Digital systems often assume users are fluent in English or French, comfortable with technical jargon, and able to navigate complex instructions. But for many Canadians, language and literacy are the real walls blocking access — not the absence of a smartphone or an internet connection.
Where Complexity Shows Up
Government forms online: Dense legal or bureaucratic language can shut people out of essential services.
Healthcare portals: Patients may struggle to book appointments or access records written in technical terms.
Apps and platforms: Interfaces overloaded with menus, acronyms, or “tech-speak” confuse new users.
Consent agreements: Lengthy privacy policies written at a university reading level discourage informed choice.
Canadian Context
Multilingual reality: Nearly 20% of Canadians speak a first language other than English or French.
Indigenous languages: Many digital tools lack support for Indigenous languages, furthering exclusion.
Literacy levels: About 40% of Canadian adults have literacy challenges that limit digital comprehension.
Policy efforts: Plain language guidelines exist, but uptake is inconsistent across agencies.
The Challenges
Overcomplication: Designers often build for experts, not everyday users.
Token translation: Offering only partial or poor-quality translation creates new risks.
Shame factor: People may avoid asking for help out of fear of looking “illiterate” in a digital space.
Informed consent: Users “agree” to terms they don’t truly understand.
The Opportunities
Plain language by default: Build tools at a Grade 6–8 reading level for broad accessibility.
Multilingual options: Support not just Canada’s official languages but also Indigenous and newcomer languages.
Visual and audio aids: Icons, diagrams, and voice interfaces can reduce dependence on text.
Community training: Libraries, schools, and nonprofits can help bridge literacy and digital gaps together.
The Bigger Picture
Complexity is a form of exclusion. By simplifying language and design, we don’t “dumb down” — we open up. In a diverse society, clarity is not a luxury, it’s a civic necessity.
The Question
What would it take for Canada to adopt “simplicity as a right” in digital services — ensuring that no one is locked out by the language or literacy barrier?
Language, Literacy, and Complexity
The Hidden Barriers to Access
Digital systems often assume users are fluent in English or French, comfortable with technical jargon, and able to navigate complex instructions. But for many Canadians, language and literacy are the real walls blocking access — not the absence of a smartphone or an internet connection.
Where Complexity Shows Up
Canadian Context
The Challenges
The Opportunities
The Bigger Picture
Complexity is a form of exclusion. By simplifying language and design, we don’t “dumb down” — we open up. In a diverse society, clarity is not a luxury, it’s a civic necessity.
The Question
What would it take for Canada to adopt “simplicity as a right” in digital services — ensuring that no one is locked out by the language or literacy barrier?