Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm listening to the discussion with very, very keen interest. There's a lot of focus in the supplementary estimates on what the department is doing to address food insecurity. This issue has been around for a long time. It's good to hear that there are new options out there. There are new investments for greenhouses and for hunters and trappers, and there's an expanded program, but I think it's going to take more than just one government to deal with food insecurity. It's also going to take more than just addressing some of these programs through nutrition north. It's going to take a whole-of-government approach. I've been saying this for a long time. I know you've heard me say it before.
Having roads that go to our communities would eliminate the need for nutrition north in a lot of them. We have quite a few communities that don't have roads yet. All the communities along the Mackenzie Valley Highway are not accessible by road. Many of them are only able to get freight by plane. Even then, because some of our runways are not long enough, the plane can land with only half a load. That's the same with passengers too, by the way. Landing and takeoff restrictions really impact us in the north.
When we talk about food insecurity and the cost of living, transportation infrastructure is a big part of it. Can you explain how the government has approached dealing with the cost of living in our small communities? How are we dealing with investment to build better accessibility in small communities?
We had an investment for the road to Whatì. That has been a game-changer for the community. People can get out of the community to go into the larger regional centres, and they can be back that same evening. The cost of living has gone down too, but there are other communities where you can't get out. You sometimes have only six weeks to get a new fridge or a new larger piece of merchandise. It's very challenging.
I'll give you some time to respond.