Mr. Speaker, Thursday is literacy day and Canada's literacy challenge is enormous.
According to a recent international adult literacy survey, almost half of Canada's adult population is functioning at the two lowest levels of literacy defined by the survey. That is about 10 million people from the age of 16 and up.
What it means is that these people are likely struggling in our knowledge based society. If you cannot read well, how do you help your kids with their homework? If you cannot read and write well, how do you get a good job?
I call on fellow members in the House to take our literacy problem very seriously. Our economy, our kids and our future as a country all hinge on building up our literacy skills.