Thank you, Mr. Speaker. September 28 to October 4 is Literacy Week in the Northwest Territories, an opportunity for communities and residents to celebrate reading and support the need for literacy throughout our society.
Literacy is a person's ability to listen, speak, read, write, represent, compute and solve problems. This government has a vision for the Northwest Territories where all people can read and write, allowing them to participate as citizens, functioning fully in the family, in the community and on the job. We also see the NWT as a place where people value literacy in all official languages.
Since adopting the NWT literacy strategy in 2001, many exciting partnerships have been formed: with the NWT Literacy Council, Aurora College, the Native Women's Association of the Northwest Territories, the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities, the NWT Seniors' Society, just to name a few. These groups work to ensure that the literacy needs of all citizens are taken care of. Partnerships also include non-government organizations at the local level and with the business sector. This ensures literacy remains at the forefront of all our efforts.
To help and encourage communities to celebrate Literacy Week, kits were sent to all schools, literacy programs, community learning centres, early childhood programs, libraries, friendship centres, community health representatives and other community groups. The kit contains a variety of literacy activities that can be delivered in each community.
Mr. Speaker, literacy is an issue that affects us all. Literacy contributes directly to a higher quality of life for individuals. This, in turn, fosters a more productive and self-reliant society.
I'd like to leave us with a quote today from Roy Richardson of Rae who won a Canada Post Literacy Award on Tuesday at the adult learners' luncheon held at Aurora College. He said, "I was afraid that people would tell me that I couldn't learn how to read. Two years of schooling got me here and I am afraid of nothing now."
Mr. Speaker, we couldn't have said this better. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
