Minister's Special Representative submission on Nutrition North Canada

On this page

• Background
• Food is a source of joy and connection
• Vision
• Food as a joy has been disrupted
• Food choice is a human right – it is about dignity
• Canada commits to have no one hungry
• Canada can achieve what it sets out to achieve – commitments – supporty dignity and choice
• Nutrition North Canada
• Conclusion

Background

Aluki Kotierk, an Inuk leader from Iqaluit, Nunavut has dedicated her career to integrating Inuit culture and language into public programs and services - ensuring they resonate with and benefit Inuit communities. Originally from Igloolik, Ms. Kotierk has held several senior positions within the Government of Nunavut and was most recently the former president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. She is also a standing member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Ms. Kotierk was appointed in March 2025 as the Minister's Special Representative (MSR) to report directly to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. The MSR's mandate was to meet with national and regional Indigenous organizations, retailers, transportation providers and stakeholders, including relevant federal government organizations to evaluate NNC's effectiveness, and to make recommendations on how to improve the program.

Minister Anandasangaree appoints Aluki Kotierk to lead external review of Nutrition North Canada.

Food is a source of joy and connection

Uujuuq! Uujuuq! Hearing this, we would drop everything we were doing: whether we were skipping rocks on the flat, glass-like ocean down at the shoreline; or, we were out gathering heather to be used for the next time we cook caribou legs wrapped in aluminum foil; or we were digging for roots. We would run towards the tents where, outside, the prepared meat that we had been smelling wafting through the fall breeze was laid out.

As we sat around the big communal pot of cooked caribou meat there would be a sense of joy and excitement. This was not only about nutrition and filling our bellies. It was about the camaraderie, the connection, the togetherness as chunks of meat were being placed into toddler mouths and ulus and knives glistened in the sun. You washed down the delicious brown meat of the caribou with caribou broth made with a packet of dried soup mix. Stories would be shared of the hunt. Plans were shared about the next hunt. Joy was feeling the caribou fat cooling and caking on your lips as you devoured the deliciousness. The feeling of satisfaction and gratitude is palpable.

This feeling of joy and togetherness was the same feeling regardless of what we ate. I have fond memories of eating cooked bearded seal intestines with the perfect proportion of bearded seal fat placed inside the intestine. I always thought that bearded seal intestine with a piece of fat was children's food because it was so particularly yummy. It was always so fun to poke ones fingers through the rings of intestines.

Depending on which part of the Arctic you are from, the food items may be different but the feelings of togetherness, pride, joy and gratitude are the same.

When I think about food and eating together and the feelings of gratitude, I think about how this needs to be more commonplace. Yet, we know that with the high levels of poverty and the high costs of living, many northerners struggle with adequately meeting their nutritional requirements. It has become far too common for food from our homelands to be viewed as a luxury.

Vision

When I think about challenges in our communities, challenges that we need to overcome, I often think about the big, bold, audacious dream that we have. What is it that we aspire to? I think once we have a clear idea of what we envision then we can start thinking about how to achieve that. When I think of the communities across the Arctic I have a great longing to replicate the joy of food.

I look forward to a day where food is no longer a source of stress and worry but rather it is a source of joy and gratitude. I look forward to a day in which northerners live with dignity and have the choice to determine their preferred food whether it is country food or market food. I would like to see a Cree youth in Wemedji feel excited in anticipation of the spring goose hunt, I want the Gwichin fisher in Old Crow to know that they can get salmon, I want the Cree Elder from York Factory to feel the joy of eating moose from their homelands, I want the breastfeeding Inuk in Makkovik to not have to choose between buying food and heating their home. I want the diabetic Dene in Whati to know with confidence that their specialty dietary item will be available. I want the Inuk child in Paulatuk to grow up with aspirations to being a revered hunter.

These aspirations are achievable. There are no shortage of ideas.

History has demonstrated that when there is political will and commitment there is a path to meaningful long-lasting transformative supports.

A precondition to achieving this aspiration and ensuring that Indigenous Peoples can once again thrive is ensuring Indigenous self-determination. Time and time again Indigenous Peoples express the need to be able to make their own decisions about their own lives and future.

