*By CWP intern Emily Shoff
Food is a human right, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Keep this statement in mind when thinking of Northern communities where the land is non-agricultural, where wild animals are a rare commodity and where food has to be flown in. Are Canadian citizens in the North able to fully attain this basic human right?
Nutrition North is a program provided by the Department of Indian Affairs Canada (INAC) where non-perishable foods are distributed to commercial wholesalers, retailers and the like. Eligible applicants are those located in some of the most northern communities in Canada where many of them are populated by Aboriginal peoples. After forty years of service, the Food Mail program which was replaced by Nutrition North, needed revision since nutrition levels for the communities were found inadequate and 70% of pre-school children in Nunavut were not getting enough to eat (see Christian Aboriginal Infrastructure Developments website). Nutrition North launched in April 2011 provides higher subsidies for healthier alternatives such as milk, cheese and meats (see website, Nutrition North).
What does this say about poverty? One of the effects of the Nutrition North program is it has shortened its list of eligible foods meaning that fruit drinks such as cranberry juice are now found on the shelves at a going rate of (ready for it) $38 a jug. Customers have to pay the listed price, even if that means $17 for a bag of spaghetti noodles or $77 for a bag of breaded chicken. Residents of the North are already vulnerable to poverty. In many First Nations communities, 80% of the population makes less than $30 000 a year. With jugs of juice being sold for $38, what fraction of an individual’s income is spent on food?
Because Nutrition North does not cover as many products as the Food Mail program did, many products are costing $13 per kilogram to transport instead of a whopping $0.80 cents per kilogram for subsidized products (see Globe and Mail). Why is this allowed when bananas that come from further distances such as Colombia are transported to Ottawa and are still priced at $0.59 cents a pound? They’re unpacked in the grocery store, packed back up and flown to the middle of the Arctic Circle and the prices increase…dramatically!
INAC has responded to the poor health of individuals in the North which is needed. Check. Provide nutritious food at a lower cost. Great. But the rising costs of foods that are not listed under the Nutrition North program is of great concern since the World Bank proposes that approximately 44 million people globally have fallen to the ranks of extreme poverty because of rising food costs (see Globe and Mail).
Is Nutrition North a solution to prevent Northerners from falling into poverty? It would help if the program broadened the list of subsidized foods and alter the objective to not only provide nutritious but also affordable foods. Perhaps this program could be the base for eradicating poverty in Northern Canada. Now that is food for thought!
