Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to call your attention to a matter that affects too many of our Northern residents. Mr. Speaker, I feel there is an urgent need to address the current level of literacy in the North. In particular, how literacy, or the lack of it, affects the inmates at our correctional centres.

Mr. Speaker, I was quite shocked to read that the average education level of an inmate in our correctional system is grade 6. Mr. Speaker, in many cases, the situation that inmates find themselves in can be closely related to the level of education they have.

Statistics show that the higher the level of education, individuals are less likely to get themselves in trouble with the law. Mr. Speaker, I suggest that an inmate with a level of education of grade 6 or less has already been sentenced to a hard life, regardless of any sentence imposed by the courts.

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to suggest that we write these individuals off. Rather, I suggest that we do everything we can to help them help themselves. Mr. Speaker, we are all aware that literacy affects the life choices that we make for ourselves.

I urge the Minister responsible to make a commitment to improve the level of literacy in our correctional centres. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too have a lot of concerns in this area, especially in the area of the ABE program and literacy in our communities. We find that the money that we save in our communities for the ABE program is not sufficient in most cases. We just have part-time positions. We do not have the resources to do justice to the number of adults in our communities that need these programs to assist them to get on with their lives, so that they can have good jobs and good opportunities in our communities with the economics that we have.

Yet, Mr. Speaker, there is definitely a difference of programs being delivered, especially in the small communities in relation to the larger centres. I, for one, feel that this government has to be fair in how these dollars are allocated. In most cases, these positions should be full-time and that there is no reason that we should continue these part-time obligations, where we are dealing with funds which are not planned for any long-term opportunities for people to plan for themselves and also for their children. So that they know that they will be able to take a course, not just depending on one year at a time, but realizing that the funds we do get will be there to assist the whole community, from adults, to teenagers, to children who are coming up who may want to take programs and services in our home communities.

Mr. Speaker, I feel that the Department of Education has to put more resources into this important initiative to improve the basic adult education program and the literacy numbers we have in our communities. We have to, somehow, focus on improving those numbers so that they do come down to a reasonable number.

I mentioned in my comments, in the last number of days, where in my riding we have, in some cases in communities up to almost 40 percent of the people, above the age of 15, who are considered illiterate and do not have anything more than a grade 9 education.

In order to take advantage of the number of jobs that we see coming, especially in the Beaufort Delta, somewhere in the area of 1500 to 1600 jobs, we need trained and educated people, regardless of their age group. This program, I see, is very important, especially in adult basic education and improving our literacy. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise here today to talk about the need for this government to make a commitment to adult basic education and literacy.

In the last year, we have seen the sunset of a million dollar program, called the Community Skills for Work. The department is bringing it back, to some degree, putting some money back into it, but there were indications that they were not happy with either the efficiency or the effectiveness of the program being delivered.

Success rates did not seem to show that they were getting value for money, Mr. Speaker, but I would suggest to you that when we take a look at the labour force survey, and we see the staggering low levels of education and we understand that there is a correlation between education and income.

I asked about the review that the department did of the Community Skills for Work, and asking the right questions, looking in the right places. I think it is important that we make the commitment. When we see waiting lists around the various communities for adult basic education programs that go on for a year and sometimes two years, we know there is certainly an interest in these programs.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to talk about delivery of adult basic education and how the department chooses to deliver its programs. Typically, adults who want to go back to school have a couple of choices. They can go back to high school with students maybe half their age, but they do not often have the option of taking night school. So, in effect, what we do is we force them to go on income support, Mr. Speaker, if they choose to upgrade and pursue further education.

I do not think this makes any sense. I think it is something the department has to closely look at.

Yesterday, I also brought up the issue of distance learning and the DCN, and applauded the department for some of the things it is doing, especially in conjunction with the Calgary School Board. We discussed text versus visual use of the DCN. I think it is going to be important to realize that if we hope the DCN can bridge the gap and start to be used for applications like adult basic education, visual learning is critical for adults. We are going to have to be able to deliver programs over the DCN. I think this is certainly something the department should consider.

Was the Community Skills for Work Program efficient and effective, Mr. Speaker? I do not have the answer to that, but I do not believe the department does either. I think some more thought had to go into this. I am glad they decided to put some more money into this.

It is a time, Mr. Speaker, where we need to be doing more for adult basic education, not less. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier and the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development have said on many occasions, the Northwest Territories has tremendous economic potential. With proper planning and management, we have the chance to be one of the more affluent provinces or territories, only, Mr. Speaker, as long as our citizens are able to fully participate in these economic opportunities.

