National Adult Literacy Database

Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, addressed the Association of Canadian Community Colleges this week in Ottawa. In her remarks she spoke of skills shortages in the Canadian labour market and the important role community colleges play in providing training opportunities for Canadians looking for new directions in a digital economy.

Colleges in Ontario are finally taking literacy seriously. Far from simply complaining that some students are entering college and university with low writing and reading skills, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario teamed up with Fanshawe College to see how this was impacting students.

Grandparents can be a valued resource when it comes to instilling children with a love of books and reading at an early age, those at a literacy awards events heard.

Registration is now open for the TD National Reading Summit coming up January 20-21, 2011. The summit, being held in Montreal, features speakers including: children’s author Shane Peacock; author and philosopher John Ralston Saul; composer and conductor John Kim Bell; singer/songwriter Susan Aglukark and author Jon Scieszka.

Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, has updated Canadians on the federal government’s progress toward a digital economy strategy. He has also announced several measures designed to position Canada for leadership in the global digital economy.

Aboriginal educators in BC insist that the idea of paying students to get good grades works, even though the idea was panned in Ontario.

With less than five weeks to go before Christmas, Canada Post confirms that Santa Claus has visited various post offices across Canada to ensure that postal elves are ready to help answer letters and emails sent by children from around the world.

There are only a few days left to enter the national Munsch at Home Contest for a chance to win a home visit from bestselling author and Family Literacy Day Honorary Chair Robert Munsch.

On November 2, 2010, the board of MCL met for its final annual general meeting, and then stepped aside to allow the new Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN) to begin its work. The new board will be guided by CLLN’s core belief — Canadian society truly values literacy and learning — at home, at work and in the community.

The Saskatchewan Aboriginal Literacy Network Inc. is seeking a Communications Co-ordinator for 1.5 days per week with potential for increase.

The NGO Training Fund will expand customized training opportunities for Yukon’s non-profit sector by enabling individual organizations to hire their own trainer.

The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) joined on November 15 with over 100 countries from around the world to celebrate the 11th annual International Education Week. This year’s theme for Canada is “International Education: Building a Society for the 21st Century.”

Campus Stores Canada and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations have called on the federal government to remove aspects of the Copyright Act that artificially inflate the cost of imported textbooks.

David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, travelled to Toronto on the weekend to visit the Rexdale Pathways to Education facility. Pathways to Education Canada, a not-for-profit organization of which he is patron, is focused on reducing the high school drop-out rate of youth in low-income communities.

Toronto educators call it the “gifted blitz.” Every year at this time, about 1,500 Grade 3 public school students in the city are invited to sit down for a battery of tests to determine their eligibility for various Grade 4 gifted programs next year.