Steps to transparency for Nutrition North
Point-of-sale system to give customers information on where subsidy is applied
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, March 30, 2015
IQALUIT
The Nutrition North program will increase in transparency over the next few months, said Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada assistant deputy minister Stephen Van Dine at a public meeting in Iqaluit March 26.
Toward the end of the meeting, hosted by the Nutrition North Advisory Board and attended by approximately two dozen residents, Van Dine received confirmation from his office that the Federation des cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec, which operates 14 co-operatives in Nunavik, Quebec, has voluntarily implemented a point-of-sale in-store system.
"This new system ensures that customers will see how and when the Nutrition North subsidy is applied to their grocery bill. This means that consumers will be able to clearly see the amount of the subsidy passed on to them, ensuring greater retailer transparency and accountability," said Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt in a statement released after the meeting.
Technical advisor to the board Danielle Medina, who was present at the meeting, said it's only a matter of time until all retailers will need to provide this service to their customers.
The advisory board will monitor the Quebec co-operative and report back to Valcourt in early June.
Edward Kennedy, the president and chief executive officer of The North West Company, told Nunavut News/North Feb. 25 that the retail company was considering a point-of-sale system for its customers.
News/North also reported in early December that the small retailer, Arctic Buying Company, already has such a point-of-sale system in place.
When Nutrition North was rolled out to replace Food Mail, owner Tara Tootoo-Fotheringham quickly realized that her computer system would not be able to provide the information needed to show compliance.
She spent $60,000 of her own money for a software developer to create a program that could capture the correct information and import it to show, on each invoice, the subsidy on the eligible Level 1 and Level 2 food items her customers buy.
Medina noted after the public meeting that if a small retailer such as Tootoo-Fotheringham can do it, so can the larger retailers.
The board repeatedly told the assembled crowd that its main goal at the moment is to ensure accountability, visibility and transparency.
"We want to see what is presented to each individual as clear as possible," said vice-chairperson Nellie Cournoyea. "I feel with a point-of-sale system, you would have the price of the product and the discount or the subsidy from (Nutrition North).
"Over a period of time you would be able to see just what the margins are. It's right there in front of you," said Cournoyea.
"But that doesn't really mean we're solving all the problems because we're not. I wish we could. But, as far as the board is concerned, we do want to make it as clear and neat and understandable as possible."
