Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Rita Novalinga, and I am the general manager of the federation of co-ops in Nunavik.
Thank you for your invitation to the Nutrition North Canada study. Since I have only five minutes, I'll go straight to the point and explain why we should amend the subsidy items before the list comes into full force in April 2011 and request a delay, because we will have to get new warehousing in our isolated communities in order for this new initiative to work.
For your information, by the way, I am from Puvirnituq, northern Quebec.
Inuit or northerners who live in the Arctic need a special diet for the north. It is a reality in the south to live with fruits and vegetables, but the Inuit cannot live on that alone, when the average temperature in the winter reaches -65° Celsius with the wind chill factor, especially when people go out on the land to hunt for food. Fruits and vegetables are very delicate food, and when we ship them by air we always have to make sure that the temperature is right, that they are packaged properly, and that they are handled with care, because the food spoils before it reaches its destination. In the winter, when it takes someone an average of 15 minutes to walk home from the Co-op store, fruits and vegetables will already be frozen by the time they get into the house.
Think about the hunters who go out on the land when you have to make decisions for the north. They are, after all, our providers. Condiments such as honey, jam, salt, and sugar that are high in calories are a few examples of food that shields the human body in extreme weather conditions. Tea and coffee, which have been removed from the list that even poverty-stricken Canadians enjoy when they cannot afford other popular drinks, have been removed. Scientific studies show that bird feces pollute the very waters that we drink when they migrate to and from the north, so water should be reinstated and put back on the list.
Nunavik is isolated, in the sense that we have no road access. The 14 communities that we serve are accessible only by air throughout the year. In the summer months, there is an annual sealift going to these communities from July to October. This means that we will have to stock up on canned food for nine months out of the twelve. Co-op stores that we serve are the front-line services in the north. Therefore, to remove items such as rice, noodles, soup mixes, pasta, etc., from the subsidy is a mistake, because they are the only affordable items that complement our meals of caribou, fish, and other country food that we eat. It's like taking away potatoes, carrots, peas, and asparagus from your main meal, if you exclude them from the subsidy.
By now, I think we all know that there's a housing crunch in the far north. The cooperative members in Nunavik fail to understand why detergent, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, diapers, and other cleanliness products have been removed from the subsidy, because more than 50% of households are overcrowded, according to the study made by Statistics Canada in 2006. These products are preventing outbreaks of diseases and sickness across the north. If Inuit families were not so careful in cleanliness, there would be many more sicknesses and diseases in the north today.
We should reflect upon what is happening in the north, because there are three strikes against the Inuit and northerners, which you as policy-makers can change when you understand the global picture.
Strike 1, we have quotas that we have to respect, which will have to be amended to complement our traditional diet of country food in light of Nutrition North Canada. Please see your DFO department for that information.
Strike 2 is that we have the overcrowding and homelessness issue, which the government doesn’t see. Homeless people cannot sleep outside in minus weather conditions. Therefore, all cleaning products should be reinstated so that cleanliness will be a priority in overcrowded homes.
Strike 3 is that items that have been removed from the subsidy list are a big setback for the north, because we are going back to the 1970s, when we used to eat canned food and fruits. Even then they were a complement when there was no country food available at certain times of the year. Therefore, give us the funding and the time to build warehouses for these products in our communities.
In conclusion, in order for the Nutrition North Canada project to work, we want to be part of the decision-making for this aspect of the study to decide what should be on the subsidy list, since sealift is open only from July to October. I have included some examples I would like each one of you to see so that you will see the reality of what is happening to prices in the north.
Bear with me. Could you give me one more minute?
I have made photocopies of this, which you will all see. We have done some studies on how much these condiments will cost. I have been given direction from my board of directors not to increase the cost of foods that are not fresh food until February, because they need time to inform the communities and to inform the people of what is happening.
Now, for example, if you take an average bottle of Heinz ketchup, which all of our children enjoy, the new selling price, after the difference, will be $13.59. That’s for a 1.5 kilogram bottle.