Toronto, ON — The world celebrates International Literacy Day tomorrow, September 8, and this year marks the 15th anniversary for ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation. While marking this milestone, ABC CANADA will also release a new brochure that brings together key Canadian statistics showing how literacy skills have a major impact on various sectors of Canadian society - Justice, Health, Work, Poverty, Seniors and Aboriginal Peoples.

Looking ‘through the literacy lens’

The brochure compels journalists, policy-makers, business leaders, politicians and members of the public to consider these sectors of society “through the literacy lens.”

Concerning Justice, for example, offenders experience literacy problems at a rate three times that of the general population, and the average education level of newly admitted offenders serving two years or more is Grade 7. Regarding Work, 50 per cent of Canadian adults score low numeracy levels and are two-and-a-half times more likely to receive social assistance. Eighty per cent of Canadians over 65 have low literacy skills and are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life and work. Concerning Aboriginal Peoples, age 15 to 49, 17 per cent have no formal schooling or less than Grade 9, compared with six per cent of all Canadians.

A number of the brochures will be distributed to Canada’s national, provincial and territorial literacy coalitions, and copies will be available to individuals who contact ABC CANADA at: info@abc-canada.org

ABC CANADA is grateful to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada - National Literacy Secretariat for its support in producing this information piece.

Fifteen years of public-awareness

Begun in 1990 by a group of visionary business and labour leaders who recognized the importance of increasing adult literacy skills , ABC CANADA is the only national organization in this country dedicated to raising public awareness of the literacy issue.

“In a decade and a half, ABC CANADA has grown in leaps and bounds, enlisting the talents of advertising agencies and other creative people to produce print and broadcast public service announcements (PSAs) that champion reading and numeracy at home and in the workplace,” says Dr. Alan C. Middleton, Executive Director of the Executive Development division of York University’s Schulich School of Business and Chair of ABC CANADA. “Media have hugely supported us in running these PSAs, and ABC CANADA has also raised significant funds in support of literacy programs across the country.”

The national charity’s initiatives include:

• Family Literacy Day, held January 27 to encourage families reading and learning together, with renowned children’s author Robert Munsch as its honorary chair and Honda Canada Inc. as its founding sponsor;
• A national funding program for libraries, schools and literacy organizations to purchase new books and create reading circles that engage teachers, students and their parents;
• The PGI Golf Tournaments for Literacy - Founded by Peter Gzowski, held in every province and territory, plus the Assembly of First Nations, that have to date raised more than nine million dollars for local literacy programs across the country;
• Research initiatives that inform the literacy community and the general public about numerous literacy and numeracy issues, including workplace literacy and adult literacy.

“Thanks to the many dedicated and talented people who have contributed to ABC CANADA and its programs through the years, the importance of literacy has greater profile today and thousands upon thousands of individuals of all ages have benefited directly from the funds it has raised,” adds Middleton. “With recent statistics underlining a persistent low literacy and numeracy rate in Canada - revealed by Statistics Canada and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - these initiatives continue to be extremely important public-service mechanisms and a welcome service to the literacy community.”

For a list of organizations who have supported ABC CANADA through the years: www.abc-canada.org/sponsors.asp

Electronic versions of the Through the literacy lens statistics brochure are available as PDF files: Through the Literacy Lens - English [PDF, 103KB]