Evidence of meeting #12 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was security.
A video is available from Parliament.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Thank you for that.
You also talked about a lack of local food production initiatives and resources to start those initiatives. Could you just talk a little bit about that? I hear loud and clear that getting people connected with the resources there is something that needs to be invested in.
December 10th, 2020 / 11:50 a.m.
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Yes. In the last couple of years, we've had a number of different breakthroughs. The harvesters support grant within the nutrition north Canada program will allow for regional Inuit organizations to work with communities to design food security interventions that allow for more traditional food to be accessed and to be eaten within our communities. That not only does wonders for our food security, but it also helps with the transmission of culture and the connections that individuals have within a community. It builds community.
There are also a number of different initiatives that are happening across Inuit Nunangat from, say, Arviat local gardening and community-based solutions for local food production to different programs from different community-based organizations that allow for food security and cooking classes.
There are so many things that are happening across Inuit Nunangat, but we need more investment and we need more of a focus on community-based solutions and less of a focus on ideas that other people might think are great for us but are things that don't really have a lot of bearing on what we would like to do.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Thank you.
My last question is around nutrition north. You talked several times about it needing to be a more transparent program, that this program is deciding what food goes. You said there has to be self-determination, and that the rebate is at the till and there just isn't transparency, which sounds to me to be leading to the community not feeling that they trust the program.
Could you talk about what the solution is? When you talk about self-determination, how would that be implemented?
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
No matter what, a healthy diet, a health lifestyle and healthy food choices are subjective. Inuit society and Inuit communities might have a very specific idea about what healthy foods fit within an Inuit-specific diet. If there are tens of millions of dollars every year earmarked for Inuit communities and the majority of the nutrition north subsidy services Inuit Nunangat communities but Inuit don't control the eligible items list or the rate of subsidy, then it's just another program that decides for Inuit what is important to Inuit.
We need to have partnership within this program and real decision-making around the eligible items. We need to reimagine this program as a social program, and we need to ensure that every dollar that's spent on this program goes to those who need it. I don't think that's asking too much of a social program or a federal government program. If the federal government wants to subsidize airlines or wants to subsidize retailers, that should be something that is very specific and separate from wanting to do something about 76% food insecurity for Inuit in Inuit Nunangat.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
That just about brings us to time.
Mr. Obed, regrettably, we were constrained by the technical issue. In the couple of minutes we have before noon, is there anything that you'd like the committee to hear?
Once again, please submit any other testimony you wish in a written form, but as we have you on the mike now, is there anything you'd like to conclude with before we suspend?
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
First, my apologies for the microphone issue. I pledge to figure this out on my end for the next time I'm in front of you.
In regard to food security, this is completely interrelated with poverty. It's also completely interrelated with government programs and policies.
I urge the committee, and you as parliamentarians within your parties, to demand better accountability and transparency for a program that spends $70-odd million a year in the guise of providing nutritious, non-perishable food items to northern and remote communities. We need this program to work in order to alleviate food insecurity for our people. I think that no matter who you are, that's an idea you can get behind. I hope that there can be breakthroughs in the way in which we think about what we spend our money on.
In terms of the nutrition north program, there is a shining star there. That is the idea that we can spend money for non-perishable, healthy food to reach Inuit Nunangat communities and alleviate food insecurity. It's not necessarily what's happening now, and I would love to see that happen.
There is a much larger issue, rather than just nutrition north. Our food security strategy that is coming out in the new year will touch on a holistic nature of achieving food security for Inuit. I look forward to sharing this with the committee when it is approved by our board.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
Thank you so much, Mr. Obed. Thanks for joining us.
We're going to suspend briefly while we conclude the other sound checks with our remaining guests.
This meeting is temporarily suspended.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
I'm going to call this meeting back to order, with the committee continuing its study of food security in northern communities.
With us today, by video conference, are three groups of witnesses. We had the chair and CEO of Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, who unfortunately had to leave us but will be providing written testimony. For the rest, we are delighted to be able, despite the technical problems, to speak to you about the situation in your communities regarding food security.
