Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I too agree with Mr. Bagnell. It seems odd to be throwing a recommendation out when we're in the middle of everything, but my biggest concern here--I have a question and then I have a further comment--is how this actually benefits northern consumers. This motion, as far as I can read it, doesn't benefit any of our northern consumers, and they're the people we're really trying to help. So that would be my question for Monsieur Lévesque.
How will that help consumers in the north? Because, unless I am mistaken, if you want to help those who provide the products, if you want to help those in the points of entry... I do not see how this is going to help consumers in the north.
Further to that, if Monsieur Lévesque could answer that question first, with regard to this motion to go back to the food mail program, we heard an awful lot of witnesses who said very clearly that the food mail program did not work. We had a lot who actually liked the Nutrition North program. Many of the ones that some of the members here are bringing up didn't understand it. It was clear to me that an education portion needs to be done. That's why I'm very glad that the advisory committee is now in place, because they have a role to play in the education. Almost every single witness we heard from said this old program absolutely needed to be fixed, and not a single one of them suggested that we keep the points of entry.
Again I would ask Monsieur Lévesque to convince me that this is going to help consumers in the north. Right now they are being helped, because for those large organizations that did order the stuff early, there is a reduction in price. So if we go back to what you're suggesting, those consumers are now going to pay more. If what the chair said is right and you don't want to reopen points of entry and all that kind of thing, then okay--I get that--but the food mail program is not going to be brought back. We're too far along.
I would like to see us make a number of recommendations. We have subsidy rates that are coming out soon, and we're going to revisit this. There's going to be a whole lot more information coming forward.
So could you answer that question for me: how is this going to benefit northerners? This is going to hurt our northern consumers, as far as I'm concerned. You convince me otherwise and I'll consider it.