• Level 3: 22 per cent read at this level: they would have difficulty
  • reading a standard rental agreement or lease and finding the section that deals with a particular issue, such as who is responsible for repairs;
  • finding and using information in documents or letters if the information is not stated clearly and explicitly or if it is written in “traditional” legal language;
  • preparing a financial statement for an application for child support.
• Level 4: 62 per cent read at this level and
  • can read most everyday material;
  • can integrate information from several parts of a document;
  • would have some problems rewording a news account of a legal decision.

What are the costs of low literacy?

To society

Low literacy costs all of us money—an estimated $5 billion in 1987.16

There is the time lost, information not understood, errors made, work having to be redone, appointments missed, and underemployment. Our own economy and our ability to compete in the expanding global economy are affected by low literacy skills of many of the population.

Employment problems for low literacy Canadians are growing and that affects Canadian business.¹⁷

16. Canadian Business Task Force on Literacy, Measuring the Costs of Illiteracy in Canada (1988), see generally.
17. Robert Deslauriers, The Impact of Employee Illiteracy on Canadian Business (Ottawa: Conference Board of Canada, 1992), see generally.