Finance committee  We will close our doors by January 1 unless we have money, and that means no more information sharing, no more community work, no more family literacy initiatives, no more practitioner training.

Finance committee  Yes, we're received notice that we're not getting any funding.

Finance committee  I think you're absolutely right, there was no consultation and we were shocked. I'm not sure what the communication protocol is between government officials, the ministers, and the politicians and the bureaucracy, but we were told that our funding was coming; we were told it was

Finance committee  No, one of the big things they say about literacy is that you use it or you lose it. Literacy skills deteriorate when they're not being used. Literacy skills deteriorate over time. Literacy skills deteriorate when people are not applying themselves, or when people aren't in a pos

Finance committee  Our definition of literacy is the one that was being used by the National Literacy Secretariat and by the federal government, which I believe defines literacy as the ability to use and process basic information. So it's not a definition that I have made up or one that is being us

Finance committee  Literacy now is identified as the different ways that people use information in their lives, in their homes, and in their schools. In terms of what we can do about literacy skills, I think one of the big things is that it's a lifelong issue. It's not just something for kids. It

Finance committee  I don't know. We don't get BlackBerry service up here, so I can't answer that.

Finance committee  I think it changes the literacy rates. I don't think it's as easy to say it reduces literacy rates, because we all know that a lot of 14-year-olds have an incredible grasp of technology, but it certainly changes the way we look at literacy. One of the things the literacy commun

Finance committee  Well, I think you're absolutely right. Some of those relationships may have negative consequences, in terms of the one you're talking about and childhood obesity. I have worked with Bobbie Morgan in the past. I think she used a good example when she was talking about pensions,

Finance committee  First of all, there might be a misconception about literacy levels directly related to school, because one thing that the IALSS, the international adult literacy and skills survey, showed about Canadians is that the highest literacy levels were at the block closest to the end of

Finance committee  May I answer that question in English?

Finance committee  Thank you. I agree with you. I think it's very unfortunate that there are cuts to something like literacy at a time when there is a $13 billion surplus. We recognize there is a financial benefit from literacy skills; there is an economic benefit from literacy skills. But there

Finance committee  But it helps that I'm a person?

Finance committee  That's correct.

Finance committee  It's interesting because Statistics Canada came out with the statement that a 1% increase in literacy skills would lead to a $15 billion increase in the GDP. So they already have gone into finding research to show that there's a link between literacy levels and the GDP and econom