Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank Mr. Bromley for bringing this motion to the floor. I certainly will be supporting it. I would like to speak about the elimination of handling fees for the
collection of milk containers under the NWT Beverage Container Program, Mr. Speaker.
Under the existing NWT Beverage Container Program, when residents return their beverage containers, they receive a refund. Their refund is only about 60 percent of the amount the resident paid for the container. Some of the remaining funds go to support environmental issues.
We know that drinking pop is bad for our population. The sugar in pop leads to cavities and in some cases the need for dental surgery has been noted.
Also, the sugar leads to sugar diabetes, which is prevalent in our communities. It offers no nutrition, while contributing to obesity. Thus I have no problem with the surcharge for drinking pop, especially since the money goes to an Environmental Fund.
Milk has been added to the list of refundable beverage containers and when returned they should reduce the cost of milk a bit. Milk is the single most important nutrition to healthy development and the benefits of our youth in the communities. It is of great importance to the adults and seniors to maintain their healthy bones. Northerners should not be required to pay any type of surcharge for milk, especially in the small communities of the Northwest Territories.
In Tulita, two litres of milk costs $5.75. I hate to list the cost in Ulukhaktok or Colville Lake or any other small community. I do not support any increase to the cost of milk anywhere and I do support any reduction to costs that recycling milk cartons will provide in the Sahtu and other communities in the Northwest Territories.