Bill C-316

1st Session, 39th Parliament,

55 Elizabeth II, 2006

house of commons of canada

BILL C-316

An Act to establish a national literacy policy

WHEREAS literacy is a prerequisite for social and economic development and should be recognized as a basic human right;

WHEREAS approximately thirty-eight per cent of Canadians have difficulty reading and writing;

WHEREAS illiteracy costs Canadian society approximately ten billion dollars annually;

WHEREAS literacy programs in Canada generally lack the funding, coordination with other programs, and accessibility necessary for long-term success;

WHEREAS the number of unskilled workers in Canada is increasing, while employment opportunities for these workers are decreasing;

WHEREAS illiteracy facilitates and perpetuates the economic stagnation of those whom it affects, which will in turn severely impede Canada’s ability to maintain its position as an innovative and competitive world leader;

AND WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada is committed to facilitating the cooperation of all levels of government in order to reduce illiteracy;

NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the National Literacy Policy Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The definitions in this section apply in this Act.

“Canadian” means a citizen or a resident of Canada.

“Committee” means the Literacy Policy Advisory Committee established under section 8.

“literacy” means the ability to read, write, speak, understand and calculate in a language at the level necessary to function in the community, the workplace and the home.

“Minister” means the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

“national literacy policy” means a uniform set of initiatives to be implemented throughout Canada to help Canadians achieve basic literacy.

PURPOSE

3. The purpose of this Act is to initiate a process to establish a national literacy policy.

NATIONAL LITERACY POLICY

4. The Minister shall, in consultation with the provincial ministers of the Crown responsible for education and literacy, experts in education and literacy, representatives of business and labour, and representatives of the media, establish a national literacy policy designed to

(a) monitor students’ basic reading and writing skills and encourage them to value literacy;

(b) encourage literacy in the workplace through various measures, including the provision of literacy incentives at work and the availability of seminars, training and resource offices in the workplace to identify illiteracy and enable those with literacy problems to seek help in confidence;

(c) encourage literacy in the community through various measures, including the promotion of literacy awareness and the availability of seminars, training and resource offices in the community to enable those with literacy problems to seek help in confidence; and

(d) encourage the media to take initiatives to promote literacy awareness and to take a leading role in devising a national advertising campaign aimed at fighting illiteracy.

5. The Minister, in consultation with the provincial ministers of the Crown responsible for education and literacy, shall encourage and promote a coordinated approach to the implementation of the national literacy policy and may provide advice and assistance in the development and implementation of programs and practices in support of the policy.

6. (1) The Minister shall take any measures that the Minister considers appropriate to implement the national literacy policy and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may

(a) assist the business community, labour organizations, voluntary and other private organizations, as well as public institutions, to adopt the national literacy policy;

(b) provide support to individuals, groups and organizations for the purpose of promoting the national literacy policy and ensuring its adoption;

(c) establish and maintain a register of resources that are available to literacy students, literacy teachers and literacy programs administrators; and

(d) undertake any other projects or programs, not by law assigned to any other federal institution that are designed to promote the national literacy policy.

(2) The Minister may enter into an agreement or arrangement with any province respecting the implementation of the national literacy policy.

7. (1) The provincial ministers of the Crown shall, in the execution of their respective mandates, take any measures that they consider appropriate to implement the national literacy policy.

(2) A provincial minister of the Crown may enter into an agreement or arrangement with any province respecting the implementation of the national literacy policy.

LITERACY POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

8. (1) The Minister may establish a committee, to be known as the Literacy Policy Advisory Committee, to advise and assist the Minister with respect to the implementation of this Act and any other matter relating to literacy and, in consultation with any organizations representing literacy interests that the Minister deems appropriate, may appoint the members and designate the chairperson and other officers of the Committee.

(2) The Minister shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the Committee’s membership consists of experts in education and literacy, representatives of business and labour, and representatives of the media.

REPORT

9. The chairperson of the Committee shall, within four months after the end of each fiscal year, submit to the Minister a report on the activities of the Committee for that year and on any other matter relating to the implementation of the national literacy policy that the chairperson considers appropriate.

10. The Minister shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first ten days on which that House is sitting after the Minister receives the report.

11. A committee of the House of Commons, of the Senate or of both Houses of Parliament that may be designated or established for the purpose shall review on a permanent basis the operation of the Act and shall review each year the report made under section 9.