Evidence of meeting #107 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cost.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Your profits in the Canadian north aren't any larger than they are anywhere else, I take it.
Chief Executive Officer, North West Company
It depends on the business. Again, we don't break it out, but in terms of our margins, which was the first question, I'd say there's an alignment among businesses of the same type of concept.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
I have 30 seconds.
I guess I can ask the same question of Shelly and Mr. Bell. The question is about your competitors and the perception that you have a monopoly and therefore you can charge basically what you want.
Can you address that in 10 seconds?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian North Inc.
We were under restrictions with the merger of Canadian North and First Air, so we didn't have any say in what we could do for the last five years. Those have been changed because of what's happened in the last few years with the pandemic and pilot shortages, but for four years we were under conditions where there was nothing we could change.
Liberal
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to begin with Mr. Goulet.
Obviously, since we are talking about a co‑operative, it has members. Can you explain what place community members hold within your co‑operative and how they participate in the co‑operative's choices? More specifically, do you offer discounts to members of your community?
General Manager, Kimik Co-operative Ltd.
Yes, we offer discounts. As I mentioned, 100% of the money we receive from the Nutrition North Canada program is passed on to the clients. We offer different discounts, for example 5% or 10% and various other benefits.
A co‑operative sort of becomes the heart and lungs of a village. A member of a co‑operative comes to us, like any other client, and makes purchases. However, what differentiates us from others is that at the end of the year, we give back to our members a percentage of the profits. That money is redistributed. That is our strength.
That being said, we have to keep our members, keep them engaged. The price pressure in the north is far greater than in the south because of operation and maintenance costs. It becomes out of control, unfortunately.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
I very much believe in the co‑operative movement and I find your example very inspiring. You seem to have solutions that are a lot more respectful of the communities you serve.
What do you need to invest in infrastructure to increase your capacity? Market basket prices keep going up. Something has not been working for years. It feels out of control. As you say, everything costs a lot more. How could we rethink return on investment by adopting a more holistic approach? For example, we have to consider that every time a family is lifted out of poverty, that benefits the entire community. What can we do to help you ensure your survival?
General Manager, Kimik Co-operative Ltd.
To ensure our survival, we need better supply logistics, otherwise fresh products are no longer fresh when they arrive. A lot of fresh products end up in the dump. For example, we no longer order ice cream because it is melted by the time we receive it. The cold chain is very hard to maintain back home. It is a big problem.
That being said, our co-operative is not limited to sales. We also help the community through other programs. If an artist comes to us, we buy a sculpture from them, which gives them money. They could use that money for food or to do some shopping.
However, to ensure our survival, air transportation logistics need to be improved. Canadian North does not fly to our region. We have to use subcontractors for airport infrastructure reasons. Why doesn't the airline fly to Kimmirut?
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Is land use an essential value or rather a forgotten value these days? If we want to use the land, including for a host of benefits that would provide us in the application of our sovereignty, living in the north should not be luxury. The governments should instead be required to ensure that all citizens have a similar quality of life, regardless of where they live.
Does this value need to be strengthened? If so, what message could we deliver to the government?
General Manager, Kimik Co-operative Ltd.
Living in the north and being able to admire nature is a privilege. However, it is hard to access, precisely because of the inadequate infrastructure. A lot of development needs to be done, but for reasons that are possibly financial in nature, development is not moving forward.
How can we improve things? As I said, we can improve things by improving air transportation logistics. Serve our region and we will grow.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Do you think there are solutions that are more respectful of the communities? I am thinking about first nations communities in particular.
Could we help hunters, trappers and fishers access the technical services that would help keep their refrigeration devices operational at all times, for example? Could we better support community organizations and community kitchens? Could we help promote traditional practices and reappropriate them? Communities are often generous when it comes to the game they procure. How could we develop that and promote distribution in the north?
General Manager, Kimik Co-operative Ltd.
For development we need infrastructure and buildings to house these organizations. Development would in fact improve co-operation between members and improve relations. There would be great harmony. That being said, we need infrastructure, refrigeration and buildings, for example. We also need more technicians. There is some development to be done in that regard.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
In fact, the Chair is not paying attention. We can keep going.
I want to come back to the issue of distribution. How can the regions also bring in agricultural services? I am thinking about the possibility of greenhouses for producing vegetables in the communities and offering them to the members.
Should the governments contribute to establishing subsidy programs for that type of infrastructure? Currently there are no programs for subsidizing agriculture infrastructure. Could that sort of project be useful for developing agricultural autonomy?
Liberal
NDP
Lori Idlout NDP Nunavut, NU
Qujannamiik, Iksivautaq.
Thank you to all the witnesses for appearing today on this really important issue.
I'm going to be asking my first set of questions of Mr. McConnell. Please keep your responses brief, as we have very limited time.
My first question for you is this: What is your salary?
Chief Executive Officer, North West Company
My salary is listed in our information circular, so I would advise you, if you'd like to see it, to seek that online. I don't have it offhand.
