Feds consider Nutrition North 'experiments' to support hunters

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada is hearing some familiar pleas in its public consultations on the controversial Nutrition North Program: better support hunters, address the poor quality of produce in stores and further drop the costof staples people rely on.

When MinisterCarolyn Bennett travelled to Inuvik, N.W.T., this week she announced the expansion of the food subsidy program into a number of new northern communities.

But she also hinted at other, long discussed, changes.

"We believe that there will probably have to be some pilots or experiments ... in access to country food particularly, and a more traditional way of feeding families," she said.

Inuvik was the fourth stop in the pan-Northern trek which began in late May and is set to wrap up in November.

Subsidize traditional hunts, say communities

According to meeting summaries released by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, people ineach of the first three communities suggestedsubsidizing gear for hunters and the sale of local fish and meat.

"Facilitate sharing of country and traditional foods across communities and regions," said the group in the Nunatsiavut community of Rigolet, N.L.

"Support smaller point-of-sale system for local suppliers to be able to sell subsidized country food (muskox, char and caribou)," suggested community members in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T.

In Old Crow, Yukon, about 25 people turned out to ask forsubsidiesfor "hunting equipment, fuel and fish nets," among other things.

The Food Mail program, which Nutrition North replaced, subsidized shipping costs for hunting supplies and parts for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and outboard motors.Those subsidies were eliminated when the new program came into effect in 2011.

• Support hunters to fight hunger in Nunavut, says report

Putting change in the hands of Northerners

Since the former Conservative government replaced the Food Mail Program with Nutrition North, people in many communities have also complained the program puts too much power in the hands of retailers.

In 2014, the Auditor General of Canada weighed in on the issue of transparency, suggesting that even the department that runs the program can't knowif it's working.

Unsurprisingly, northerners have so far reaffirmed those concerns at the consultations.

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In Rigolet, another familiar refrain was repeated: community members are concerned about relying on food in the grocery store they say may bespoiled or past the due date.

"Provide a higher subsidy for frozen vegetables and fruit so that community members do not have to rely on fresh produce, which is generally of poor quality," reads the department's meeting summary.

The communities also want a boost to the subsidy for staples, such as flour and butter.

Minister 'excited' about changes

Bennett says she's "been hearing for a long time" that Northerners want a program that will support their traditional way of life.

Now, she says, may bethe time to try to do something about it.

"I'm very excited," said Bennett."We are acting on what we've heard to date and now we'll get more specific in determining the best practices or promising practices that could be shared in communities across the North."

More than a dozen other communities are set to host consultations over the coming months, although exact dates for the meetings have not been released.

The department says those scheduled for Nunavut and Northern Quebec will take place in the fall, since so many community members spend their summer days out on the land.