My, time flies when you're having fun.
First of all, I found the presentations very excellent, from each of the presenters. I think the distinction between obesity and trans fats is helpful. I also found the feedback on the trans fat task force helpful, because in fact this is something the NDP has worked on, and when I was health critic, I was able to assist the NDP in coming up with the wording of that to include an all-stakeholder panel. So I'm glad to hear that it worked out well.
The issue of active living is talked about a lot, and I just want to assure the panel that the government is committed to an active living program. You have seen that in the budget with specific tax credits, and I think you'll see a lot more progress in that area, particularly with input from stakeholders like yourselves. So we look forward to working with you on that.
One thing I would like to see this committee do, if the committee is open to it, is an extensive study on obesity, and come back with an all-party report, because I think this is a non-partisan issue and we can deal with prevention and education and include stakeholders. I would be interested in hearing the opposition's point of view on that.
But if we do decide to do that, I wonder if the committee could comment on whether there would be value in having an economist type of person deal with not only the costs and so on of what chronic disease does...but to follow up on Ms. Keeper's point, in northern communities, it's ironic perhaps that the cost of an apple or a carton of milk is many, many more times that in the city. I know in Manitoba, for example, even for alcohol, if you're in Churchill, it costs the same amount to get a bottle of beer as it does in the city, due to the way the liquor commission works.
So I wonder if there's any thought on the economics of making healthy food affordable in the north--and that would obviously affect the aboriginal community as well as the non-aboriginal community.
Also you mentioned that lower-income families tend to eat out more, which is maybe counter-intuitive, because that's often more expensive overall. I wonder if there are ways to make it economically attractive for lower-income people and other demographics to eat healthy?