Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During our last session, my honourable colleague, Michael Miltenberger, told us of the outstanding accomplishments of Richard Van Camp. Mr. Van Camp is an award-winning writer who has been recognized internationally for his outstanding talent and literary accomplishments. A proud member of the Dogrib Nation, he was born and raised in Fort Smith. He is currently working toward his master's degree in creative writing at the University of Victoria.

I am happy to tell you that Mr. Van Camp has graciously agreed to give up his reading week to visit schools and libraries throughout the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, the students who will have the opportunity to meet Mr. Van Camp are very lucky and we are fortunate that we can introduce our young people to Northerners like Mr. Van Camp, whose writing often reflects the lives of young Northerners with honesty and compassion. An excellent role model, Mr. Van Camp is a Northerner who is a shining example of personal and professional success. In addition to winning a major literary award in Germany last fall, Mr. Van Camp will represent Canada at the European Association of Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, next month.

Throughout the month of February, Mr. Van Camp will visit numerous NWT communities, including Norman Wells, Inuvik, Fort Simpson, Wekweti, Rae-Edzo and Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, this tour is a remarkable opportunity to encourage young Northerners to embrace literacy and develop a lifelong passion for reading and writing. Mr. Van Camp's tour will wrap up just prior to the beginning of Education Week, which begins March 4th. The theme for this year's Education Week is Changing Land, Changing Peoples. I am certain you will agree that young Northerners like Mr. Van Camp are at the vanguard of those changes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause