Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I represent the Northwest Territories, and I really welcome this discussion. I think this is an issue that has to be brought to the forefront.
When I grew up in a small aboriginal community, almost everybody drank pop. I still live in an aboriginal community, and almost everybody drinks pop. With a lot of people I went to school with, when it was lunchtime, that's what they had for lunch. It was pop and chips, because there was really nothing else.
This is a big issue. We still see barge-loads of pop heading north, I mean, to the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon. If you can imagine barge-loads as big as this room with cases of pop stacked, that isn't going to last the whole winter.
It is a big issue. Some of our ministers in the northern governments have stated that they would like to introduce some kind of levy. They are looking at doing more consultation. We all recognize that we have to address the issue of heart disease and obesity. At the same time, there is a concern that they will overly penalize the poorest in our territory. A lot of times, they have limited options. In some communities, you're not going to turn that tap water on and drink it. I challenge some of you to come and try to drink some of our tap water.
There is a very big challenge when we try to get healthy foods in our communities. Does that mean we're going to start bringing more planes, flying in more food? I don't know how that's going to work. It's almost a double whammy. If we're going to bring in this levy, then how do we find the substitute in the north?
I know in the south that it will be a lot easier. In the north, we're talking about a huge challenge. The addiction to pop in the north is probably, per capita, the highest in this country.