Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Food security is becoming the watchword of the 21^st century around the world. Reliable food supply and the cost of shipping foods to markets are challenges that the world will be confronting in the years to come. In the North, our own challenges are every bit as complex. The social media movement Feeding My Family brought international attention to the high cost of food in the North. Our ability to rely on country food, food that sustained Indigenous people for thousands of years, is uncertain as the health and future of caribou herds is unclear, but it's soon to be getting better. Many of this Assembly's mandate priorities have a bearing on food security. We are moving ahead with agricultural and fishery strategies, things that relate directly to securing sufficient, healthy diet for residents.

However, recently, Mr. Speaker, I learned of a new initiative. The Yellowknife Co-op is investing in a new installation that will allow it to produce fresh food year-round, right here at home. It has partnered with a company called The Grocer that has created a transportable, hydroponic growing system. The Grocer is a Canadian company that is member of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. It has developed an Arctic growing system that is specifically designed for low-infrastructure environments and temperatures as low as minus 52 degrees Celsius. It combines hydroponic technology with precision climate control and computerized operation.

The system is scalable to grow with demand. The basic system can provide up to 12,000 pounds of produce each year. The grower's system was tried in Churchill, Manitoba, after that community's rail line, its only land link to the south, washed out in 2016. Within weeks of installing the system, many varieties of produce were available in stores. In February 2018, temperatures went down to minus 58, and the system was still growing. Over time, the sticker price of leafy greens dropped from $7.25 with subsidized shipping to $4.99, and of course Mr. Speaker, it was fresher and tastier.

The Yellowknife Co-op's investment is an example of creative forward thinking, Mr. Speaker. It supports our mandate priorities of promoting agriculture, reducing the cost of living, and diversifying the economy, and it promises local control and decision-making around food supply for our communities and families. Colleagues, please join me in congratulating the Yellowknife Co-op on its exciting new initiative.