Mr. Speaker, Canada spends close to $50 billion on education and still over 25% of Canadians cannot read, write or use numbers well enough to meet the demand of our society. Obviously our education system is failing.
As we move into the 21st century it is imperative to rethink the way we educate our children. As a start, the provinces have an obligation to work together to implement important initiatives such as establishing national literacy and education standards.
I am pleased to report that yesterday our city, Ottawa, hosted its first “Word on the Street” festival to celebrate the pleasure of books and reading. This event highlighted the work of local writers and was organized in support of literacy programs.
I would like to congratulate and thank everyone dedicated to the promotion of literacy, especially Peter Calamai and Joyce Fairbairn. Their work has not gone unnoticed.