Our first speaker, for six minutes, is Adamie Delisle Alaku, executive vice-president at the department of environment, wildlife and research at Makivik Corporation.
Mr. Alaku, you have six minutes, please.
Adamie Delisle Alaku Vice-President, Department of Environment, Wildlife and Research, Makivik Corporation
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and committee members.
I'm pleased to speak to you today on the topic of food security in the north, especially for Nunavik region, and on behalf of president and former senator Charlie Watt Sr.
Nunavik is an Arctic region that occupies the top third of the province of Quebec. We are north of the 55th parallel. Our region is bigger than the size of France. We have 15 communities on the shores of Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay. The total population is over 12,000. Think of it as an island. The only way to get there is by air year-round and by ship in the summer months.
Our remoteness greatly affects our food security. While southern Canada benefits from vast road and rail networks paid for by taxpayers, Inuit pay all taxes, yet the infrastructure gaps that exist in our airport facilities and the total lack of deep water ports contribute to driving up food prices and food wastage.
Food security exists when all human beings at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, healthy and nutritious food enabling them to lead healthy, active lives. Food insecurity exists when an individual or a family does not have access to sufficient food. In the context of Nunavik, it is important to consider access to both traditional foods and healthy store-bought foods in improving food security.
The University of Laval has conducted studies comparing the cost of living in Nunavik and southern Quebec. These revealed that in 2011 groceries cost 81% more in Nunavik compared to Quebec City. “The Cost of Living in Nunavik” research report was the result of a 16-month intensive data collection and analysis between January 2015 and 2016, in which 450 randomly selected households in six Nunavik communities on the Hudson and Ungava coasts were selected for this project.
The survey revealed that low-income households spend a combined total of over 70% of their income on food and shelter, 43% on food and 27% on shelter. If you take a look at income, based on the 2016 census, median income for Inuit was just over $25,627, and for a non-Inuit it was $79,328. Inuit make three times less income, so if groceries cost 81% more and income is three times less than in the south, it all adds up to considerable food insecurity and additional social consequences to physical and mental health.
Programs such as nutrition north Canada help reduce the high cost of living, but they are not enough. Our region has created additional programs that we call the Nunavik cost-of-living reduction measures—administered by the KRG, the Kativik Regional Government, and negotiated with the help of Makivik—to go beyond the nutrition north program. There are six measures to help reduce cost of living: elders assistance; airfare reduction; country food community support program; household appliances and harvesting equipment program; food and other essentials program, which provides rebates of between 15% and 35% on the majority of food items purchased in Nunavik; and a gasoline program, with a discount of 40¢ on the litre on gas. The price of gas is set once a year in Nunavik. It comes by sealift. Right now a litre of gas costs $1.85. In Ottawa, on December 8, gas prices ranged from 90.9¢ at Costco to 94.9¢ at Canadian Tire.
Under the cost-of-living reduction program, the Government of Quebec committed to pay $115.8 million over the next six years, starting in 2019.
For us, however, food from the south is only one part of the picture when it comes to the food that we eat. The food that we hunt is just as important, if not more important, because it not only feeds us physically but feeds us culturally and spiritually as well. Inuit food security includes culture, health and wellness, and food sovereignty—our decision-making power and management over our food resources.
We are members of numerous wildlife committees. In addition, Makivik has owned and operated the Nunavik Research Centre, based in Kuujjuaq, for decades. We conduct our own research directly on country food that we eat, and control this information. That's part of what we consider our food security.
The new harvesters support grant was well received. Subsistence harvesting is vital to our food security. We need to underline, however, that at the time this program is being rolled out we are experiencing restrictions on polar bear, beluga and soon caribou harvesting. The Inuit population is growing and pressures on wildlife population are high. It's vital for us to be able to access wildlife. It's also important for communities to have the capacity to become fully involved in wildlife monitoring and management.
Let us talk about some of the projects that exist in our region. The Pirursiivik project in Inukjuak on the Hudson Bay, in collaboration with Makivik, the One Drop Foundation, the RBC Foundation and the Sirivik food centre, has created a year-round greenhouse focused on growing traditional plants and gardening.
