I thank the member for the question. Because of the riding he represents, the hon. member is as aware as I am of the high cost of food in the north.
I have been assigned the task of looking at the food mail program. I am to report back to the minister of Indian and northern affairs and the Minister of Health by the fall. I will be assisted by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health who probably knows more about the nutritional values of fruits and vegetables, et cetera, than I do. I know the nutritional values of meat. If anyone wants to know about the nutritional values of meat, I can expound on that.
When I was sitting on the other side of the House the government of the day decided to slash that program, to eliminate it over a period of years. There was a cut in the last year but I think it is being sustained until the review is finished.
I assure the member that during the review we want to see how we can improve it. I will be seeking the member's comments on this. We know that money is very hard to come by today, but we want to see how we can improve the program so that we can stretch it out further to the people who have the highest cost of living anywhere in Canada and perhaps anywhere in the world.
I am sure members have heard me expound on the high cost of food in the north. A litre of milk costs $5 and a loaf of bread costs $3.95. There has to be a way to reflect the needs of the people in the north on how best to ensure that they get nutritional food.
As the hon. member is well aware, and we have been expounding on it, the north has to be considered at the same level as the west, the east or central Canada. Therefore the services the people in the west and the east are used to should be available in the north, whether food or other services such as those of doctors, nurses, teachers and so on.
I thank the hon. member. I will be seeking his comments as well, because of the area he represents, on how to improve the particular problem.