Food as a joy has been disrupted

We know that food preparation, food sharing and food consumption can be steeped in joy and culture and social connections and gratitude. It can be a source of cultural pride. Sharing stories about the hunt and providing for family and community can strengthen social connections. Celebrating first catches underlines the importance of productively contributing to community and fills everyone with gratitude.

Once a source of cultural pride and societal cohesion can now be a trigger for pain and trauma and lots and lots of shame.

Colonization effectively and systematically changes lifestyles and insidiously makes peoples believe that their ways of life is inferior and shameful. This deliberate disruption is an ideal space to grow dependency. Dependency grows and takes hold. Decisions are made from the view that the colonized peoples are inferior.

Through colonization, families have been relocated, displaced and separated from their homelands. Dogs have been slaughtered. Indigenous peoples have been systematically stripped of their ability to sustain their own nutritional needs.

Regulations and laws have been introduced and enforced that limit food harvesting and has restricted access to hunting, fishing and gathering grounds. This has directly impacted on food availability and has resulted in the continued loss of Indigenous knowledge. The loss of Indigenous knowledge has a direct impact on cultural loss and identity which relates to the feelings of self-worth.

There has been a nutrition transition with so much more reliance on market food from retailers.  Through programs like Nutrition North Canada, northerners are told what foods are healthy and nutritional, and what food items are subsidized.

Decisions made about us far from our homes can have long lasting negative impacts.

As a child I felt the direct impacts of the European Union (EU) ban on sealskins. Our family, like many other families, could no longer supplement the household income with the sale of sealskins. It meant that there were less resources to purchase hunting supplies. It meant that there was more household tension and stress. It meant that some days we didn't know what we were going to eat.

We know that well-intentioned approaches sometimes result in unintended harm.

Sometimes these public policy decisions result in a cruel outcome felt by children who go hungry. Children, despite not having any control over the policies, receive the brunt of the outcomes of public policy. Children are often deeply impacted as they watch their parents unable to provide sufficient food for them. Some of them feel a great sense of responsibility over their younger siblings and carry a deeply ingrained shame into their adulthood. Policies that they have no control over yet are impacted deeply by them.

Similar impacts were felt, most recently, when the Canadian Government decided not to renew Inuit Child First Initiative. The cruelty of being able to provide food one day and then not being able to provide food the next day leaves a trauma imprint on many children who do not understand why their parents are no longer able to provide food. It also leaves a heavy burden of guilt for the parents who not unlike other parents strive to be good parents.

Food choice is a human right – it is about dignity

If you are like me, you probably grew up hearing stories from the Elders in the community. Sometimes these stories were part of the epic stories shared amongst our peoples regardless of the vastness of our geography. Sometimes these stories were of times past.

As I think about food security in the north, I remember a story shared by my late grandmother of times past. In it she shared that every single person had an important role in our camps. Even little children would be told to be observant when they went out to play with their peers. When they went to different household dwellings they were told to be observant. Did the qulliq look like it was running out of fat or did the food storage area seem to be low in food? When they returned home to their own dwelling they would share what they observed with their mother. In the case that the child observed that a household was low on fat for their qulliq or low on meat, the child's mother would gather appropriate supplies whether it be fat or meat and go visit the mother of the household that was running low. The child's mother would express how they had an abundance of fat and how they hoped that they could do them a favour by helping them use up the fat.

To me, this story clearly illustrates a deep understanding and acceptance that none of us are immune to hardship. We are all part of a societal network based on kinship and relationships and we must look out for each others well-being. When fellow members of our family or community are doing well, it means that we are doing well. The mother who was provided with the fat, never had to ask for fat because they were running low so her dignity was kept intact. She did not have to feel ashamed that she was unable to provide for her own household dwelling.

Many Indigenous Peoples' societies across the world are informed by principles of reciprocity and solidarity and food is often shared amongst and between communities. This is no different in northern Canada.

This very deep cultural sharing network is still very prevalent in northern communities across Denendeh, Inuit Nunangat, Sahtu, Eeyou Istchee – communities served by the Nutrition North Program. These support systems are based on family kinship, cultural values and supports the dignity of community members.

