Some specific components of an Adult Literacy Strategy were emphasized:

• The teaching/learning process
• Employment-related literacy
• Recognition of the specific skills of the instructors/teachers
• A distinctly Aboriginal approach
• Explicit strategies to address students with disabilities
• Health literacy
• Increased funding
• Cross departmental coherence
• Inclusion of public libraries
• Plain language
• Cautionary use of regulations
• A structure to provide input to the Minister
• Promotion activities

In the literacy strategy, what are the key roles for government, industry, individuals and communities?

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

Most of the input called upon the provincial government to play a leadership role in the strategy by facilitating a spirit of collaboration with all stakeholders and creating a structure and process for collaboration on implementation and evaluation. Government should:

• Lead any literacy promotion campaign.
• Provide better core funding.
• Support new program establishment to provide better access.
• Ensure that special supports are in place, particularly to assist in assessment and referral and to provide learner support for accessing other services related to health, housing, family or personal counseling, child care, and transportation for example. Most of the opinions on this saw these services provided by an agency outside of government.
• Raise awareness levels of the importance of literacy throughout all government departments particularly in communication to the public.
• Coordinate efforts with the school system. i.e. the strategy should be for all ages.
• Partner with the federal government on items of mutual jurisdiction (e.g. Aboriginal literacy, workplace literacy).
• Continue to develop strategies and partnerships to address employment related literacy.