Question Period Note: Nutrition North

•Nutrition North Canada supports food security in northern isolated communities by improving access and affordability to market, country and local food.

•NNC programming was significantly expanded in 2022, to directly support Indigenous and northern partners with locally driven, and self-determined food security solutions.

•An investment of $143.4 million over two years from Budget 2021 has expanded Nutrition North Canada’s ability to help eligible northern and isolated communities address local food security priorities.

•The Harvesters Support Grant is increasing access to country foods by providing funding to support traditional hunting, harvesting and food sharing. In the first two years of the HSG, the grant supported 15,000 harvesters, and over 717 food sharing initiatives. We have 24 signed agreements with recipient organizations.

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If pressed on Food Security in Nunavut

• In Canada’s North, food prices can be significantly higher than in the rest of the country. Isolation and socioeconomic issues make northerners particularly vulnerable to food security challenges.

• Our Government is continuing to work closely with Indigenous and northern partners, and other government departments to identify shared, northern-based solutions for improving food security.

• From 2019-20 to 2022-23, Nutrition North Canada has transferred over $54.6 Million to the four Regional Inuit Organizations through Harvester Support Grant and Community Food Programs funding.
• In the past four years, CanNor’s Northern Isolated Community Initiatives (NICI) fund has approved 48 community led food security projects across the territories, valued at $7.8 million.

If pressed about the subsidy not being passed to consumers
• Retailers and suppliers are regularly audited by independent auditors to ensure compliance with program requirements.
• Nutrition North Canada also works closely with Indigenous and northern partners to monitor results and seek input for ongoing improvements. As an example, recent program adjustments now require retailers to submit monthly price data for all products in all communities.
• Recent studies have been critical of some retailers’ ability to pass the retail subsidy along to consumers. The Department is reviewing the study’s methodology and findings.
• Nutrition North Canada’s newly established Food Security Research Grant is offering further support by partnering Indigenous groups and academic researchers to inform ongoing improvements to the retail subsidy program, including subsidy pass-through.