IQALUIT
An additional $11.3 million in funding for the Nutrition North retail subsidy program was announced in Iqaluit by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Parliamentary Secretary Mark Strahl Nov. 21.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Parliamentary Secretary Mark Strahl travelled to Iqaluit Nov. 21 to announce an $11.3 million infusion into the Nutrition North retail subsidy program. - Michele LeTourneau/NNSL photo

The announcement comes after a scathing assessment was just published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health by University of Manitoba assistant professor Tracey Galloway and before the anticipated release later this month of an audit report by the auditor general of Canada.

The total funding for the program over 2014 to 2015 is now $133.7 million for 103 eligible communities, including many in Nunavut.

Strahl said the cost of the revised Northern food basket for a family of four has dropped on average 5.6 per cent because of the Nutrition North subsidy, while food prices elsewhere in Canada have risen four per cent. AANDC also notes the annual volume of healthy food being shipped to remote communities has increased by approximately 25 per cent during the first three years of the program, which was launched in 2011.

But Galloway stated "there is no publicly available data on annual per capita food volumes shipped under the old Food Mail program. In addition, the list of items eligible for subsidy was significantly altered with the launch of Nutrition North Canada, making evidence-based comparisons of food availability before and after the transition extremely difficult."

"Likewise it is impossible, using the current reporting framework, to evaluate whether the program has improved the affordability of nutritious food in Northern communities."

Transparent and accountable reporting is the greatest flaw, Galloway states.

For example, she stated, "the actual freight costs to retailers and wholesale shippers are not disclosed, making it impossible to see whether AANDC's subsidy rates reflect the real cost of freight transport to communities. Since many nutritious perishable food items are not included in the (food basket), it is entirely possible that subsidies received for the sale of these items are used to support the air freight and operating costs of Northern retailers without being reflected in the prices of these items."

Asked how this $11.3-million infusion into the program will address criticisms leveled at the program regarding transparency and accountability in reporting to demonstrate subsidies to retailers are in fact benefitting Nunavut households, Strahl said, "I think if you look at my remarks, we specifically mention that the compliance reports are posted online on Nutrition North Canada's website.

"There's transparency and accountability built into the program, which was an improvement Nutrition North brought over previous programs. And, certainly, in April 2015 there will be additional measures that will come online to increase that transparency and accountability of everyone along the chain," Strahl said.

In fact, on Nutrition North Canada's compliance reports page for 2013-2014, the compliance review for the North West Company - the largest retailer in Nunavut, receiving 51 per cent of the subsidy totaling $31.6 million in 2012-2013 - is not available. The findings for Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. states, among other items that "The auditor found that the weights of items on invoices did not always reconcile when compared to the weight in the purchase order system" and "the review revealed that suppliers often do not provide the waybill with their invoice."

Nevertheless, Strahl said, "We are saying that the program has been successful in bringing down the costs of healthy and perishable foods and we want to continue to build on that. The way to build on that is by increasing the amount to the subsidy. Certainly, the program is working."

Galloway maintains there is no way of knowing whether or not the program is fulfilling its goals of "making nutritious and perishable food more accessible and affordable in the North," and in her conclusion she stresses, "These facts, in the context of concentration in the Northern retail sector, necessitate immediate action on the part of AANDC."

The Nutrition North Advisory Board will be continuing community consultations in the coming months.

"The government is always interested in hearing from the people who benefit from this program," said Strahl.

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