Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, literacy in the Northwest Territories is an issue that merits attention. Through the Literacy Strategy, this government has committed $2.4 million per year for the next five years to address the issue of literacy in the Northwest Territories.

The communities outside of the major centres have small populations but the same program requirements of larger centres. There is a requirement for early childhood and family literacy programs, school-aged children and youth, working people, and elders programs.

To deliver a range of programs of varied requirements such as this may require the use of not one but several instructors, a luxury that small communities cannot afford due to limited funding.

Mr. Speaker, it is good to know there is financial commitment to literacy by this government. However, there is more than throwing dollars at an issue as important as this. There has to be a viable long-term plan. The plan must take into consideration infrastructure and social issues in the communities outside of major centres. These issues must address the lack of housing for instructors, a lack of facilities and equipment to effectively host programs and lack of childcare for participants' children.

As you can see, this issue crosses through a number of government departments and I would suggest that these departments actively participate in the implementation of the Literacy Strategy. Mr. Speaker, it is important that the people in the communities take ownership of this programming.

However, in my region, as an example, the Deh Cho process and development activities keep those residents who are qualified to coordinate the delivery of programs very busy. This limits the time they may devote to important matters such as this. I would encourage this government to cooperate with the smaller communities to help them coordinate literacy activities. This cooperation should be in the form of multi-year funding to attract qualified personnel and coordination of activities between communities.

Multi-year funding is important in providing communities the opportunity to assess the requirements and ensure programs are delivered on a consistent and timely basis. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment during question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause