On September 8, 1997 the Honourable Pierre S. Pettigrew, Minister of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) announced the appointment of Senator Joyce Fairbairn as his Special Advisor for Literacy. Senator Fairbairn has played an important role in advancing literacy in this country for a number of years. As the former Government Leader in the Senate and Minister with special responsibility for Literacy, she earned the respect of the literacy community in Canada.

Strong literacy skills are associated with employment stability, higher incomes and access to jobs. As industrialized countries around the world strive to maintain and expand their share of high-wage jobs, a highly-skilled and literate workforce is crucial to a strong and internationally competitive economy. In order to demonstrate its commitment to helping Canadians in their transition to a knowledge-based economy, the Government of Canada increased funding to the National Literacy Secretariat of HRDC by $7 million in 1997, to an overall budget of $29.3 million annually in last February's federal budget.

Recent accomplishments for literacy by the Government of Canada also include:

	The International Adult Literacy Survey which measured the extent of adult literacy skills in each of the participating countries.
	Support of the first detailed study on "Literacy Skills of Canadian Youth." (See "Continuing IALS Research".)
	A 100% GST rebate on all books purchased by public libraries, universities, public colleges, municipalities, qualifying charities and nonprofit literacy organizations.

The first of 15 planned monographs, following the November 1996 release of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), was released in September '97. It is entitled "Literacy Skills of Canadian Youth".

This study examines in greater detail the distribution of literacy skills of Canadian youth. Adults aged 16 to 25 can be described as "in transition" from completing their formal schooling to entering the labour market. Thus, the analyses examine the effects of formal schooling on literacy levels. The analyses also examine inter-provincial differences in literacy levels and gradients, with substantial implications for educational policies. The federal role in education has been limited to transfer payments for postsecondary education, and now federal transfers do not even refer to this level of education (Dupre, 1996). In this setting, interprovincial differences have considerable implications for provincial policy-makers who are accountable for the success of the schooling system.

Copies are available from Statistics Canada ($10.), catalogue no. 89-552-MPE. An electronic version, catalogue no. 89-552-MIE, is available free of charge from Statistics Canada Web site: <www.statcan.ca>Telephone: 613-951-7277 or 1-800-700-1033, by fax 613-951-1584 or 1-800-889-9734.

Orders can be sent to: Statistics Canada, Operations and Integration Division, Circulation Management, 120 Parkdale Ave., Ottawa, ON K1A 0T6.