Cabinet pledges to overhaul Arctic grocery subsidy

The federal government has vowed to reform its $145 million-a-year Arctic grocery subsidy, Nutrition North, following years of criticism and multiple audits that found the program ineffective and costly.

“We will take decisive action,” said Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree. “I won’t make any qualms about it. We will take decisive action.”

Blacklock's Reporter says Nutrition North was designed to offset the high cost of food flown into remote Northern communities, where the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations estimates that, without subsidies, essentials like milk could cost $10 per liter and eggs $14 per dozen.

However, numerous reports have concluded that the subsidies have failed to deliver meaningful savings to consumers. A 2020 evaluation of the program found that while prices for select goods were controlled, many Northern households could still not afford a full, nutritious diet.

Between 2012 and 2018, grocery subsidies totaled $442.9 million, increasing at an average rate of 5% per year. Despite this, MPs and senators have long criticized the program for failing to bring down Arctic food prices.

The government appointed Aluki Kotierk, former president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., as a special investigator to conduct another review of Nutrition North, with a final report due in 2026.

“I think there have been a lot of questions about how the subsidies have actually reached the consumer,” Kotierk said. “It’s really important that there be a review.”

Her investigation will examine the program’s effectiveness and explore alternative ways to ensure Northerners have access to affordable, nutritious food. However, it will not include public hearings.

“So many of us travel around with big Rubbermaid tubs because any opportunity we have to go to the south, we fill it up with groceries to bring back home,” Kotierk said. “That’s a very common experience.”

Launched in 2011, Nutrition North replaced the postwar Food Mail Program, which offered subsidized shipping rates for food flown to remote communities.

Despite increasing subsidies, a significant number of Northern households — especially those earning less than $55,000 with school-age children — continue to struggle to afford a balanced diet.

In 2015, the House of Commons rejected a proposal to replace grocery subsidies with direct consumer assistance, similar to the U.S. food stamps program, which provides pre-loaded debit cards for purchasing fresh food.