As an adult who spends an excessive amount of time thinking about the human right to dignity, I think this is a brilliant societal norm practiced culturally by Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples to ensure that there is a social safety net. None of us are immune to hardship. None of us are immune to hunger.

Having community members notice a need and address it without a person having to go ask for help prevents the great shame that is so innate and intertwined with so many programs. In fact, I would state that shame is a great colonial remnant that continues to create havoc in our communities.

I remember the great shame I felt as I followed my mother as we walked to the neighbourhood food bank to ask for food because we had no food at home. Although I felt grateful that we were going to fill our bellies with the items that were so generously provided to us, I also felt so angry and frustrated that we were poor and that we would have to once again eat beans. I started to associate beans with being poor.

For me, it is beans but for someone else, it may be some other food item. It is so crucially important that people be in a position to make choices. Choices support dignity.

Canada commits to have no one hungry

Canada, along with many other member states have committed to implementing the right to adequate food which emphasizes the elimination of hunger and promoting the undeniable link between human dignity and access to safe, adequate and nutritious food. It is important to underscore the cultural aspects of nutrition which is so crucial to Indigenous Peoples and included in the Right to Food Guidelines.

In 2015, along with many other member states, Canada adopted the resolution that establishes the 2030 Agenda and sets out the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 2 focusses on achieving zero hunger. By implementing this goal, intention is to have a world free of hunger by 2030.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) emphasizes self-determination and supports Indigenous Peoples' control over food which aligns with the notion of food sovereignty and the right to freely define one's own food policies.

Since the 2021 Food Summit, Canada has been involved in the School Meals Coalition. This is in line with Canada's National School Food Program. It is important that this aligns with supporting cultural appropriate food items that are locally available. Canada needs to be purposeful in its approach. We know that school feeding programs have altered the health and food preferences of Indigenous youth towards processed unhealthier foods.

Equally important is the need to be involved in and support the Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems Coalition that was also established at the same time as the School Meals Coalition.

In 2021, Canada's National Statement highlighted that there is much to learn from partnerships with Indigenous Peoples who have been safeguarding biodiversity and have proven the importance of preserving traditional food systems.

Canadian Strategy to enhance Canada's sovereignty and security in the Arctic Region.

Canada can achieve what it sets out to achieve – commitments – support, dignity and choice

The best approach for Canada to assert Arctic Sovereignty is to have healthy, empowered Canadians living in the Arctic. To build upon, A New Shared Arctic Leadership Model, where Mary Simon already articulately stated the view that Canada must ensure the residents of the Arctic are well, I would emphasize that this includes having sufficient food and feeling empowered to make decisions on food through food sovereignty. Arctic sovereignty includes Indigenous Peoples' food sovereignty.

Canada needs to centre the needs of people and think about systematically whether or not they are providing the necessary supports to ensure that people are getting the foods that they prefer and that provides them with nutrition – physically and emotionally.

There has to be an acceptance that there will not be sufficient competition that corrects the economy in the ways in which it does for southern markets where there is much more competition.

There is a moral obligation when Northerners are contributing so much to Canadian identity, Canadian sovereignty and Canadian security.

When defending the Arctic, Canada must do its utmost to ensure that the people who call the Arctic home have the means to be healthy, well and contributing members of society.

Canada continues to claim being an Arctic Nation, as such it is crucially important that Canada make the necessary investments in the Arctic so that the people in the Arctic are healthy and can be productive members of society.

Like other Canadians, individuals living in Nutrition North Canada eligible communities would like to be able to choose the appropriate food items.

This is a Canadian problem. The solution is a nation-building exercise. The modernization of Nutrition North Canada is not only a matter of food security but a nation building initiative that contributes to reconciliation, economic development and Canadian sovereignty and security.

Imagine the amount of energy and passion and focus that northern Canadians could contribute to the betterment of our nation if they were not spending their time wondering where there next meal was going to come and were not spending time wondering how to make their food budget stretch to ensure that everyone is fed when they are not thinking about what meal that they should skip or how they are going to support their children to live their best lives. So much energy and shame and worry is spent on making sure there are sufficient food items in our households.

Canada knows that household income is strongly correlated with household food insecurity.

