Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being healthy begins with having a healthy start as a baby. It is now proven beyond any doubt that babies who are breastfed have a head start on maintaining good health throughout their lives.
In the Northwest Territories we are making exceptional progress at promoting breastfeeding as a better way to nourish infants. Annually we join other countries in recognizing World Breastfeeding Week from October 1 to 7 as a way to promote a sense of well-being and to keep breastfeeding a traditional practice and socially accepted norm when it comes to feeding babies.
This year on October 11 the Department of Health and Social Services will partner with community Canadian prenatal nutrition programs, nutritionists, community workers, public health units and Moms, Boobs and Babies in Yellowknife to join the rest of the world by participating in the eighth annual Quintessence Foundation Breastfeeding Challenge.
Breastfeeding mothers will globally unite at 11 a.m. on that day. One aspect of the challenge is for a region like the Territories to be able to say it has the most babies breastfeeding at one site at one time.
In the NWT last year a total of 35 babies from Yellowknife and Fort Smith were part of the challenge. This year we hope to have ten communities registered for the challenge, with numerous mothers and babies signing up to join in. As of September 30, six NWT communities have registered. I would like to thank the organizers for taking the time to register their communities.
Mr. Speaker, this challenge provides an opportunity to globally celebrate breastfeeding and demonstrate promotion, protection and support for breastfeeding women and their families. It recognizes breastfeeding as the gold standard in terms of nourishment. Its benefits include the lower risk of many diseases as well. Breastfeeding helps healthy brains develop.
Later this year I’d like to ask the public to look out for our NWT campaign posters and T-shirts on which are photos of well known, successful Northerners who all have one thing in common: they each were breastfed. Mr. Speaker, I will be one of them.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
