Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to raise awareness of a very important non-profit organization that indeed has representation across the entire Northwest Territories. The organization is the NWT Literacy Council which, Mr. Speaker, was founded in 1989.

Each region of the Territories is represented on their board and their goals are to promote and support literacy in all the officials languages of the Northwest Territories. Funding by the council is provided by the National Literacy Secretariat, the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment and also through corporate donations and membership dues, Mr. Speaker.

Every year, the council highlights the importance of literacy by hosting an NWT Literacy Week. This year it was September 29 to October 5, and this was the week in which literacy was highlighted and reading was promoted across the NWT. In advance of this week, Mr. Speaker, the council distributes a kit to all schools, literacy programs, learning centres, early childhood and family support programs, libraries, friendship centres, community health and various other community groups. The purpose of the kit is to get people involved in reading and to raise the awareness of the importance of literacy.

This week, as part of Literacy Week, I was invited to actually read to a class at Ecole St. Joseph in Yellowknife. It was a kindergarten class and I read them a story and then opened up the floor for questions. They had a lot of relevant questions like, for instance, was I allergic to cats? Even though the story was not about cats, it was so interesting that it very much engaged the young men and women.

Other functions of the council include assisting communities to develop local literacy projects, developing and providing necessary resources and programs to literacy and community workers. Mr. Speaker, they also monitor and report on various federal and territorial literacy policies, as well as encouraging reading and writing for people of all ages.

In addition to public awareness events such as the week they sponsor, other public events include writing contests, presentations to the government, businesses, labour and the public on literacy. They also host literacy conferences and provide literacy information throughout the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, they play an instrumental role in our lives in promoting and enhancing the level of literacy in the Territories. I would like to congratulate them on the progress they have made since 1989 and wish them every success in the future. Thank you.

-- Applause