Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and colleagues. As I have said, one in five children in Canada lives in poverty. These levels have grown 39 percent since 1989. Here in the NWT, according to some 1996 statistics, 20 percent of all families -- all families in the NWT, Mr. Speaker -- are single parent families. Seventy-nine percent of those families are led by women and 35 percent of the women in the NWT earn less than $20,000, which is below the poverty level, Mr. Speaker. For a one-year period from April 1999, 334 children used emergency shelters in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, child poverty is something that is in our communities every day. We cannot be complacent about it. We must act. I will be asking the appropriate Minister questions on this petition and the important area that it raises. Thank you.
-- Applause