Melanie Valcin, the president and CEO of United for Literacy, an organization that aims to improve Canadians鈥� understanding of written language, believes 鈥渨e have a big problem when it comes to literacy rates in this country.鈥�
鈥淲e see how literacy changes everything, and how people who are struggling with literacy are really left behind,鈥� she told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Tuesday.
鈥淲e 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.鈥�
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.
鈥淚f 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?鈥� 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.
鈥淥ften we can correlate the cycle of poverty with the cycle of low literacy,鈥� she said.
Valcin added that low literacy not only affects individuals but the country鈥檚 economy. 鈥淚t affects our productivity, it affects our prosperity, and, frankly, it affects our human rights in this country.鈥�
To learn more about Valcin鈥檚 take on Canada鈥檚 literacy, watch the video above.
