| Workshop participants say there are two
main barriers to the government adopting plain language. In both cases,
participants lay responsibility at the door of senior government officials.
They say the first barrier is that Ministers and senior management
do not use plain language when they review and change documents.
Secondly, they say that many senior officials believe that jargon
and complex sentences give the appearance that a person or organization
is in control and educated.
Promoting a GNWT plain language plan
The NWT Literacy Council believes training is essential to increased
use of plain language. However, training on its own is not enough to
sustain plain language use over the longer term.
The Council recommends a GNWT-wide commitment and plan to advance
plain language use. Such a commitment and plan would include support
and direction from senior management, promotion within the government,
and further training opportunities.
As a first step to developing such a plan, this paper looks at the
plain language policies, plans, and practices among a selection of Canadian
jurisdictions and agencies.
3. Overview of Plain Language Use
Plain language use by governments in Canada is increasing. However,
it happens on a project-by-project basis and does not include all communications.
Plain language use ranges from new plain language legislation to revised
high school report cards.1 Plain language has yet to become
a standard across any government. Plain language use often relies on
the expertise of outside consultants.
The Canadian government commits to using plain language within its
communications policy. It has published a communications toolkit and
information about how to communicate with specific groups, such as seniors,
aboriginal people, and less literate Canadians.
Like the federal government, no provincial or territorial government
has a stand-alone plain language policy. A plain language policy was
drafted by Communications Nova Scotia, but it was not approved by the
government.
The GNWT has made commitments to plain language both in its Literacy
Strategy, and in Doing Our Part: The GNWT’s Response to the Social
Agenda. Its Communications Policy says: “government communications
should use simple language and clear symbols in order to achieve clarity
and ease of understanding.”
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