Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's a great question. One of the things we'll be looking at in the long term is the impact that harvesting has on the need to buy food in a store. The assumption is that if we are successful through the harvesters support grant, there will be less reliance on store-bought food for similar items, and we should actually see a decrease in sales in those items in retail because they're being supplemented by harvesting—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  So that's it.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I believe that you will have officials from the Government of Nunavut in the next hour. They might actually be better placed to be more specific on that question. Certainly fishing has been seen as a huge opportunity in the north. It's probably been underdeveloped compared to in other areas of Canada.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think, Mary, that's your program, right?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think that was pretty comprehensive. The only other thing is that in terms of programs themselves, obviously the harvesters support grant is there.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Oh, boy. I think, if the chair will allow it, I'd be happy to provide a written response to that question, because there is a fairly comprehensive response to those recommendations.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. That's a great question. In 2019, the government announced the Arctic and northern policy framework. It's a codeveloped policy approach between the Government of Canada and northerners to map out a road map for sustainable social and economic development in the north between now and 2030.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for that question. I'm glad you asked it, because it will enable me to finish an earlier answer when I ran a little over. It has been received very, very well in the communities. Some of our recipients have called it a game-changer for them. It's a game-changer not only because of the things that it accomplishes, as you mentioned, in terms of cultural reappropriation and mentorship between elders and youth; they are also telling us that it has some real impacts on language revitalization and the passing on of traditional information.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The reality is that food security is a complex issue that requires lots of partners to collaborate and come together with solutions. Nutrition North Canada is a retail subsidy. It's one aspect in what we think requires a suite of actions. In and of itself, Nutrition North is never going to solve food insecurity, and that's why we've introduced things like the harvesters support grant.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll go first, I guess. I would say, simply, yes, but it was something that we were starting to do already. Through our engagement with indigenous partners, we were increasingly being asked to look at lots of options, other than just the retail subsidy, to address food insecurity.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for that. The reality is that the traditions, approaches and cultural practices will vary from region to region and community to community, so we designed the harvesters support grant to be as flexible as possible so that the communities could target their funding accordingly.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If I understand your question correctly, I would argue that food insecurity in the north probably affects women more than men. They tend to be the matriarchs of the household, and when food insecurity has a huge impact on households, I would say, without having any tangible data in front of me for you today, that generally children and women bear the brunt of food insecurity in the north.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, this is essentially the crux of the problem. The communities we are talking about, whether they are in the high north or in the provincial north, are isolated, and food and other supplies need to be flown in. That has a huge impact on the cost, but it can also have a huge impact on the quality of the product, in some cases.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have not, but I'm pretty sure, if I recall correctly, that Food Secure Canada will have done some work in that domain. There are also some other academics in Canada who would have looked at food insecurity, Canadian versus international, and certainly a lot has been done to study the issue between southern and northern Canada.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would say that the number one cause of food insecurity is poverty. If poverty were addressed, then food security would be addressed and it wouldn't be a Nutrition North issue.