Thirty-seven remote northern communities - including six in Manitoba - will join the list of communities eligible for Nutrition North Canada subsidies as of Oct. 1 of this year, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada announced July 18.
Tadoule Lake, Brochet, York Landing, Granville Lake and Shamattawa in Northern Manitoba are among those newly eligible for the full subsidy as of October, along with Berens River. Previously eligible Manitoba communities Lac Brochet, Red Sucker Lake, God’s River, Oxford House, God’s Lake Narrows, Waasagomach, Island Lake (Garden Hill), St. Theresa Point, Negginan (Poplar River), Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids will continue to be eligible for the subsidies, which aim to reduce the high cost of groceries for people in isolated northern communities.
The expansion comes after eligibility criteria were updated and the budget for the food subsidy program increased by $64.5 million over the next five years and $13.8 million each year beginning in 2021.
“The government of Canada is committed to listening to northern families to understand what they need to help feed their families,” said Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett in a press release. “These changes will help more families to have access to affordable and nutritious food.”
The announcement was made in Inuvik, Northwest Territories at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse prior to a roundtable discussion with northern, Inuit and First Nations leaders on food security in the North.
“This announcement shows that small steps can lead to a greater impact on the daily lives of northerners,” said interim Nutrition North Canada advisory board chair Nellie Cournoyea.
Nutrition North Canada served 103 communities in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, northern Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan as of June 2014. Some NNC communities receive full subsidies of as much as $16 per kilogram, while others receive partial subsidies of as little as five cents per kilogram.
