Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to speak about my favourite person in the whole world. That is granny from Nahanni.
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Her story, Mr. Speaker, accurately reflects the story of the high cost of living that affects all of us northerners. She is basically a healthy, elderly woman that lives by herself in Nahanni. Her family takes loving care of her and visits her often. I, too, take my time to visit when I am there. During my last visit, I went to see her and I brought her a small gift as is customary when we are visiting elders. It was a tin of snuff. It is one of her simple pleasures that she enjoys. She says to me, thank you very much. I haven't had snuff for a while. I said, you get a pension. Didn't you buy any from the store? She says, no, I have to spend all my money on bills. With that, her life is simple and basic, Mr. Speaker, and her choices, like many low income and no income residents throughout the North, is governed by her fixed income.
Recently, Nahanni Butte had their fuel delivered for this season. Typically, we do that in all the small communities. The government provides fuel trucks and stocks them up for the whole year, but, last fall, when the prices of fuel skyrocketed throughout the world, Mr. Speaker, we had to adjust the prices in the small communities. Now it is stabilized. The price actually went down, but now, in the small communities, the prices are still high, like $1.40 in one of the smaller communities that I represent, and that is just not acceptable because we have a government that is unwilling to adjust that and fix that for them.
Mr. Speaker, all the people ever ask of us is to hear them and for us to be responsive to their needs. They see things in the national media like the federal government announcing some fuel rebates, Alberta giving fuel rebates and, in fact, even the new Conservative government is going to provide $100 a month. That is what they are looking for. What are we going to do? I am here to ask that on behalf of our people. Mahsi.
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