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Literacy in Canada
Almost 14% of Canadians cannot read or write simple sentences and cannot do the math needed in everyday activities.1 And almost 50% of Canadians have problems understanding instructions for such things as taking medications, operating equipment, etc. They also find it hard to read maps, fill out application forms, or to read bus or train schedules.2
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Costs of low literacy
Every one loses when so many in their society cannot read and write
well enough to function adequately in today’s world. There
is the time lost, information not understood, underemployment, work
having to be redone. In 1987, the estimated cost of low literacy
was a staggering $5 billion!3
Those who cannot read and write find life difficult, frustrating, embarrassing with restricted opportunities in work and home life.
Life gets complicated when you cannot help your children with their homework and wrestle to understand the notices sent home from school. Applying for a passport, job, or driver’s licence becomes a struggle. Reading the newspaper, looking for information about jobs, health issues, politics, even the weather, is often more trouble than it’s worth.
Administrative justice system and low-literacy
Not being able to read and write easily makes the whole encounter with the administrative justice system that much worse. Applicants are already in unfamiliar and sometimes frightening territory with its legal language, rules, and unknown procedures. If they cannot understand what is going on or what they should do, the possibility of a fair hearing is lessened.
CCAT in recent years has focused on this challenge, promoting the use of plain language in the administrative justice system. Plain language—rather than bureaucratese—increases everyone’s understanding of information in letters, brochures, instructions, posters, and videos. CCAT is working to help train tribunal staff and members through its books, manuals, training courses, and materials available on the website.
Plain language
Using plain language in all spoken and written communication helps everyone, not just those with low-literacy skills. Information is clear because
- plain words and expressions replace legal and bureaucratic terminology;
- sentences are short with only one or two ideas in each sentence;
- unnecessary words are cut out;
- lists replace long paragraphs;
- sentences use the active voice (“You need to remember…” instead of “It should be remembered…”);
- sentences are made personal to the reader (“You have to send your birth certificate with your application form” instead of “The client must include his or her birth certificate when submitting an application form.”)
Resources in this section
The pages in the Literacy section of the website contain publications that are downloadable, links to an online literacy course, and an extensive list of educational materials to hone your skill in writing easy-to-understand decisions and other documents for participants in the administrative justice system (the educational materials list is available to CCAT members only).
1. Peter Calamai, “Broken Words: Why Five Million Canadians are Illiterate—A Special Southam Survey (Toronto: Southam, 1987).
2. Statistics Canada, et al. Reading the Future. In: Issues and Challenges in Communicating with Less Literate Canadians (Ottawa: Canada Information Office, June 2000).
3. Canada Business Task Force on Literacy, Measuring the Costs of Illiteracy in Canada. [n.l.]: Task Force, 1988. |
