Why use it?

There are many reasons, all of them good.

• 48 per cent of the population has difficulty reading printed materials and can deal only with simple and clearly laid out materials.
• More people, whether they have reading problems or not, will understand documents, how to fill out forms, and what is expected of them.
• Low literacy and other vulnerable people will be better served.
• Staff save time as they also understand the policies and other documents better and can answer questions more quickly and easily.
• Governments are more accessible to the public and save staff time.
• It saves money.
• It “is...the single most helpful technique...for ensuring that everyone understands court proceedings.”²⁵

Who uses it?

• Governments and businesses in Canada, the United States, Australia, and England—it saves money and increases efficiency.
• The Small Claims Court in British Columbia—the same staff can handle 40 per cent more work after its Acts, forms, and brochures were re-written in plain language.²⁶
• The Alberta Department of Agriculture—simplifying its forms saved easily $3.5 million.²⁷

25. Canadian Bar Association, Reading the Legal World, p. 34.
26. Joseph Kimble, “Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please”, Scribes Journal of Legal Writing (1996): p. 8.
27. Christine Mowat, “Alberta Agriculture Saves Money with Plain Language”, Clarity 38 (1997): p. 6.