Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I do not think I have had the opportunity to address her directly in the House before, so this is a pleasure tonight.
I will speak to a few components of the member's statement.
First of all, our government agrees that we need to ensure a safe, healthy and adequate food supply for northern Canadians. I will speak to some of the programming that we have put in place to address that in a moment, but I think my colleague opposite intimated that somehow our government was not addressing the need for economic opportunity for all Canadians.
We just spent the day today addressing budget 2013. The whole point of budget 2013 is to create jobs and economic growth for all Canadians, including northern Canadians, with programs such as the Canada job grant, which is aimed to ensure that all Canadians can get the training they need to access jobs. We understand that when Canadians have jobs they have better economic opportunity and they have better access to products. We want to make sure those opportunities are available for all Canadians, including northern Canadians.
Regarding the report the member mentioned from the UN, my colleague the Minister of Health spoke, I think, quite eloquently to it in the House. She is a member of the Inuit community and quite proud of her cultural heritage. I think she was quite disappointed that the outcome of the report was that this particular individual decided not to meet with local hunters and elders to understand the traditional way of life there. She has already addressed the House as to her opinion on the validity of that report, given that it probably did not understand the cultural sensitivity of that area. I will leave her comments to speak for themselves.
Specifically on the nutrition north Canada program, my colleague intimated that somehow residents of the north would not benefit from this program. However, I would like to point out to her that community residents benefit directly from the program because registered northern retailers must pass on the subsidy to their customers when they buy eligible items in the store. They must do this. Also, registered southern suppliers must pass on the subsidy to individual and commercial establishments. There is a component to this program that ensures those savings are passed on.
The member also suggested that traditional foods, or country foods, are somehow not a component of this program, which is not the case. Country foods, for example, Arctic char, muskox and caribou, are important sources of nutrients, and we understand that they play a key role in the diet of that region. Under nutrition north Canada, the Government of Canada subsidizes country foods that are processed in eligible northern processing plants as well as country foods shipped from the south.
I understand that there are more than 103 northern remote communities that benefit from the nutrition north Canada program. This is a program that is designed to support this area and meet the nutritional needs of that area. We are proud to see it launched and working effectively to date.