Experts disappointed by lack of Nutrition North reform in the Liberal budget

The long-awaited reform of Nutrition North will be delayed once again. The federal leaders have been promising to amend the troubled Northern Grocery Subsidy almost since its creation in 2011. The latest plan was supposed to roll out this fall. But according to Northern Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand, the target is now April. Yeah, so we're working through the finer details right now. Chartrand was in Iqaluit to promote the recently tabled federal budget, which includes over $600 million over four years, earmarked for Nutrition North, a slight increase from previous years. But lack of specific reform plans drew criticism from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. The organization has long called for an overhaul of the program, saying it hasn't addressed food insecurity in Inuit communities. I share the disappointment expressed by TK and others that Some of the things that have been suggested that I think the government should consider seriously, you know, we're not in there. Nicholas Lee is a longtime researcher of Nutrition North. He says the subsidy rate has not kept up with the rising food costs in the North. In over a decade of the program's existence, the rate of food insecurity in Nunavut has nearly doubled, from 28% in 2010 to 46%. And since 2021, the grocery prices grew over 22%. In other words... So that new money doesn't really make things more affordable and innovative than they were in 2021. Lee says there is no consensus about what the reformed Nutrition North should look like, which is likely the reason for the delay. How many more, you know, conferences or summits and, you know, how much more input they believe they need to kind of... See some of these changes? For now, the unchanged Nutrition North and the rest of the Liberal budget will be up for a debate in the Parliament, which is set to vote on it at a later day. Arti Sarkissian, CBC News, Iqaluit.