Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our efforts to promote and enhance literacy in the Northwest Territories got a shot in the arm last week at a very successful Peter Gzowski Invitational Golf Tournament, which took place at the Seven Spruce Golf Course in Fort Simpson on June 6th and the community event surrounding it.

The PGI, as it is known, is an opportunity to celebrate and support literacy while taking part in sometimes quirky, but always fun, golf -- northern style. The PGI is named for a man who fell in love with the North. From the time he began travelling to the North in 1971, Peter Gzowski tried hard to make southern Canada more aware of the beauty of the people and the land north of 60.

Through CBC's national radio program, Morningside, other Canadians came to know us just a little bit better. Peter spoke about us in a way that made us feel that he really knew us. He once said that one of the appealing things about life in the North was that it was different from life south of 60. This is something that all Northerners understand, Mr. Speaker.

In addition to his love for the North, Peter Gzowski had another great passion. That passion was literacy. In 1986, Mr. Speaker, Peter turned passion to action and founded the Peter Gzowski Invitational Golf Tournament for Literacy. Each year, PGI golf tournaments are held across Canada. Since 1999, the location of the PGI was alternated between the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The PGI has raised more than $6 million nationally since 1986.

As in past years, the money raised at the PGI last week in Fort Simpson will be used to fund local programs that help people learn to read and write, Mr. Speaker. I must commend the NWT Literacy Council for staging such a fun and worthwhile event.

I was pleased to host the event in my constituency, Mr. Speaker. The community demonstrated its support by taking part in all the events planned for the tournament. The special guest we had was one of the stars of the TV program North of 60, Dakota House. There was an author, Sharee Fitch, who is a renowned writer of books for children, and our own Richard Van Camp from Fort Smith, who has written...