SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The federal government announced a new food subsidy program on May 21 that will replace the current Food Mail program in April 2011.

Danny, left, and Joseph Vayha, right, unload crates of food at the airport in Deline back in January before transporting it to the Co-op. A second vehicle takes supplies to the Northern Store and North-Wright airways help distribute packages destined for people in the area. - NNSL file photo No longer subsidized Whole pumpkins Croissants Garlic bread Cream Ice cream Ice milk Sherbet Frozen yogurt Cream cheese Processed cheese spreads such as Cheese Whiz Side bacon Hard and hydrogenated margarine Water Dips such as those used for chips or vegetables Prescription drugs Products subsidized at a lower rate Unsweetened juices – fresh juice, in large Tetra Paks or bottles Crackers Pilot biscuits Melba toast Arrowroot and Social Tea cookies Fresh and frozen pasta All-purpose flour Whole wheat, rye and other flours – excludes cake and pastry flour Salad dressings Mayonnaise Cooking oils – peanut, canola, olive, flaxseed Lard Shortening Buttermilk Fresh and frozen combination foods – such as pizza or lasagna (products that are breaded, battered, in pastry, desserts, poutine, prepared sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, prepared salads and other prepared foods will be excluded) Yeast Artificial sweeteners Products with the highest subsidy Fresh and frozen vegetables Fresh and frozen fruit Unsweetened juices – frozen concentrate, individual juice boxes Dried fruits Dried unseasoned vegetables Cereal Oatmeal Bread – rolls, raisin bread, hamburger or hotdog buns, pizza crusts, frozen bread dough, English muffins, tortillas, pitas Milk – chocolate, powdered, buttermilk, canned evaporated, UHT Yogurt and yogurt drinks Cheese including processed cheeses Cottage cheese Soy beverages Egg and egg substitutes Tofu and other meat substitutes – veggie burgers Unsweetened nuts and seeds Peanut butter Fresh and frozen meat Fish and poultry – including country foods (products that are breaded, battered or in pastry will be excluded) Back bacon Soft, non hydrogenated margarine Infant formula

Under the revamped program, 77 communities across Canada will be eligible for the full subsidy, 14 in the NWT including 10 in the Sahtu and the Delta.

Trout Lake, Gameti, Lutsel K'e and Whati will be eligible for a nominal subsidy during the first year of the program. Those communities were identified as only making partial use of the Food Mail program in the past. Nahanni Butte and Wekweeti will no longer be eligible. Both were identified as not making use of the past Food Mail program.

The new program, Nutrition North Canada, passes the shipping subsidy, which used to be allotted to Canada Post, directly to retailers, Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said.

Retailers will be directly responsible not only for the price, but the quality of the food they sell, Strahl said.

"Under the new program, retailers are getting the subsidy and retailers are going to be making supply management decisions, supply chain decisions on how to get the best product at the best price," he said.

A consistent problem with the current Food Mail program was the lack of accountability for the quality of goods during their journey from southern entry points to their final destination in Northern grocery stores, Strahl said. Vegetables and fruit often arrived in Northern communities in poor condition.

The responsibility of providing quality products at a reasonable price now lies solely with retailers.

"The person you'll be buttonholing when you don't like what you see, that will be the retailers because you can get your hands right on them, they're right there," he said. "There won't be any finger-pointing."

Ensuring retailers pass the subsidy on to their customers is another key focus of the new program, something the current Food Mail program lacks, federal Health Minister and Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq said.

"It was so apparent to the consumers that the subsidy was not being passed on and as Northerners, we deserve better," she said.

Under the new program, customers will be able to see how much their food has been subsidized right at the cash register, Strahl said. The amount subsidized will depend on the location of communities.

"On their sales receipt they'll be able to see what that rate is for the community, not for every single product, but for each community," he said.

An advisory committee made up of people across the North will also be established to ensure accountability, Strahl said.

"They (retailers) have to be prepared to open up their books to our folks and to the advisory board to say 'here's how it's working for consumers,'" he said.

The board will also allow Northerners to express their concerns and help with the direction of the new program over the next 10 months.

Anyone with a "vested interest," including retailers and airline representatives, will be ineligible to sit on the board, Strahl said.

While the program won't be fully implemented until April 2011, a revised list of eligible products will take effect on Oct. 3.

Individuals will still be able to make personal food orders and 80 per cent of the items available under Food Mail will still be available under the new program, Strahl said.

The most nutritious food will get the highest subsidies. The budget for the program is $60 million.

Instead of the $60 million subsidy going directly to Canada Post to offset shipping costs, stores will be able to apply to INAC for the subsidy.

"All retailers in communities that are eligible will have the option to receive a subsidy for their shipments of eligible foods," Genevieve Guibert, a spokeswoman for INAC, said on Friday afternoon.

Guibert added people can also order subsidized food through retailers down south, if those stores register with INAC.

The new program will also cover commercial country food, Aglukkaq said.

"For the very first time country food will be subsidized in the shipping from community to community," she said.

For example, fish shipped from the Pangnirtung Fish Plant to Iqaluit will be subsidized. However, that subsidy does not apply to shipping country food to family and friends.

Strahl said there is the possibility of extending the subsidy and he anticipates the advisory board will have input on that issue.

"We're open to ideas on how that could be expanded," he said. "I expect that will be one of the first things they wrestle with."

Aglukkaq also said Health Canada funding will be provided to train harvesters.

"Community members will also receive funding to teach people harvesting skills and this will involve taking people out on the land," she said. "Community, territorial governments and stakeholders will determine what will work best in each community."

- with files from Emily Ridlington