Thank you.
I want to take a moment to thank all the witnesses for being here, because it is a very important issue. As Mr. Elias just said, this is really about making sure that we get affordable, nutritious food to the people who absolutely need it who are in remote areas.
I've heard all of you commend the government for trying to look at this in that way and to achieve that objective. We are still several months away. We still have an advisory committee, which is going to be used as the voice for our northerners to ensure that we get this right. So I appreciate your input today.
I have heard, however, a number of statements that were just completely incorrect or false, and it's become obvious to me that more information has to be shared. I would encourage all of the witnesses.... On the website you can see exactly how some of these things are going to transpire. For example, perishable apples are never going to be on a boat rotting. Perishable foods are going to be the foods that are subsidized and will be flown by air. The comments that I hear today suggest to me that we need to do some more work to educate concerning this Nutrition North Canada program, and we are several months away, so we intend to do that.
We're also going to ensure that education is available in the communities through Health Canada. I was very pleased to hear some of you talk about the need for pamphlets and the need to educate people, particularly those people who are affected by many of the diseases that aboriginal people suffer from, such as diabetes. We have a huge problem with diabetes, and I am very confident that the Government of Canada is looking towards a program like Nutrition North Canada to help stop the deaths that are occurring in our northern communities because we don't have accessible, affordable, nutritious food.
I just want to correct a couple of things. Funding.... The one really good thing about this new program is that in the past funding was at about $27 million per year, and since the year 2000 we've had to go back to ask for more money. This is going to bring stable funding. There will be $60 million a year invested in this program. It's stable funding that I believe will allow many of the retailers and wholesalers and the people who are stakeholders in all of this to better prepare for long-term solutions.
Country foods, of course, will be subsidized. I heard a lot of suggestion that they won't be subsidized. That's just not factual.
The eligibility requirements.... Again, the website dictates who is eligible and who is not.
I'd like to ask Chief Dumas, when did your community use the previous food mail program?