Yes, I think we are splitting hairs. If they don't have basic language skills, they would not be able to understand even day-to-day talk. Some of them come with minimal literacy or are even at the preliteracy stage in their country of origin. That means they are illiterate in the country of origin, let alone in the English language. Even though we talk to them in their native language, we have to make sure we speak at the level they can understand, let alone the laws and the regulations in Canada.
On March 25th, 2014. See this statement in context.