The June newsletter of the BHP Incorporated, Ekati mine, Mr. Speaker, shows the workforce requirement by job application. They have a job classification that is roughly 83 percent requiring professional skilled to semi-skilled workforce. That leaves only 17 percent classified as unskilled.

The message is clear. We need a literate population, people who can function in society and, Mr. Speaker, there is work underway of many levels to help. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of organisations such as the Tree of Peace and other friendship centres, the YWCA, the Native Women's Association of the Northwest Territories, the Women's Centre here in Yellowknife, and the Northwest Territories Literacy Council for their commitment.

This Assembly too, through its vision statement, Mr. Speaker, wants to encourage pride and desire to be positive contributors and give a sense of initiative to all people in the North.

One of the greatest issues facing us is the development of self-reliance in the socio-economic area. Through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment Income Support Program and the auctions under productive choices, we can develop increased self-reliance if the appropriate support programs and skills are in place.

The problem, which requires priority attention, is literacy. It is perhaps the deepest valley in the record of education in the North over the decades, Mr. Speaker. The statistics are dismal on literacy among aboriginal people, especially in smaller remote communities. Systemic discrimination, residential schools, and more recently, the daunting issue of FAE, FAS, are among the events that I believe have combined to confront us today with so many people who cannot cope in today's literate world.

People working at the grassroots tell me, Mr. Speaker, that the government does not take literacy seriously. When funding for literacy for 14 women from across the Territories had to be funded by eight different sources, some as far away as Toronto....

Mr. Braden, your time has expired.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We need an adequately funded, territory-wide literacy strategy in place so citizens are able to make productive choices and take every opportunity this great country offers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on this theme day of literacy, I would like to take a few minutes to talk about the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle for literacy.

A few weeks past, Mr. Speaker, I challenged my colleagues to lose some weight this spring by donating books and magazines to the Yellowknife Correctional Centre Library book drive.

Mr. Speaker, I have some good news and some bad news. I will start with the bad news first. Many MLAs have not yet taken the opportunity to reduce the number of books and magazines in their homes and donate them to the YCC for reuse. However, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that some MLAs have recycled the idea, and suggested similar approaches for increasing library materials in other correctional institutions in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, numerous studies over the years indicate that one of the factors determining whether a person will succeed in life is directly related to literacy. More and more jobs require basic literacy, whether to read safety instructions, a list of work to be performed for the day or completing reports and forms. Personally, Mr. Speaker, I believe the capacity to read well in any language is the most powerful tool one can have.

I can tell you that through reading, I have personally experienced a sense of total empowerment and feeling of wholeness as a person. I have led my way out of sadness into utter joy and solved virtually all questions about life. Reading is the most powerful thing.

Mr. Bill Chipman, the organizer of the YCC book drive, says while he has received numerous donations, inmates read these materials over and over again and they quickly get worn out.

Mr. Speaker, I would encourage you, my colleagues and members of the public who have novels, current magazines, National Geographic, Readers' Digest or reference materials to contact Bill Chipman at Yellowknife Correctional Centre, 669-8620, or a similar person in an institution in your community, and donate your excess books.

You will not only be losing some weight, you will be giving the gift of literacy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about apprentices and apprenticeships. Mr. Speaker, the government was a leader in developing apprenticeships in the Northwest Territories. Many of those apprentices have gone on to either become businessmen or move up further in the corporate world...

And some MLAs, yes, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the government was once a leader. Unfortunately, that can no longer be said. Instead, we have left it to the private sector. Speaking from my community perspective, it is the small businesses that pick up where the government left off.

Many times they find themselves in a situation which lacks support, and it is difficult to recruit apprentices. When they do have people who are interested in the trade sector, whether it is carpentry, mechanics or other areas of apprenticeships, they find themselves lacking the necessary qualifications when it comes to education, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, that points to the fact that we need to improve on our system. Literacy, whether it is to get into an apprenticeship or go on to university education, we need to make sure we are doing work that shows it is quality and not just quantity.

Mr. Speaker, when we speak specifically about apprenticeships, I am dismayed that this government had lapsed $400,000 the previous year in the area of apprenticeships.

How many people would that have helped, Mr. Speaker? People who could be on the road to being productive, to qualifying in a field that would provide more income for themselves and their families, especially when we see this much development on the doorstep.

This government needs to focus on outcomes and results, not results that show lapsed dollars, because to me, that shows poor planning. Mr. Speaker, I will have some questions for the appropriate Minister later. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.