Thank you, Madam Chair.
We recently made an announcement in the north as it relates to what was known as the food mail program. The nutrition north program is offered in remote locations across the country to subsidize the cost of shipping. Over the last three or four years, Indian and Northern Affairs has taken the leadership in doing a thorough review of how we can improve a program that has been in existence since the 1960s—it's a program from the 1960s—to better reflect the environment we are in now.
The announcement is very important to many individuals who live in remote locations where the choice of nutritional food is limited. The program focuses on shipping subsidies for healthy foods to remote communities.
I come from a community where, for Thanksgiving last October, a turkey sold for $200 in Arctic Bay. In my hometown of Gjoa Haven, you go to the store and you're buying a watermelon for $60. I mean, it's not helping when we're dealing with the whole issue of nutritional foods, prevention, and healthy living.
The announcement was very important to modernize the program, to give availability to more consumers within the territory, and to allow a choice of retailers and individual places from which to order healthy foods. There will be more subsidy in healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and less subsidy in areas like flour and whatnot, maybe.
But this was overdue. It affects every single person, particularly in northern communities, when it comes to affordable and nutritional food. We take for granted the choices we have down south. In the north, as you know, it's very difficult to ship products that are healthy.
The announcement Minister Strahl made was long overdue, to modernize the program and to allow consumers in remote locations the choice of purchasing healthy food, which we take for granted down south.
Thank you.