Thank you.
It's a pleasure to address this committee on the subject of adult literacy and its impact on our country. The briefing document for this committee, “Canada's Place in a Competitive World”, asks us to consider whether our citizens have “the proper skills...to work and to save.” At ABC Canada Literacy Foundation, we are very concerned that millions of Canadians do not have the proper skills to work and contribute to our nation in a changing world.
One of the foundations of any nation's competitiveness is the literacy of its citizens. Stats Canada tells us that adult literacy is increasingly understood to be fundamental to an industrialized nation's economic performance, and also to the individual's social and economic well-being, especially in the context of rapid social and economic change.
Here is the heart of the problem: adults with low literacy levels make up 42% of our population. That represents nine million adult Canadians. It's an astonishing number that represents everyone from those who can read and write very little to those who dropped out of high school before earning their diploma, and even to those people who have a diploma but still can't read and write at a proficient level.
Many of these adults are employed but in jobs with a very low literacy requirement, and these jobs are becoming harder to find and keep as the technology and the literacy demands placed upon employees increase. The majority of new jobs in the future are expected to go to people with at least some post-secondary qualifications.
Stats Canada and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development state that Canada's low literacy levels have not improved in a decade. We pay a collective economic price for this persistent dilemma of low literacy. Differences in average literacy skills explain over half of the differences in long-term economic growth in the world's richest countries, including Canada.
An investment in adult literacy is a direct investment in Canada's productivity. StatsCan research indicates that a rise of 1% in literacy is associated with a 2.5% rise in productivity and a 1.5% rise in gross domestic product per person. This means that if Canada found a way to increase literacy levels by 10% over a decade, GDP per capita would rise a staggering 15%, equal to roughly $118 billion, in today's terms.
A recent report from the Canadian Council on Learning comes to the conclusion—and we agree—that government has an important role to play in encouraging and facilitating investment in learning by firms and workers. We believe that the federal government, in partnership with the provinces, territories, and business, could play a unique and powerful role in increasing the literacy levels of Canadians.
We have two recommendations to make to the committee as it considers the budget. The first is to adopt a national plan to address Canada's literacy gaps. Last year the seven national literacy organizations worked to create a national literacy action plan. In essence, the plan calls for the development of a quality adult literacy basic education system, so that learners of any age can increase their skill levels.
The United Kingdom is a leader in its creation of the national skills for life program, a broad government initiative that is well on its way to meeting a target of 1.5 million citizens trained by 2007. A Canadian strategy would set national goals and targets, standardize results, and ensure that all provinces and territories reach national goals.
Our second recommendation is a call to restore the funding to the national literacy secretariat, funded through the Department of Human Resources and Social Development. This program has just undergone a significant reduction in its budget, due to the federal spending cuts announced on September 25. The program budget was cut by $17.7 million. These are funds that previously supported the provincial and territorial literacy coalitions—organizations that are fundamental to the development and implementation of adult literacy services across the country.
The cuts have been severe, and I'll tell you about a few of them. The Yukon Literacy Coalition programs are jeopardized, and unless additional funds are found, the coalition will close its doors. The Northwest Territories Literacy Council has seen one-third of its budget cut. Literacy BC will lose support of a number of its activities, including the development of literacy practitioners in the field. Half of Literacy Alberta's funding is cut, and the Saskatchewan Literacy Network reports that it's in immediate jeopardy of closing its doors. Literacy Partners of Manitoba will lose 80% of its funding. I could go on and on. Every single coalition is hurting because of these cuts.
We would ask that the $17.7 million be restored in the next budget. We would also ask that provincial and territorial groups be reinstated as eligible recipients of funding through this program. These groups are really the backbone of our nation's adult literacy programs.
Literacy and essential skills upgrading is fundamental to Canada's economic prosperity and competitiveness, as I have pointed out. Other western nations are waking up to the challenges of adult literacy and the implications for their nations in the longer term.
If Canada is to maintain and increase its competitiveness, it must address the millions of Canadians who struggle with basic literacy. We live in a world where those who read and write with proficiency will be highly sought and those who do not will be left behind.
Thank you.