Nunatsiavut welcomes Nutrition North changes, but says they're just a start

Changes to Nutrition Northwill be welcomed by Labrador Inuit, but there are still many concerns about the food subsidy program, says the food security co-ordinator for the Nunatsiavutgovernment.

The federal government Monday announced a substantial series of changes to the program. Among them, some new itemssuch as diapers will now be subsidized, and existing subsidies for a range of other items, including infant food and frozen vegetables,will be increased.

• Flour, frozen fruit get increased subsidies in major Nutrition North update

"What I have heard from Labradorians, and specifically from folks in Nunatsiavut, is [that's]extremely important, and I believe that will be a very welcome change," Kristeen McTavish told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

"But overall the changes are fairly small, and we do realize that the program still needs some substantive overhaul, in terms of how the program is structured."

'A very big lack of transparency'

That structural problem has been amajor issue for Inuit with Nutrition North since the program's introduction in 2011, said McTavish,and partly revolves around the fact the subsidies arepaid out to stores and suppliers.

"There's a very big lack of transparency about where those dollars go, and how they're passed on to consumers," she said.

"At the core, that's not the right way to be subsidizing food."

Monday's announcement did include changes to how retailers report and disclose subsidies. That's allpart of a continual effort to respond to criticism and revamp Nutrition North, said Labrador MPYvonne Jones.

"We're open to lookat other options. If there's a better way of subsidizing nutritious food and essential food that people need in Northern Inuit regions, we're willing to look at that," said Jones, who is also the parliamentary secretary for Northern Affairs.

• 'Tokenism and optics': Inuit orgs slam feds on Nutrition North consultations

• Nunatsiavut says federal gov't not committed to fixing Nutrition North

The Nunatsiavutgovernment was one of five Inuit groups to pull out of government talks over food security in April, saying their concerns weren't being addressed. But McTavish said with this latest announcement, it appears the federal government is taking steps to open lines of communication.

"We're definitely seeing a commitment to work with communitiesand Inuit to make changes," she said.

Harvester program welcomed

A bright spot for Labrador Inuit in the announcement is the addition of a program to help harvesters access wild game and traditional foods.

"We're very happy about that," said McTavish.

"Under the current program, the ability to access wild foods or country foods is very, very limited."

Details of what exactly that program will entail are slim, but McTavishhopes to hear people's ideas as it develops.

"There's a lot of work to be done still around these changes, and Icertainly welcome any input from Labrador Inuit or folks in Labrador as to what they think would be appropriate in terms of a harvester support program," she said.

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