Manitoba

In Manitoba, school divisions in Winnipeg and Selkirk have offered literacy programs since the 1970s. In 1984 the Adult and Continuing Education Branch, which had been sponsoring ESL activity, was given literacy responsibility, and the New Initiatives Program was started. By 1987-8 it sponsored 14 programs. In 1988, a Manitoba Task Force on Literacy was appointed to recommend strategy, based on a process of research and consultation hearings. Its 1989 report, Pathways for the Learner,¹¹² recommends a community-based and learner-centred approach — centred "on the motivations, desires and commitment" of people with limited literacy. The metaphor in its title suggests that for those for whom the usual "highway to literacy" (the school) has not worked out, different "pathways to literacy" are needed. The Task Force takes it as a "working principle" that literacy is a "fundamental right of all citizens."

The outcome of this process has been a substantial gain of credibility and a substantial percentage increase in funding for programming arrangements with strong roots in communities; local groups assess local needs, and plan and operate programs. In 1989-90 there were 23 provincially funded community programs, and five federally funded programs. In 1990-91 the number of provincially sponsored programs increased to 27.¹¹³ There is a strong preference for paid teachers and group study situations. There are also several other volunteer and community programs, under other auspices. Especially outside urban areas, the programs are overwhelmingly aboriginal.

A Literacy Office, now guided by a non-governmental body, the Manitoba Literacy Council, provides training for teachers and volunteers, assistance in developing or locating learning materials, networking, and public awareness. Plans for the 1990s include an expansion of existing programming forms, movement into workplace literacy, and co-ordination of all programming activity.