms a sepantLe eh~1.ptcr in the present eclition; the latest ava.ilable
fil-!:llreS on the value of con::;truct.ion \\'ork, l,ontrar:ts awal'c1ecl ELnd building per-
mit,s issued are im:luclccl.

[n the chapter ou the Survey of Production, a new table I-';ives the gros:>
value of indust.rial produr:ts in t,he Provinl:o of Quebcc, year Gy year, fl'om
1938 to 1956. Tt if) truc that the gros:; valuû:; do not consti tute as accurate a
/?:auge as the) net values, particularly on ;1.ccount of the inevitable duplications;
on the other hand, they are more eusily understood and lend themselves more
readily to detailed analysis than do net values. Net values are the result of
(:amplex calculations involving fi, good mn.ny estirnates and several assumptions-
:\.mong other noteworthy ;1dditians to L1w Yellr Buok, the 1956-57 edition
Aives the l'etums of the Quinqucnnial Cemnls taken in .Tllnl~ J956. The chaptel'8