I know that both first nations are disappointed that the unresolved issues were not resolved prior to the signing, and they are very much looking forward to resolving the outstanding issues as soon as possible.
To the point not just around Nutrition North but more broadly about affordability, as you know, many first nations here in northern Manitoba face a high cost of living because they depend on the ice roads, and the ice roads are increasingly unreliable as a result of climate change.
I raised this question to Minister Hajdu, but it is intimately related to the question of subsidizing Nutrition North and to food security, particularly here in northern Manitoba: As the minister responsible for Nutrition North, do you support the calls of first nations on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, as well as further north, who have been clear about this? They want a reinstatement of the east side road initiative, and they are calling on the federal government to invest in all-weather road infrastructure, an airport for Wasagamack First Nation and investment in the stretch between St. Theresa Point and Berens River, as well as the northern leg between Oxford House and Garden Hill.
These are all first nations that depend on Nutrition North and subsidies and these are all first nations that are facing an extremely high cost of living, and an all-weather road in the age of climate change would make a real difference.
Do you support these first nations' calls for federal investment in all-weather road infrastructure?