Literacy in Canada: not a rosy picture

A recent report from the CBC's The National takes an indepth look at illiteracy in Canada. The findings are very unsettling, and the almost certain one-way trip to a life of poverty is discouraging. Included in the report are the following statistics:

• Nearly 15 per cent of Canadians can't understand the writing on simple medicine labels such as on an Aspirin bottle, a failing that could seriously limit the ability of a parent, for example, to determine the dangers for a child.

• An additional 27 per cent can't figure out simple information like the warnings on a hazardous materials sheet, the kinds of warning that set out workplace dangers such as risks to the eyes and skin.

• In total, 42 per cent of Canadians are semi-illiterate. The proportion is even worse for those in middle age. And even when new immigrants are excluded, the numbers remains pretty much the same.

The report looks at positive changes being made here in Canada, and abroad in Sweden. For the complete story go to Canada's shame.

from CBC's The National | May 24, 2006

For more information locally, or to learn how you can help, visit:

• The Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick
• Read Saint John
• Read Sussex