SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - If MLAs have their way, families in many NWT communities may get a break from the high price of milk.

Regular members of the Legislative Assembly have unanimously supported a proposed subsidy for milk bought for children.

Bob Bromley is proposing the GNWT create a subsidy on milk for NWT parents. If passed the subsidy would bring cost of milk down from what is in some cases 10 per cent higher than in Yellowknife. Shown here is the price of two-litres of milk in Inuvik. - Brodie Thomas/NNSL photo

Bob Bromley, the MLA for Weledeh, researched the idea after hearing "consternation and angst" over the price of milk from people around the NWT, including parents, teachers and health workers.

"It's getting the cost of milk down to something reasonable," Bromley said of the idea.

The MLA said, without affordable milk, some parents give their children sugar water made of Tang and Kool-Aid in baby bottles, leading to tooth decay and other health problems.

The subsidy concept would provide coupons to parents to purchase four litres of milk per child per week at Yellowknife prices.

The coupons would be available to everyone in communities where the price of milk is at least 10 per cent higher than in Yellowknife.

Bromley said a one-litre carton of milk in Yellowknife costs about $1.59. That compares to an estimated $4.49 in Paulatuk, $4.29 in Norman Wells, $3.99 in Wrigley, $3.35 in Inuvik and $2.65 in Fort Simpson.

The coupons would be for children between the ages of one and 12.

Breastfeeding would be encouraged for children before their first birthdays, but the subsidy would also be available if needed for infants.

Bromley said many children, especially aboriginal youngsters, are lactose intolerant, and the coupons could also apply to soy milk and rice milk.

Under the proposal, the subsidy would to be delivered by the Income Support Program, which has workers in every community.

Bromley said the idea would take a "relatively modest" investment from the GNWT to implement.

"A rough estimate would be between $1 ro $1.5 million per year," he said.

The concept has been supported by the assembly's Standing Committee on Social Programs and was passed along to cabinet in mid-September.

Bromley said he wants to see the idea included in cabinet's plans for next year's budget.

Lesli Ward, the manager of the Hay River Dental Clinic, was happy to hear the news of the MLAs' initiative, calling it a great idea.

"That's awesome," she said.

Ward said the subsidy would help remote communities, where many people are on fixed income.

"From a dental standpoint, it's just huge," she said, adding the price of soda pop is lower than milk in remote communities and lasts longer on the shelf.

While applauding MLAs for the initiative, Ward encouraged cabinet to consider it as a way to improve children's overall dental and medical health.

Inuvik Twin Lakes MLA Robert C. McLeod, the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Programs, also supports the idea.

"Milk is the single most important nutrient that young children require for healthy development," McLeod said in a news release.

"But in the North, it is also the most expensive. Making sure children have enough milk to drink means preventing considerable health problems developing late in life."