Melanie Valcin, the president and CEO of United for Literacy, an organization that aims to improve Canadiansβ understanding of written language, believes βwe have a big problem when it comes to literacy rates in this country.β
βWe see how literacy changes everything, and how people who are struggling with literacy are really left behind,β she told CTVβs Your Morning on Tuesday.
βWe have one Canadian out of five who is struggling, for an example, to read the prescription on a bottle of medicine, or is struggling to navigate the health system, or is struggling to vote.β
Reasons for insufficient literacy skills, Valcin said, include Canadians not completing high school, learning disabilities, or steep learning curves for newcomers who are learning a new language.
βIf you are struggling with reading or writing or even with numeracy or your digital literacy, then how can you navigate the world in which we live today?β Valcin said, pointing out that such difficulties can stand in the way of applications or forms for employment, housing, and other written material the wields basic needs.
βOften we can correlate the cycle of poverty with the cycle of low literacy,β she said.
Valcin added that low literacy not only affects individuals but the countryβs economy. βIt affects our productivity, it affects our prosperity, and, frankly, it affects our human rights in this country.β
To learn more about Valcinβs take on Canadaβs literacy, watch the video above.
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Tattoos are becoming more common in today's society and, as a result, appear to be more acceptable in the workplace than they used to be.
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While slang may come and go, experts say the phenomenon behind them, which constantly churns out brand-new bon mots, is as old as language itself.
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