The hydroponics container in Kuujjuaq—you may have seen The Growcer on CBC's Dragons' Den—is a shipping container, completely self-contained, designed to assist indigenous communities in remote regions, especially in the Arctic. This project provides fresh vegetables for us in Kuujjuaq. Also in Kuujjuaq, we have a soup kitchen, a food box program for elders and an on-the-land program.
Vice-President, Department of Environment, Wildlife and Research, Makivik Corporation
If you may indulge me, I am on my conclusion.
Vice-President, Department of Environment, Wildlife and Research, Makivik Corporation
In Puvirnituq, we have a food box program delivery in collaboration with the local health centre. There are family houses in Puvirnituq, Kangiqsujuaq, Salluit, Kangiqsualujjuaq and Kuujjuarapik. Most have a variety of food programs, including cooking activities, meal sharing and food boxes for the needy.
In conclusion, Mr. Chair and committee members, it is clear that many factors contribute to food insecurity in the region. While we appreciate programs such as nutrition north and the harvesters support grant from the federal side, you can see that this takes a combined effort to address the issue. This includes the Province of Quebec, Nunavik organizations working together, grassroots projects and additional assistance from outside the region.
Nakurmiik.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
Thank you.
Just for the knowledge of our committee and our guests, we'll have to conclude at one o'clock sharp for further issues not related to our committee, but there are constraints on our ability to extend the time.
Next, we have Mr. Johannes Lampe, president of the Nunatsiavut Government.
Please go ahead for six minutes, Mr. Lampe.
Johannes Lampe President, Nunatsiavut Government
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I will start with food security background information and key messages.
Food security is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as follows: “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”
The right to adequate food is a human right affirmed in multiple human rights instruments, and the Government of Canada is obligated to respect, promote and uphold this right. The Government of Canada ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1976. It is a binding international treaty that affirms the right to adequate food under article 11, which states:
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.
The committee responsible for managing the implementation of the covenant has clarified the meaning of the right to adequate food as follows:
The availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, free from adverse substances, and acceptable within a given culture;
The accessibility of such food in ways that are sustainable and that do not interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights.
I will now turn to food insecurity rates in Nunatsiavut.
The 2014 Nunatsiavut household food security survey found that 61.1% of Nunatsiavut households were food-insecure. In Nain, the household prevalence of food insecurity is 79.3%. It is 83.1% in Hopedale. Rates in the north are over six times higher than the rate for Canada. In Hopedale, 5.6% of households reported that at some time in the past month, children within the household had not eaten for a whole day. In Nain, 13.4% of households reported this situation.
The 2017 aboriginal peoples survey found that 68.3% of Inuit aged 15 and over in Nunatsiavut experienced food insecurity when taking into account low food security, very low food security and marginal security.
We have drivers of food insecurity, which I will point out. They are related to a loss of culture and traditional skills, infrastructure, climate change, wildlife and conservation, poverty, lack of education, training and employment opportunities, costs associated with hunting and gathering, and the cost, quality and availability of food.
We have different scenarios, because we do a lot of research on various types of issues. We do a lot of homework on issues related to the Labrador Inuit to make sure that opportunities like this will give us the chance to help you understand better what we are facing.
There are other examples.
Our small northern communities lack the suite of social support services that would typically be available in a larger urban centre. These are services such as food banks, soup kitchens, thrift stores and emergency shelters. There are few options for families seeking support for food access.
Community freezers, where residents can access wild foods that have been harvested and donated to the freezer, exist in all Nunatsiavut communities, but the freezer stocks typically deplete quickly, and supply does not keep up with the demand. Sharing that works between friends and family is strong in Nunatsiavut; however, many households still suffer from severe food insecurity.
These are just examples of how we try to deal with our food insecurity and try to help Labrador Inuit, at the same time practising our culture and traditions.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
Thank you very much, Mr. Lampe. You are right on time.
Next, from Taloyoak, we have the president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., James Eetoolook.
Please go ahead for six minutes.
