M. Gilles Duceppe
Bloc Québécois
3750, boul. Crémazie
bureau 502
Montréal (Québec) H2A 1B6
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Conservative Party of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Elizabeth May
Confederation Building, Room 518
244 Wellington St
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
The Honourable Thomas Mulcair
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Mr. Justin Trudeau
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
September 4, 2015
To: M. Gilles Duceppe,
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper,
Ms. Elizabeth May,
The Honourable Thomas Mulcair,
Mr. Justine Trudeau,
Improving the literacy and essential skills of adult Canadians is a challenge that is important to our citizens and the prosperity of our country. There are few issues facing us, including the goal of ensuring meaningful jobs for Canadians, which cannot be addressed through improved essential skills. This includes literacy, financial literacy, digital competence, health literacy and more.
Canada ranks at the OECD average in adult literacy and below the OECD average in numeracy:
- 48 out of 100 Canadians fall below high-school equivalency in literacy.[1]
- 55 out of 100 of us fall below high-school equivalency in numeracy.[2]
This means that many Canadians do not have the skills required to pay bills, read prescriptions, balance a budget, or understand cell phone contracts. Literacy levels affect everyone and all aspects of Canadian life. When our literacy rates slide, so too does our health, our general welfare and our ability to perform our jobs.
For Canada and Canadians to thrive, we need to move from mediocre to outstanding in our nation’s skill levels. Improving the literacy and essential skills of adult Canadians will boost productivity, strengthen communities, lead to better jobs and increase understanding of personal finances.
There is a real return-on-investment when we invest in essential skills training. While there is no silver bullet to address the larger problem of low literacy in Canada, there is strong evidence that measurable improvement is possible through tailored and specific initiatives to support Canadians in the upgrading of essential skills:
- A study by BuildForce Canada found that if employers spend as little as $132.90 per newly engaged apprentice on essential skills training, the return is $26.34 on every dollar invested[3]
- Another study undertaken for Employment and Social Development Canada demonstrates that in the hotel industry employers can quickly realize short-term gains and improvement on ROI of about 27%. With government support, research demonstrates that the ROI is even greater.
Governments at all levels have a role in this, including the federal government. As Canadians consider the issues in the upcoming election, we urge you and your party to outline how your government would work with business, community groups, educators and other stakeholders to strengthen literacy and essential skills for adult Canadians, to ensure our country’s continued prosperity.
Thank you for considering the issue of literacy and essential skills. We look forward to following up and working with you on this important public policy issue following the 19 October election.
Sincerely,
Gillian Mason
President
ABC Life Literacy Canada
110 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 604
Toronto, ON
M4P 2Y1
ABC Life Literacy Canada is a national organization that inspires adult Canadians to increase their literacy skills so they may live full, productive and engaging lives. Partnering with business, unions community groups, educators and government, we work across communities and with individuals to support lifelong learning.
[1] OECD. The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, 2012.
[2] Ibid.
[3] This is based on 80% of apprentices completing their employment requirements.
Category:
