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A recommendation in a report commissioned by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs on the food mail program asks for the implementation of a country foods initiative to help subsidize hunters and trappers. The program would help reduce the high cost of hunting and bring more traditional meats into remote, Northern communities. - NNSL file photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Northern community leaders are climbing on board a recommendation made in a recent report on the federal government's food mail program to invest $3 million in a country foods initiative.

Two reports released last month by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, one completed by independent reviewer Graeme Dargo, recommended the government look at creating a partnership with Northern community leaders and organizations to invest in a subsidy program to reduce the cost of hunting and help bring more traditional meats into communities.

"Country foods still constitute a major part of the diet of many people in smaller, remote communities," Dargo said. "The cost to harvest those items is just tremendous. To buy a snowmobile you could almost buy a small car they're so expensive. It's the same with the cost of gasoline."

Lena Kotokak, deputy mayor for the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, said for 30 gallons (120 litres) of gas it costs more than $250.

"The cost is just outrageous," she said. "For hunters to be going in and out all the time to get a good hunt done, it can become very costly. We'd be all for a program like this to help us obtain more of the traditional meats we need."

A report in the Annual Nutrition Review titled "Environment and Contaminants in Traditional Food System of Northern Indigenous Peoples" states traditional food has been shown to be lower in fat and contain less saturated fats than store-bought goods. The report goes on to state that further complementing dietary needs are nutrient-rich organ meats (e.g. brain, stomach and intestines) not usually available on the domestic market.

"It is the general consensus that the traditional food of indigenous peoples is the best food available to them," the report reads.

"The nutritional values are much higher than in conventional store-bought meats," Dargo said. "From a nutrition perspective it's a good thing to recommend. From a social perspective, we all know how important that type of lifestyle is to people in small communities. There is no reason it shouldn't be a part of it."

Dargo said the disconnect between Ottawa and the North on what food is necessary in Northern peoples' diets makes it important to have a country foods initiative run at a local level.

"Well-meaning bureaucrats are responsible for putting together the list of eligible items," he said, adding most of the people he met with in Ottawa had never been to the North. "I said 'what about country food' and they didn't really know what I was talking about.

"I felt it very important the department had to work closely with the aboriginal groups. They know the activity better than people sitting in Ottawa.

"They need to sit down and figure it out. If there are programs like this already in existence, why not support them better and more rather than coming up and creating something brand new."

Raymond Kaslak, senior administrative officer for the community of Sachs Harbour, said the community would welcome an initiative that subsidizes the high cost of hunting and would be willing to work in partnership with the Canadian government to get a program like this running.

"It would expand the choices more with mainland traditional foods," Kaslak said. "It will help the nutritional component of our eating here.

Kaslak pointed out the high cost of hunting makes it difficult for hunters to be successful in their hunts.

"It's very expensive to go out hunting here," he said. "Gas is extremely expensive. It would really help a lot to get some money from the government to help us hunt more.

"Sometimes the wildlife, they are out farther and they're out and roaming and move around. If they're way out there it makes it tough to get out there without high costs."

Dargo said it's not an issue of finding more money to fund something like this. He said with a more streamlined approach and a more simplistic, cut-and-dry eligible food list, enough money could be made available to fund a pilot project of this nature.

"Northerners have a way of keeping things simple," he said. "It's based on what you need. If you do away with all the frilly stuff there, what a Northerner would view as something they wouldn't typically buy, there would be monies left over to invest in a decent country foods program."

Dargo said he believes the project would have a strong foundation to make it successful.

"They (Northern regions) all have some shape or form of a program that helps harvesters," he said, adding in Nunavik they have subsidy programs in place for hunters to purchase necessary equipment and gasoline.

"It's different in every region I went to, but they try to encourage that type of lifestyle surrounding healthy eating.

"The problem with the programs for them is they don't have enough money.

"What would be a better opportunity for Canada to get more of a bang for their food mail dollar than to invest in already existing programs that will benefit Northerners?"