Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. The new Education, Culture and Employment, ECE, strategic plan for 2005-2015, Building on Our Success, highlights the need to improve English language literacy levels of adults in the Northwest Territories.
People who have low literacy skills are challenged to understand and use information from texts, such as newspaper stories, brochures and instruction manuals. These are important skills that help us manage our daily lives and enter into the labour force.
Data from the 2003 international adult literacy and skills survey, IALSS, was recently released by Statistics Canada. The survey showed that 42.6 percent of working age adults in the Northwest Territories had a literacy score below functional levels in prose literacy. This is about the same as the Canadian average, Mr. Speaker.
While our literacy rates overall are the same as the rest of Canada, the IALSS report revealed a significant discrepancy between aboriginal and non-aboriginal adult English literacy levels; 68.9 percent of working age aboriginal adults are below functional literacy levels. In comparison, only 29.8 percent of non-aboriginal NWT adults test below functional level.
This information confirms what we already know: although overall literacy levels in the Northwest Territories are improving, a large percentage of our population struggle with literacy challenges. It confirms the need to keep investing in training to address low literacy rates, especially among aboriginal adults. To this end, we continue to work on a number of initiatives.
We are partnering with Aurora College to revise the beginner levels of the adult literacy and basic education curriculum. We are also investing in curriculum resource development and adult educator training to strengthen adult literacy and basic education delivery. We are continuing our focus on family literacy by working with the NWT Literacy Council and communities to offer a variety of family literacy projects. Six new libraries opened in 2005-2006 to provide residents with more access to reading materials. We have invested in our schools through the student success initiative, many aspects of which focus on literacy. We have implemented achievement testing in language arts and math in grades 3, 6 and 9, so we see how we are doing as a system and measure the development of literacy and numeracy skills in our students.
An evaluation of the 2001-2005 Literacy Strategy is being undertaken in 2006. Following that, ECE will develop a renewed Literacy Strategy.
The new strategy will consider recent data, including the international adult literacy and skills survey, territorial and Canadian literacy rates and trends, and the lessons we have learned from the past five years of program delivery.
We must continue our work to improve adult literacy levels to ensure that all northern residents can achieve their potential and have the opportunity to participate in our booming labour market. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause