Political parties respond to Canada’s literacy and essential skills challenge
Here's what we asked the parties:
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1. In your party’s view, what is the appropriate federal government role in helping Canadians improve their literacy and essential skills?
2. In your party’s view, what is the most appropriate policy response to improving the literacy and essential skills of Canadians?
3. What, if any, programs would your party develop, sustain or adapt to help improve the literacy and essential skills of Canadians? If proposing new programs, or changes to existing programs, please describe these changes.
Read the responses below or download them here.
*Responses presented in alphabetical order
Note: The Conservative Party of Canada informed Imagine Canada that as a matter of policy it does not respond to questionnaires of this nature.
Bloc Québécois
Les services de litéracie sont essentiels. Le gouvernement conservateur, qui a procédé à d’importantes coupes dans les groupes communautaires, notamment les groupes d’alphabétisation, ne semble toutefois pas reconnaitre leur apport. Pour le Bloc Québécois, la lutte contre le déficit ne doit pas servir de prétexte à toutes sortes de compressions de nature idéologique.
Bien que le Bloc Québécois réclame un réinvestissement, il estime que l’apprentissage, l’alphabétisation et l’acquisition de compétences essentielles représentent des champs de compétence du gouvernement québécois, le seul maître d’œuvre en matière d’éducation au Québec. Celui-ci étant le mieux à même de mettre sur pieds les services adaptés aux besoins de sa population, il devrait obtenir sa juste part du financement alloué à cet égard et ce, sans condition.
Le Bloc Québécois estime par ailleurs que le gouvernement fédéral devrait régler le litige concernant le Transfert canadien en matière de programmes sociaux de 3,5 milliards de dollars à l’échelle canadienne. En effet, dans le cadre de ce transfert, le manque à gagner pour l’éducation au Québec représente plus de 800 millions de dollars.
The Green Party of Canada
1. In your party’s view, what is the appropriate federal government role in helping Canadians improve their literacy and essential skills?
The Green Party of Canada believes that the government’s role is to eliminate any barriers to access for education and to track our literacy and education levels to ensure that they are increasing. We propose to do this by creating a new and innovative accounting method that embraces a systematic and comprehensive definition of well-being. Literacy and educational levels will be incorporated into this Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), allowing for a more accurate measurement and a more efficient distribution of federal educational funding.
2. In your party’s view, what is the most appropriate policy response to improving the literacy and essential skills of Canadians?
The Green Party believes that eliminating financial barriers to education is the best way to encourage Canadians to improve their literacy and essential skills. Greens believe that universal access for every qualified individual to affordable post-secondary education and training is a basic right. Greens seek to eliminate financial barriers that currently prevent access. There are significant social returns when the government invests in education; it is the key to equity of opportunity, personal growth and enrichment, informed democratic debate and decision making, social mobility, and the research and development that are essential to deal with climate change and a multitude of other challenges. It is the key to a good economy and a prosperous society. We will target specific help for groups with lower literacy rates by investing in Early Intervention Programs through partnerships with other governments and through additional funding for Targeted Non-repayable Assistance, Academic Support, Mentorship, and Campus Exposure Programs with an emphasis on low-income, first generation, and Aboriginal students and communities. In addition, the Green Party would incorporate literacy and educational levels into a new national GPI, to provide the government with better information so it can do a better job of taxation and revenue-sharing with the other levels of government and government funded programs.
3. What, if any, programs would your party develop, sustain or adapt to help improve the literacy and essential skills of Canadians? If proposing new programs, or changes to existing programs, please describe these changes.
The Green Party will implement programs that will increase funding and accessibility for post secondary education to improve literacy and essential skills of Canadians. Green Party MPs will:
• Work with the provinces to support lifelong learning programs aimed at enabling older Canadians to pursue post-secondary education to gain new knowledge and skills.
• Increase funding for a needs-based Canadian National Student Loan and Bursary
• Invest in Early Intervention Programs through partnerships with other governments and through additional funding for Targeted Non-repayable Assistance, Academic Support, Mentorship, and Campus Exposure Programs with an emphasis on low-income, first generation, and Aboriginal students and communities.
• Allow all students eligibility for guaranteed student loans up to their rate of tuition regardless of parental income.
• Exempt academic materials from the GST and/or any other federal sales taxes that may be implemented in the future.
