And by the way, many lawyers are enthusiastic plain language writers. They are not only improving their own writing, but teaching law students and legal drafters. They even have an international legal journal devoted to plain language.^{Footnote 1}

We want to reverse the extraordinarily strange situation that free societies have arrived at where their members enter binding obligations they do not understand and are governed from cradle to grave by texts they often cannot comprehend.
—David Elliott

In Alberta
Many departments in the provincial government too are changing their style of writing so that it is easier to read. Among others, Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, Alberta Health & Wellness, and the Human Rights & Citizenship Commission have all had documents written in plain language. Persons with Developmental Disabilities Boards and staff understand the need for low-literacy plain language.

Non-government plain language
It is harder to list the commitment to plain language by individuals and nongovernment organizations, but we know there are many places where it is being used effectively. Local Calgary non-profit organizations include many rehabilitation agencies, Planned Parenthood Alberta, the MS Society, the Parkinson’s Society of Southern Alberta, AIDS Calgary, Calgary Centre for Newcomers, and the Women’s Centre of Calgary.

The Canadian Labour Congress has rewritten its constitution in clear language and printed the new version alongside the original version in a booklet called “Canadian Labour Congress Constitution in Clear Language: Unions make a difference in people’s lives.”^{Footnote 2} [See Appendix C for a sample.]

The Canadian Public Health Association promotes plain language and produces information on how to write it.

Most provinces have literacy organizations which recognize the need for plain language.

Literacy Alberta has fact sheets about literacy and the effects of low literacy on other aspects of life such as employment, written as easier-to-read materials. In Manitoba, Partners in Literacy has rewritten many documents to be accessible for lower-literacy readers.

These are only a few of the organizations and government departments now trying to use plain language. Some plain language documents are better than others, but at least it is a beginning and some are very good indeed.