Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Mr. Speaker, I made a statement last week, but I would like to say this again. I'd like to make a statement on literacy. When we look into our region and within Canada, the government has made cutbacks to literacy programs. They have also taken money away from my region and when we consider all the mining industry in our land and the majority of people that are working there are southern people and this is a statement I would like to make. (Translation ends)

We have heard lots of facts and statistics about the importance of literacy in this House. I could stand here and reiterate these facts and tell you once again that, according to our survey, 42 percent of working-age adults in the Northwest Territories have literacy challenges, Mr. Speaker. But I'm not going to do that today, Mr. Speaker. Instead I'm going to tell you a story about my community and every other small aboriginal community in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories currently benefits from a booming economy in our backyard. We have three major diamond mines in this territory. We have oil and gas and all the secondary industries that these industries bring with them. Mr. Speaker, we have more jobs than many parts of Canada. All that looks good on paper, Mr. Speaker, but when I go back to my community I talk to many of my constituents who unfortunately fall within the 69 percent of working-age aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories who have literacy challenges and who, as a result, Mr. Speaker, are therefore impacted by other social issues such as equity, power, justice, and their children's learning, and more. Instead of living on the property line or filling manual labour positions, these are the people, Mr. Speaker, who could be and should be taking on these high profile management and highly

skilled trades positions made available by these industries. Instead, Mr. Speaker, we see southern people, as indicated in this House on several occasions, flying over our communities and taking away employment that should be rightfully ours.

Mr. Speaker, can this government justify telling 69 percent of its people that they are not important enough to be acknowledged? Mr. Speaker, I will have questions at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

---Applause