NUPGE warns there will be big costs to Harper

Adult literacy programs have been deemed a low priority

Ottawa (5 October 2006) – The National Union is demanding that the Harper government restore the $17.7 million it cut from adult literacy programs last week and warns there will be social and economic costs if the government refuses to do so.

“The Harper government has got its priorities all wrong,” says Larry Brown, secretary-treasurer of the National Union. “At a time when the federal government is reporting record surpluses it just doesn’t make sense to cut back on the investments Canadians need to get ahead in life.”

The Harper Conservatives announced last week that they will use a $13.2 billion surplus from last year to pay down the national debt while at the same time cutting as much as $2 billion over the next two years from programs they do not consider priorities.

Adult literacy programs have been deemed a low priority and as part of last week’s announcement the Harper government cut $17.7 million from these programs across the country.

“Canada has a low-literacy problem, we hear stories everyday about shortages of skilled workers, and we all understand that investing in literacy skills is crucial to building both a productive and an inclusive society,” says Brown.

“Yet the Harper government is slashing funding aimed at raising the skill levels of our workforce. These cuts will force literacy organizations across the country to shutdown. They will exacerbate the literacy problems and undermine economic growth in Canada. What they’re doing goes against common sense,” adds Brown.

The cuts have sent shockwaves through the literacy community.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Wendy DesBrisay, with the Movement for Canadian Literacy, said "the cuts will decimate the infrastructure built co-operatively by all levels of government and the literacy community and will set us back years in our ability to meet the literacy challenges of Canadians."

Margaret Eaton, President of ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation told the same news conference that “the cuts translate to thousands upon thousands of Canadian adults with low literacy left with fewer programs to turn to."

“Closing the door on a significant sector of Canada’s workforce – Statistics Canada says there are nine million adult Canadians struggling with low literacy – ignores the dramatic impact increased literacy skills can have on productivity and economic prosperity,” says Eaton.