• 48 per cent of Canadians aged 16+ do not have the necessary knowledge to perform simple math based on printed documents such as calculating a tip, or interest on a loan.¹³

Compounding the problem is that the mother tongue of many Canadians is neither English nor French. And if these Canadians have low literacy skills in their mother tongue, they will also have them in French or English.

Another survey by Statistics Canada looked at the reading levels of Canadians and the day-to-day practical tasks we all do.¹⁴ Then the Canadian Bar Association “translated” the everyday tasks into basic legal tasks. The levels of reading and understanding are the same as those used in the Statistics Canada survey.¹⁵ These examples show clearly how challenging life is for Canadians without literacy skills.

• Level 1: 7 per cent read at this level; they would have difficulty
  • signing a simplified lease in the space designated for the tenant’s signature if there were several places for signatures;
  • finding the appointment time in a simply written letter from a lawyer;
  • finding out when to reply or to appear after receiving a court notice or summons.
• Level 2: 9 per cent read at this level; they would have difficulty
  • consulting the Yellow Pages to find a local legal aid office in a list of several offices;
  • finding the two mornings a week when their counsellor is available in a schedule of office hours of three family court counsellors;
  • looking at a catalogue of brochures about legal subjects and filling in an order form with publication numbers and prices.

13. Statistics Canada, et al., Reading the Future, as referred to in Issues and Challenges in Communicating with Less Literate Canadians, Canada Information Office, June 2000, p. 1.
14. Statistics Canada, The Survey of Literacy Skills Used in Daily Activities (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 1990), see generally.
15. Canadian Bar Association, Reading the Legal World: Literacy and Justice in Canada (Ottawa: CBA, 1992), p. 21–23.