National Adult Literacy Database

Quebecers of both genders are not optimistic about the economy and their retirement, but women are even less so than men, according to the 2011 Canadian Unretirement Index released by Sun Life Financial this week.

One hundred years ago, only two countries allowed women to vote. Today that right is virtually universal and women have now been elected to lead governments in every continent. Women, too, hold leading positions in professions from which they were once banned.

A national campaign aimed at enriching volunteer experiences for Canadians and strengthening the volunteer sector has been launched by Volunteer Canada, the voice of volunteerism in Canada, and Manulife Financial, whose signature cause is to encourage volunteerism nationwide.

Parts of Canada’s North experienced spectacular economic growth between 1999 and 2008. However, this growth was not evenly shared across all Northern regions, according to the latest map in The Conference Board of Canada’s Here, the North series.

Sitting at your desk, coughing, wheezing and desperately reaching for the box of tissues every five minutes isn’t impressing your co-workers, according to a new survey about employees who come to work sick.

The Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) has launched a new online tool that allows users to measure the state of two crucial components of financial literacy – numeracy and document literacy – in more than 52,000 neighbourhoods and communities across the country.

“Despite the progress we have made to date on evolving human rights for women, the celebration of International Women’s Day should be a useful reminder that the goal of full equality and equal opportunity remains an unsatisfied promise for many women in Canada, as well as in less developed countries.” – Randy Dickinson, Chair of New Brunswick Human Rights Commission

The Northwest Territories Literacy Council has developed an interactive learning tool titled Essential Skills at Work in the North. Funded by the Government of Canada and the Northwest Territories Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the tool is designed to help northerners learn what it takes to succeed in various jobs.

Each month NALD releases Library user statistics in a feature known as the Top 20 downloads/20 Plus téléchargés. The report examines the number of NALD Library documents, in both English and French, which are viewed and downloaded by visitors to the websites NALD, NALD@Work, BDAA and BDAA@uTravail.

A program that takes a unique approach to learning disabilities by challenging students to retrain their brains is under review by the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

“There is a context and set of conditions within which the employer has to work,” said André Marois of Quebec’s Privacy Commission. “A company policy on email usage has to be made known to staff, explaining how they are to use it and that they’ll be subject to inquiries if they go beyond an established norm of usage.”

Prospective university, college and vocational students have a tough decision to make in selecting the right program that will launch their career. With so many post-secondary schools to choose from, students are being reminded at learning institutions to make the most of their education options.

Literacy is about "cultivating the fundamental need in most boys to be the hero of their own story, and showing them how they can experience it through the power of the written word."