Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Nov. 1st, 2010

[Richard Jock]

The food mail program was basically on the verge of extinction or modification several times over the last 10 to 15 years. Really looking at this as a stable funding base will enable you to look at this program differently—to look at how it should be grown, perhaps, and how it can serve its objectives fully. Establishing it as a permanent interest is an important aspect that I haven't necessarily seen addressed in the questions.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Grand Chief Evans.

[Grand Chief Ron Evans]

I think communication is important. We do have a high turnover of leadership in first nation communities, as you are well aware, so we need to continue to ensure that the information is current with new leadership.

In terms of changes, when we talked about making this change and reducing it, we've had a high turnover in leadership since then. The only way we can benefit from any of these programs is to ensure that there's communication. They need to work with the regions so that the information doesn't get lost, so that it's current and we can bring to you the solutions for each region. Listening to the other witnesses, I can see how all our challenges are somewhat different. So I would suggest that you consider that.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Thank you, Grand Chief.

Chief Dumas.

[Chief Arlen Dumas]

Thank you again for the opportunity to speak.

I think one issue that I'd like some examination on is the fact that in my community--I'm not sure farther to the north with ACL--the North West Company has been the only show in town for the last hundred years. It used to be called the Hudson's Bay Company but it is the North West Company now. If we're going to move in a new direction and try to maximize the value of our dollar, then I want to know why the North West Company is the only company that is being considered. There's Safeway, there's IGA, there are all these other companies that exist down south. Perhaps they should be informed that if they came and reduced their prices by 100%, they'd still be making a 100% profit. I'm serious. If they came and they reduced their price by 100%, they'd still make a 100% profit, and that's how the North West Company operates in many of our communities. So that's an issue I'd like to see explored.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Elias.

[Darius Elias]

I would like to echo the issues of communication and my community's issue with regard to flexibility and exemption. If you look at one specific issue that I did not mention yet, with the external advisory board, it says that you cannot be a direct beneficiary of the program and sit on that board. So that excludes everyone from my community, and their families and friends.

So that's an issue. If I look at this thing from 30,000 feet in the air, as the Arctic opens up, when the world looks at the Arctic, to me, sovereignty means strong, healthy, vibrant, sustainable Arctic communities. If you want to subsidize a box of Gain laundry detergent so a single mother can look after her children properly and doesn't have to pay $43.59, then that's strength in a community. She won't have to worry about that any more. Those are the finer details we're talking about here.

As one of my constituents says, if the federal government wants this Nutrition North Canada investment to bear fruit, then they must listen to the people who know.

I want to thank all the honourable members here for listening to the people who know.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Thank you, Ms. Crowder, Mr. Elias, and witnesses.

We're going to go to Mr. Weston for five minutes.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, guests, for being here. It's been an extraordinary education. Clearly, the issues with which you deal are so different from those that someone from West Vancouver--Whistler would deal with, where I hail from.

I want to get back to the question that LaVar Payne began. I think you have a lot to teach us. You know the expression, “the canary in the cave”. If diabetes is, as you said, Mr. Jock, four times the rate of what it is outside your communities, and you mentioned that over 50% of your communities are subjected to obesity or problems of being overweight, then this is a trend for all Canadians.

You started down the path, and I wonder if you could tell us what we could do as MPs, not only for your community, but for all Canadians. It's something I personally care about. Many of us are involved in a parliamentary fitness initiative, trying to use ourselves as role models, as humourous as that might sound to you, to try to make Canadians more conscious of the importance of being fit. Can you give us some advice, any of you, on what we as Canadians can do?

[Richard Jock]

I would think in addition to looking at nutrition, if you look at the programs available to our youth in schools and the facilities that are related to that, you'll see that those don't measure up to those in the south. I would say that in addition to that, we are launching and the national chief is launching an indigent action program, which is aimed at getting much more activity at all levels of the population--elders, youth, and particularly children--and using role models to do that. We see that as being part of a holistic approach, as the grand chief has said, and we think that all of these elements fit together. Part of it is really anchored in pride in yourself and your community.

So I think all of those things fit together in terms of looking at the complicated issues of health and wellness.

[Grand Chief Ron Evans]

I think if you look at the articles in the Winnipeg Free Press last Saturday and the articles in the Toronto Star about the conditions of the communities, the lack of running water, the poverty, when you have anywhere from a dozen to 25 people living in an overcrowded home, I don't know what this nutrition program is going to achieve. So we really have to look at this in a holistic manner, especially when you have no place to put all that food for that many people. Those are current realities.

So all of you as parliamentarians need to look at the first nations in a holistic manner, as well as the Inuit and all of us in the north. I think that's the reality for us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Mr. Weston, your question has been well received.

Let's go to Ms. deGonzague and then back to Ms. Simon.

[Bernadette deGonzague]

As a dietician by trade, I want to echo Ms. Gauthier's comments that pamphlets don't work. I think the Health Canada nutrition education component of this is going to be critical and will have an impact on change and behaviour, as will things like physical activity programs and access to places to be physically active. Poverty is certainly an issue that prevents many people from engaging in a healthy lifestyle, and I think we need to look at that in a holistic manner, as echoed here.

Also, there may be other avenues, such as commercial greenhouses where people can actually grow healthy foods in the north. That may be another way of educating people on nutrition and where food comes from. We can talk about the time it takes to transport food that's coming from South America before it even gets to Montreal, and then has to go to Val-d'Or. So you've added another couple of weeks to the length of time food takes to get to a person's table.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Ms. Simon.

[Mary Simon]

Accountability is not just related to government. The fact is that retailers have to be accountable as well, because there is so much junk food in our stores, and it really perpetuates the whole idea of being obese and the different kinds of diseases that come with obesity. The whole point that's being made about the nutrition program is extremely important, because the retailers also have to realize that they can't fill their shelves with pop and potato chips all the time. That has to be replaced by nutritional foods.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

That will do it, actually, Mr. Weston. Thank you very much.

Ms. Neville.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you.

I have a bit of a problem coming at the end when much has been asked already. I'm struck, as I'm sitting here listening, by the complexity of this challenge and the fact that one size does not fit all, that different responses are required for different regions.

We're at the end of the afternoon and many of the questions that I was going to ask have been asked already, so I'm just going to ask a very simple one. The afternoon is over, so what would be your last bit of advice to us as a committee as we move forward with this study? Could each of you just comment very briefly?

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We'll start on this side this time.

Ms. deGonzague.

[Bernadette deGonzague]

I think my comment would be to speak to the communities involved, to those who are eligible and those who are not.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Good, that was quick.

Mr. Elias.

[Darius Elias]

If you look at how you're going to achieve the program's objectives, to me flexibility and exemptions are necessary to achieve healthy Arctic communities. Just be open to flexibility.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Chief Dumas, or Chief Evans.

[Chief Arlen Dumas]

Just to reiterate what has been said, we need to communicate. We need to collaborate and make this project a success, because I see the potential of it. It is a step in the right direction. However, we need to make those changes so that it will work properly and serve the people it's meant for.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Mr. Jock.

[Richard Jock]

I would say that dialogue with communities, effective transition planning, and communications at the top are key.