Food insecurity is a social determinant of health. Hunger and malnutrition mean less productive individuals, who are more prone to disease and thus often unable to earn more and improve their livelihoods. We know that food insecurity contributes to the prevalence of preventable and contagious diseases such as tuberculosis.

This means that there needs to be far-reaching investments and initiatives to address food security in a transformative and lasting way. A multi-pronged approach is necessary.

The Nutrition North Canada program in and of itself will not address food insecurity in the Arctic. What is necessary is a comprehensive program to address poverty. There needs to be a focus on the ability or means to be able to purchase the appropriate foods or the necessary equipment to be able to secure the appropriate foods. It does not matter how much more affordable a bag of flour is in one of the Arctic communities if the individuals in the community do not have the financial ability to purchase the bag of flour. We know that the vast majority of the population across the Nutrition North Canada eligible communities live under the poverty line.

In order to address food security in a long-lasting manner that would be transformative for Northern communities, I would strongly recommend that Canada support legislation that establishes a guaranteed livable income. It is encouraging that Bill S-206 An Act to develop a national Framework for a Guaranteed Liveable Basic Income is being considered. The operative word is liveable rather than basic, again to elevate and support dignity and empowerment. It is important so that northerners can have the means to purchase market foods or they can choose to purchase expensive hunting equipment so that they can actively participate in harvesting practices.

Having income allows for individuals to make choices on the food items and other household items that they want to buy. This was demonstrated through the distribution of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during the COVID-19 pandemic along with gift cards that were used to purchase food and household items. This similar phenomena took place through the Inuit Child First Initiative (ICFI). ICFI has addressed food insecurity and income disparity in Nunavut with almost 5,000 approved requests for necessities and food security supports in 2023-24 alone, totalling $58.5 million in assistance.

There has been speculation that prices have increased when there has been an infusion of income from government programs. I also know that there has been a rise in inflation. It is important to think of ways in which prices can be kept at a reasonable rate.

Having different tiers of subsidies can be well intentioned but can be creating harm. Why is a prepared salad bag not subsidized when all the components of the salad bag are subsidized? I have tried to think deeply and in different approaches to understand why pasta shaped in a certain way is subsidized when nutritionally equivalent pasta in a different shape is not subsidized? It makes no sense to me and I suspect that it would not make sense to a Canadian living in Vancouver or Regina or Halifax.

I have thought about whether or not the government should consider price caps on certain items. I am of the view that there would again be a question of what items should have a price cap and the determination of that would be culturally biased and may not adequately meet the needs of residents of the Nutrition North Canada eligible communities. It is again about choice and the ability to make choices that is so important to me. I am of the view that all items in Nutrition North Canada eligible communities should be subsidized. I anticipate that the government would raise the concern of cost and I suspect that program administrators would raise concerns that it far exceeds the budget of the Nutrition North Canada. This is all true. However, it is also true that residents who live in Nutrition North Canada eligible communities are also Canadian and should be able to expect a standard of living and accessibility that is at par with other Canadians. Just because we live in the Arctic, it does not mean we are less Canadian and should expect less. In fact, there has been and continues to be an underinvestment in the Arctic across the board. With all this in mind, it is my firm belief that all items must be subsidized including an inflation model that accounts for general market inflation and the variable costs resulting from supply chain distance.

Transportation costs contribute to the ultimate price that consumers pay, as such the government may want to look at ways in which to reduce shipping costs. Many of the northern communities are relatively small and many of them are fly-in communities which results in a lack of competition not only in terms of retailers but also shipping providers. There may be an opportunity for the Canadian Government to negotiate a transportation rate, that could be used regardless of shipping volume, whether it be by air, barge, rail, or road. This would ensure that the transportation costs are the same for all communities. This would be more equitable for smaller retailers who do not have the same buying power. My understanding is that the Canadian Government negotiated a flat rate to service all the communities that were eligible through the previous food mail program. I must emphasize that this would also benefit the ability to ship up expensive hunting and harvesting equipment and fuel.

