The Manitoba Task Force on Literacy conducted public hearings to determine the root causes of illiteracy in the province and to make recommendations for programs to help adults become literate. The Task Force was especially solicitous of the opinions of learners--illiterate people who are now participating in literacy education programs. Some of the causes the Task Force found were the following: (1) cultural differences/school-community conflicts; (2) socioeconomic problems; (3) individual/societal attitudes; (4) language differences or confusions; and (5) unmet special needs (such as learning disabilities and physical handicaps). The Task Force recommended that strategies should be created for keeping at-risk students on the path toward literacy in school. Other strategies should be devised for bringing back those who do leave school and creating appropriate adult literacy programs. The task force's 28 recommendations include several made for specific groups of potential learners, such as nonnative speakers of English and the aboriginal community. Others concern the establishment of Manitoba adult literacy council and a new literacy office within Manitoba Education, supports for the learner, the at-risk student, English as a second language, and training and education for educators and literacy workers. Throughout the report, potential learners and literacy project participants are quoted extensively. (KC)