- In part a reflection of differing levels of formal education
and use of a mother tongue other than English or French, the
literacy performance of
the Aboriginal populations surveyed is lower than that of the
total Canadian population.
- The proportion of immigrants whose mother tongue is neither English
nor French at Level 1 on the prose literacy scale is about twice that of
immigrants with a mother tongue of English or French and over three
times that of the Canadian-born population.
- Proficiency of Canadians, aged 16 to 65, in literacy,
numeracy and problem solving is clearly linked to their labour
market outcomes. The
average proficiency scores of those employed are higher than
those who are either unemployed or not in the labour force.
- Respondents reporting poor health score lower on the
document literacy scale compared with those reporting fair,
good or excellent health.
Although the nature of this relationship needs to be explored
further, the evidence suggests that health issues and literacy
issues intersect.
- Higher levels of prose literacy are associated with higher
engagement in various community activities. Literacy may be
a key factor in building a
socially engaged community, while such a community in turn
may be more likely to develop a literacy rich environment to
sustain and improve
its literacy base.