Government public policies and initiatives to be delivered in the Arctic must consider how they are impacting on food security. There is an opportunity for the Government of Canada to take a whole of government approach when addressing food insecurity in the North. Priorities are often achieved by monitoring progress and consciously and deliberately taking initiatives to ensure that there is progress. I would suggest that the Government may want to look into taking a food security lens when embarking on new or renewed programs and services in the North. Will the changes support food sovereignty? Will it support dignity? How does it positively impact on access to country food? How does it positively impact on access to market food?

There are many opportunities. For instance Canada, through its Arctic Policy has committed to focussing on infrastructure. When embarking on infrastructure projects one can ask how they can be adjusted to ensure that they positively impact on food security. Can there be upgrades on the runways which for the most part are short and gravel. I have heard how having upgraded runways could positively impact on the availability and quality of market food because it would have a direct impact on the type of aircraft that could be used. A focus on infrastructure could ensure that ports not only meet military requirements but also support the hunting food system. There is an opportunity to focus on multipronged approaches when embarking on infrastructure projects. Can a heated garage be included in the design and planning? This could be used to repair hunting equipment. Is there an opportunity to invest in food processing plants or community freezers?

Nutrition North Canada

Many of us who call the Arctic our homeland are proud Canadians. And many of us are frustrated with Canada for the lack of coordinated and comprehensive investment in our homelands. Throughout history, Canada is interested in our homelands, in fleeting ways, for sovereignty and security purposes, to extract natural resources, to meet conservation targets, for science and research and for potential shipping routes.

As part of a nation-building exercise and bringing in the Arctic into the fold of Canada, Canada must invest adequately and comprehensively in the Arctic. It makes economic sense but more importantly, it is morally the right thing to do. There needs to be a whole of government approach to address food insecurity across the Arctic. It is morally unacceptable that in a country as rich as Canada that there is a large portion of the country where Canadians are unable to meet their basic needs.

Canada needs to be investing in the Arctic in a sustained fashion so that we may lift ourselves out of poverty. Currently there is interest in the Arctic security and sovereignty. This interest needs to be sustained.

We have a high youth population coupled with a high poverty rate. Despite these circumstances there are so many brilliant Northern Canadians who contribute immensely to Canadian society and Canadian identity. Investing in the wellbeing of our population will contribute positively to our own communities and the Arctic but even more broadly to Canada. Well-being includes addressing food insecurity.

Some factors are out of the control of the Nutrition North Canada program. There is no doubt that high inflation is impacting on the high costs of food for all Canadians and that the cost of living for all Canadians exacerbate food costs for Northerners.

It is clear to me that there needs to be a broader comprehensive approach taken to address food insecurity in the North which includes poverty reduction and a whole of government approach.

Although Nutrition North Canada, cannot eliminate food insecurity it can play an important supportive role in empowering northern communities. The Nutrition North Canada core approach needs to support dignity and empowerment and we are best suited to determine what food items or equipment is required to provide good foods. Northerners are best positioned to know what solutions are most appropriate.

Nutrition North Canada program has an opportunity to position itself as a program that supports and nurtures self-determination. Choices bring dignity. Dignity is empowering. Dignity shakes off the layers of collective shame so many of us carry in our communities.

The objectives of the Nutrition North Canada program is to provide nutritional and affordable food to NNC eligible communities. Each of the 4 components of the program must work to provide choices and empowerment of northerners. Whether it is the Retail Subsidy, the Harvesters Support Program, the Community Programs, or the Education component, each can focus on ensuring that there are more choices and more empowerment of northerners.

Conclusion

There is nothing new in this report. It is a compilation of things people have continued to say and will continue to say. We want to be in a position to choose to eat the foods we want to eat and we want the Canadian government to help us be in a position to do that.

Prime Minister Mark Carney during the Davos talk stated the phrase "security and prosperity in the Arctic" and it made me think about how that also includes prosperity in food and security in food.

Things that get evaluated change. Things that are accountable become better. When thee is political will there is a way. Resources are identified and committed. I recommend that food insecurity in the north be viewed as a Canadian failure and that parliamentarians require an evaluation and monitoring of food insecurity on regular intervals such as every 3 years. Northern Canadians deserve to feel like they are an integral part of Canada. After all, the Canadian anthem affirms that we are "True North, Strong and Free".