News Release: Canada's Prosperity Endangered Without Federal Support for Digital Literacy

Ottawa - Canada's leading digital literacy organization, the Media Literacy Network (the Network) is sounding the alarm and warning that Canada will continue to fall behind other countries in terms of productivity and innovation unless a national digital literacy plan is in place.

In its brief presented as part of the consultation on the digital economy organized by the Government of Canada, the Network affirms that there is a link between Canada's declining performance in the field of the digital economy and the lack of a national digital literacy strategy. The document, titled Digital Literacy in Canada: From Inclusion to Transformation, calls on the federal government to show leadership and support solutions that will educate citizens who can fully use digital technologies and who are capable examine digital content critically.

“Canada is at a crossroads,” says Jane Tallim, co-executive director of the Network. We can continue to do business, educate our students, workers and citizens in the traditional way, or we can seize the new economic, social and cultural opportunities that digital technologies offer us. Other countries recognize that digital literacy must be a key component of their economic plans; Canada must do the same or risk falling behind. "

“Digital savvy citizens have the skills to access e-commerce, government and health services offered online; and they know how to effectively use technology to communicate, collaborate and create. These are skills that all Canadians - from children to seniors - need to actively participate in a digital society, ”concludes Ms. Tallim.

The Network briefly describes several actions the government needs to take to support digital literacy in Canada, including in the near future:
- create a working group responsible for developing a national digital literacy strategy plan;
- support research in Canada on the digital skills needed by Canadian children and adolescents;
- facilitate the holding of a summit bringing together the main stakeholders to discuss the implementation by the education sector, the government, the community and the employment training sector.

To read the discussion paper Digital Literacy in Canada: From Inclusion to Transformation, visit http://www.education-medias.ca/english/organization/galerie_de_presse/rapports-publications.cfm.