Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The literacy strategy that needs to be addressed in the Territories starts at the early childhood level. We have to develop, and I am speaking hypothetically, because it will require resources to implement any kind of strategy, but let us speak in terms of looking at early childhood to start with.
We need programs such as the Aboriginal Head Start program in all of our communities to prepare children to be ready for school. In the school system, we need to address the whole issue of the literacy levels of our students. Are we achieving appropriate levels? If they are at a grade 9 level, can they read at a grade 9 level?
I do not know whether this can be instituted, but certainly we can start looking at the potential of doing some piloting, perhaps, of having students be at the level they are supposed to be at. If not, then we can address that issue and perhaps look at a grade 3, grade 6, grade 9, and when they move into the high school level.
Then we need programs outside of that to support those who are no longer in the school system. That may be through the college, or it may be through the delivery in communities by NGOs.
Tying literacy together with the culture of the North, we have to address the whole area of aboriginal language retention and aboriginal language promotion. That is another area of concern, of course, because there is a tremendous loss experienced in the last number of years, of people being able to speak their aboriginal language.
We need to address that in the school system. It is there partially, that we have some mechanisms in place to do that. We need to continue to look at programs like Dene Kede and Inuuqatigiit, and the development of aboriginal programs, because they also address the whole literacy area. Thank you.