Rising food and gas prices a big concern for northern Manitoba First Nations already feeling the pinch

First Nations communities in northern Manitoba already payhigh prices for fuel and groceries, and many are worried about the impact rising costswill have on struggling families.

"Prices are extremely ridiculous," said Tanya Highway, a mother of three.

Highwayis Cree and a member of Barren Lands First Nation inBrochet, about 940 kilometres north of Winnipeg. The remote community of about 300 does not have a year-round road connection; it'saccessible by plane, by boat in summer and by winter roadusually from January to March.

It's one of 121 northern and isolated communitieseligible forthe federal Nutrition North Canada program, which is a subsidy applied against the total costof items such as fruit andvegetables,milk, meat, bread, and some non-food items such as diapers and menstrual products, shipped by air, ice road, sealift or barge.

Highway said she does her best to avoid shopping at the onegrocery store in the community because of the highprices and limited selection.

She said she has noticed pricesclimb every year and even with subsidies, she saidfruits and vegetables are often unaffordable.

"They're so expensive," said Highway.

"And then we've got all the junk food like chips and drinks and stuff like that they sell them for cheap and because they sell them for cheap, everybody goes for that."

Brochet is about 530 kilometres by road from Thompson, when the winter road is open.Highwaysaid residents will share rides to split the costof travellingto Thompson to shop.Even though it takes nine hours to drive there one way, on top of hotel costs, she said the wider item selection and pricing is worth the trek.

"Our people take that opportunity to leave whenever we can, just to go and buy our food," said Highway.

Barren Lands Chief Trina Halkettsaidthey have been using COVID-19 relief funds from Indigenous Services Canada to help pay for food hampers.

The last round of hampers were sent out at the beginning of February, andit cost the First Nation over $30,000 to charter a plane to fly $60,000 worth of groceries from Winnipeg.

Halkett said they plan on making another large order of groceries for community hampers this month, but hope to get it to the community bytruck on the winter road.

Tadoule Lake turns to traditional foods

Members of the Sayisi Dene First Nation atTadoule Lake, Man.,are relying on traditional foodslikecaribou and fish to offset the cost of living.

Tadoule Lake is 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg as the crow flies and about 700 kilometres by roadfrom Thompson, when the winter road is open. Otherwise, it's a fly-in community.

Ernesto Bussidor,a former chief, said the community has been blessed to have a healthy caribou population this year, although rising gas prices and the frigid winter weather has made it challenging for hunters.

"We're very fortunate we have fish in the lake and caribou in the hills, so it's been subsidizing the community," said Bussidor.

He said the community ran out of gas in January andhad to getfuel flown into tide them over until the winter road opened.

"The regular prices are not much lower for the winter road-delivered gas," he said.

"So, there's no breaks anywhere on fuel up in this country."

Bussidor said people in the community were paying $3.10 a litre for gas at the beginning of March.

Thanks to a trust fund that was established as part of the community's relocation settlement in 2016, thereis asubsidy at the community grocery store, in addition to the Nutrition North subsidy,for foodslike vegetables and baby formula.

However, Chief Evan Yassie saidhe getscalls "every other day" from families who are barely getting by.

"Young families are coming to us as leaders for the community and saying, 'I'm running out of grub,' 'My baby needs milk,''My baby needs Pampers' or 'My child needs food,'" said Yassie.

Yassie said the money that people in Tadoule Lake are living on is not enough for the cost of living in the North.

He said even with subsidiesfrom the community's trust, as well as the Nutrition North Canada subsidy, people in Tadoule Lake are paying double the price for groceries versus what peoplewould pay in the south.

He said an all-year road or a negotiation of funding options would help to solve their food security issues.

Indigenous Services Canada monitoring situation

Garrison Settee, the grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), a political advocacy group that represents 26 First Nations in northern Manitoba, said he is concerned about the high cost of food in the North.

MKO recently opened a food bank in Thompson due to increased demand for assistance duringthe pandemic.Settee said in an emailed statement that MKOwill be reaching out its member First Nationson how thecost of living is impacting individuals and families.

MKO will lobby both levels of government to increase investments inareas such as highway maintenance, winter road construction, airport maintenance, and partnerships with service companies and industries, the statement said.

At a news conference Thursday, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdusaid the department ismonitoring the rising cost of food and fuelandworking towardsolutions.

"We want to make sure that no matter what happens in terms of cost of living that there is support for First Nations communities who obviously bear the brunt of those higher costs in a much more profound way," said Hajdu.

In an emailed statement,ISCsaidBudget 2021 included a three-year investment of $163.4 million to work with Indigenous partners to address food insecurity. That isto include enhancements to the Nutrtition North subsidy, as well as an expansion to the Harvesters Support Grant program which helps fundhunting activities.