Government Operations committee  I think over the last several years there's been a considerable amount of talk about Arctic sovereignty and what that means, and particularly what it means for northerners. I think all northern communities can agree that it means maintaining populations in the most northern and remote parts of our country.

Government Operations committee  We're not eligible for nutrition north in Yellowknife, so I would leave it to what Sara's hearing.

Government Operations committee  It sounds like the Starbucks model, one on the corner of every block.

Government Operations committee  I think it's important for any government agency, crown corporation, or otherwise to conduct its affairs in an efficient and cost-effective manner. I don't want to speak to issues in southern Canada, but you asked about the need for subsidization for remote areas. A rationalisation of the operation is fair game, in my view, if those services can be provided in a more rational manner.

Government Operations committee  Can you explain the concept of last mile?

Government Operations committee  You'd probably want to do a fairly careful cost-benefit analysis of what costs actually get passed on to the last consumer. As Ms. Brown said, the model is different in different communities, depending on how many airlines might fly there. It could be a monopoly situation, so I think some careful analysis would need to happen there before passing that off.

Government Operations committee  I do think it's important—and I sat in on the tail end of the last panel—to talk about collaboration and that overarching principle of collaborative thinking, and I do think there is merit in it. In certain communities and regional centres in the Northwest Territories we have local chambers of commerce.

Government Operations committee  I think it would be worthwhile trying to benchmark and set some standards for those delivery models. I have to pay compliment to the many Canada Post employees who, particularly around the holiday season, are out until 9 or 10 o'clock at night delivering to homes the parcels that can't necessarily fit in the community mailboxes.

Government Operations committee  Yes, I would agree with Ms. Brown that it's both of those items. The cost of doing business is already high in the north. We understand there are limitations and capacity issues around fostering manufacturing. Certainly in sectors such as arts and crafts there are many efforts under way to grow the economic sector and to be able to access other markets in southern Canada.

Government Operations committee  On the expenditure side, I think there are certainly some things that the committee has examined and previous consultations have looked at, such as moving to a community mailbox system. Again I recognize there are different challenges in other parts of the country with that particular suggestion, but it's something that in the north we've certainly accepted.

Government Operations committee  Just as a public safety announcement, don't try to take the ice road yet. I don't believe they travel to Dettah.

Government Operations committee  As my former city council colleague, Mr. O' Reilly mentioned, we always appreciate being consulted, as municipal governments, as the boots on the ground, and perhaps as being closest to our citizens. I think, just in the northern context, that it's also important to remember that we have a lot of first nations governments where there is absolutely a duty to consult, and the impact from any change in service delivery is probably felt most acutely there.

Government Operations committee  From the perspective of a community like Yellowknife, as I mentioned, the post office here and elsewhere in the Northwest Territories still serves as that community hub, and that's something that you lose when it moves to a franchise. To be perfectly honest, I am not entirely clear on why we have the corporate office and the franchise, which are about a half a block away from each other in Yellowknife.

Government Operations committee  I'd need to better understand the rationale for first creating that franchise, I think. It's not entirely clear to me.

Government Operations committee  I have not observed any major changes. As Ms. Brown mentioned in her opening remarks, we have had interruptions in service delivery at certain times, particularly with delivery to certain parts of town. That can become problematic, particularly for commercial operations in the city that are dependent on timely delivery at certain high points in the shopping season, around Christmas for example.