James Eetoolook Acting President, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
[Witness spoke in Inuktitut as follows:]
ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ, ᐅᓪᓗᒃᑯᑦ, ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᕈᒪᔪᖓ ᑖᓐᓇ ᓯᑖᓐᑎᖕ ᑲᒥᑎ, ᓄᓇᖃᖅᑳᖅᑐᒥᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᓄᐊᑐᕐᓐ ᐊᐱᐊᕐᔅ, ᖃᐃᖁᔨᓚᐅᕐᒪᑦ ᐃᓕᑦᓯᓐᓄᑦ ᐅᐸᑦᓯᒪᖁᓪᓗᑕ ᓂᕿᖃᑦᓯᐊᖏᓐᓂᖅ ᑳᖃᑦᑕᓂᕐᓗ ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᖏᓐᓂ ᐱᔾᔪᑎᒋᓪᓗᒍ. ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᕈᒪᕗᖓ ᑐᓵᔨᒋᓂᐊᖅᑕᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐋᖅᑭᓯᒪᒐᑦᓯ, ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ ᓯᒨᓇ ᐊᕐᓇᑦᓯᐊᖅ, ᐅᕙᖓ ᔭᐃᒻᓯ ᐃᑦᑐᓗᒃ, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᑐᓐᖓᕕᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᖏᔪᖅᑳᖓᑕ ᑐᖏᓕᖓᑦ, ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᒫᓐᓇ ᐊᖏᔪᖅᑳᖑᓐᖑᐊ-ᑲᐃᓐᓇᖅᑐᖓ ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᑐᓐᖓᕕᒃᑯᑦ ᓂᕈᐊᖅᓯᒐᓱᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂ. ᑖᓐᓇᐃᓛᒃ ᑲᓇᑕ ᓯᔅᑐᔅᕐᐱᒃᔅ 2017ᖑᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᓄᓇᖃᖅᑳᖅᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᒥᑦᓵᓄᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕐᓂᖅ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᖅᑎᑦᓯᓯᒪᒻᒪᑦ 76ᐳᓴᓐᑎᒎᖅ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 15ᓂᒃ ᐅᖓᑖᓄᓪᓗ ᐅᑭᐅᓖᑦ ᓂᖃᐃᓪᓕᐅᖃᑦᑕᕐᒪᑕ ᐊᒻᒪᓗᑦᑕᐅᖅ ᑖᓐᓇ ᓲᓪᓗ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᓛᖑᔪᑦ ᓂᕿᖃᑦᓯᐊᖏᓐᓂᐅᑉ ᒥᑦᓵᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᖃᖅᑳᖅᓯᒪᔫᔪᐃᑦ.
[Inuktitut text interpreted as follows:]
Thank you, and good afternoon.
I would like to thank the standing committee for inviting Tunngavik to speak about food insecurity in Nunavut and in our communities. I wish to thank you for being here to listen to our concerns. Thank you to my interpreter, Simona Arnatsiaq.
I am James Eetoolook, vice-president and acting president of NTI at the moment, as NTI is holding its election for president.
In 2017, research showed that Inuit age 15 and up were 70% food-insecure. They needed food, and they are studied the most.
[English]
Liberal
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
On a point of order, Mr. Chair, the translation is coming at the same level, and it's hard to understand.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
Mr. Clerk, can we resolve that? We're getting translation and speech at the same level.
Is Mr. Eetoolook on the right channel?
The Clerk of the Committee Mr. Naaman Sugrue
He should have Aux 1 selected as his language, if he's going to be speaking in Inuktitut.
Acting President, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
Maybe I'll do it in English. Would that be easier?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
You're fine, as long as you have the right channel selected. I love hearing the language. You have to have the right button pressed.
Acting President, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
Okay.
I can hear myself.
[Witness spoke in Inuktitut as follows:]
ᐃ, ᓇᑯᕐᒦᒃ, ᐋ, ᓇᒦᖅᑲᐅᕗᖓ, ᐋ, ᑕᐃᒪᐃᓛᒃ, ᑖᒃᑯᐊ ᓂᖀᑦ ᐱᔾᔪᑎᒋᓪᓗᒋᑦ
[Inuktitut text interpreted as follows:]
I'll get back to.... No, I can still hear myself.
[English]