• Support integrated education and co-operative programs through the restoration and expansion of the federal student summer job program.
• Support expanding industry-based job training and apprenticeship programs to address shortages of trained workers in specific industries and workers in need of retraining.
Liberal Party of Canada
1. In your party’s view, what is the appropriate federal government role in helping Canadians improve their literacy and essential skills?
The challenge of learning is one for all Canadians, and is crucial to the goal of making equal opportunity a reality for every family. Learning must become a Canada-wide priority to maintain and enhance our standard of living and economic competitiveness in the years ahead.
Studies show that more than 40 percent of adults lack the literacy skills they need to succeed in the modern economy. New Canadians often face the particular challenge of mastering one or both of the official languages of their new home.
That is why the federal government must adopt a leadership role in developing strategies to improve literacy rates. Provincial governments and local agencies are best placed to act in this area, and a Liberal government will offer support as part of our Canadian Learning Strategy.
2. In your party’s view, what is the most appropriate policy response to improving the literacy and essential skills of Canadians?
A Liberal government will begin implementing The Canadian Learning Strategy as soon as it takes office. The Canadian Learning Strategy will include the following major initiatives:
• Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund
• The Learning Passport
• Aboriginal Learning
• Expanded Language Training for New Canadians
• Veterans Learning Benefit
• The International Dimension of Canadian Learning
We are also committing to working with the provinces and local agencies on the challenge of literacy as part of our Learning Strategy.
3. What, if any, programs would your party develop, sustain or adapt to help improve the literacy and essential skills of Canadians; if proposing new programs, or changes to existing programs, please describe these changes.
A Liberal government will establish a new Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund that will begin with $500 million in the first year, rising to an annual commitment of $1 billion by the fourth year. Administered as a new social infrastructure fund, provinces and territories will be able to apply to the Fund for cost-sharing of early childhood learning and care plans that create and operate new, affordable, high-quality early childhood learning and care spaces across Canada, with well-trained professional staff.
A Liberal government will introduce the Canadian Learning Passport, a significant financial boost for higher education delivered directly to families. It will provide $1,000 a year over four years for every high school student in Canada to use for college, university or CÉGEP. For students in low income families, the amount will be $1,500 a year, or an extra $6,000 in total.
A Liberal government will introduce an Aboriginal Learning initiative in which we will commit to working with Aboriginal leaders toward the goal of ensuring Aboriginal people have the same quality of opportunities to learn as other Canadians.
A Liberal government will implement a new Veterans’ Learning Benefit that provides full support for the costs of up to four years of college, university or technical education for Canadian Forces veterans after completion of service.
Liberals believe it’s in everyone’s interests that new Canadians succeed in the workforce, and can fully participate in the daily life of their communities. Under the Canadian Learning Strategy, a Liberal government will significantly increase federal investment to improve and expand language skills training programs, ramping up to an increase of $100 million annually within four years. We will expand eligibility to include foreign born Canadian citizens who need help improving their English or French, and work with partners to make language training more flexible and accessible, and better inform potential participants to increase take-up.
Studies show that more than 40 percent of adults lack the literacy skills they need to succeed in the modern economy. New Canadians often face the particular challenge of mastering one or both of the official languages of their new home.
That is why the federal government must adopt a leadership role in developing strategies to improve literacy rates. Provincial governments and local agencies are best placed to act in this area, and a Liberal government will offer support as part of our Canadian Learning Strategy.
New Democratic Party (NDP)
Thank you for the opportunity to highlight the New Democratic Party of Canada’s stance on literacy.
With over nine million Canadian adults who need improved literacy skills to succeed in today's workplace and society, and millions more — of all ages — who could benefit from better access to quality literacy, skills training and other learning opportunities. New Democrats believe that the federal government has a strong role to play in helping Canadians improve their literacy and essential skills.
The NDP will work towards establishing a pan-Canadian strategy on literacy and lifelong learning in consultation with the provinces, territories, Aboriginal leadership and stakeholders. The strategy would go beyond simply restoring the Conservative funding cuts to literacy programs. It would end the chronic federal neglect by requiring a commitment to adequate long-term federal funding, leadership, and collaboration with provinces and territories to address Canada's literacy and learning challenges.
Improving Canadians literacy is essential to improving Canada’s economic, social and cultural wellbeing.
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