Honourable colleagues, Canadian literature is rich, diverse and immensely inspiring, and it helps promote our culture at home and abroad. Today is the first ever “I Read Canadian Day,” a national day of celebration of Canadian children’s literature.

Canada has a rich collection of books by authors across the country, ranging from children’s books to comics, from novels to non-fiction. This day challenges Canadians to read Canadian authors — in silence or out loud — for a minimum of 15 minutes and to share this experience with those around them.

In addition to the impact that reading has on our children’s development, Canadian literature is central to the affirmation of our national identity. Thanks to translation, Canadian literature is available today from coast to coast to coast. It transcends language barriers and provincial and territorial borders.

This day gives me an opportunity to highlight the contributions of Acadian authors of children’s books.

Thanks to the Bouton d’or Acadie publishing house, authors like Diane Carmel Léger, Marie-France Comeau, Réjean Roy, Marie Cadieux and Beryl Young, who wrote a fascinating book about our former colleague, the Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, are contributing to the development of rich, powerful Canadian children’s literature.

Bouton d’or Acadie represents 80 authors and 60 illustrators from Acadia, Quebec, France and several countries in Africa and Asia. Founded by Marguerite Maillet, it was the first publishing house to publish a series of Native American legends from eastern Canada, written in the original Mi’kmaq or Passamaquoddy languages.

This series is known as the Wabanaki Collection, after the Algonquin name for eastern North America. The word can sometimes be translated as “child of light.” Colleagues, that is just what Bouton d’or Acadie aims to be: a beacon of light for Canadian children and Canadian culture.

In conclusion, at a time when we recognize the importance of copyright issues in this country and seek to support our authors who are struggling to enforce their rights, I invite all Canadians to take advantage of this day, to offer a book to a young person or to an association from their communities. Thank you.