The federal government has left the door open to expand the Nutrition North Program to include another 46 communities including 5 in Northern Saskatchewan, but it is opposed to an NDP motion to make immediate changes.
The motion was introduced by Northwest territories MP Dennis Bevington who says the program needs a comprehensive review and a major expansion. He says while it has made a difference, too many communities are being left out. He says many northern residents can can’t afford to buy basic food items like milk and eggs.
“They don’t have proper nutrition”, He says. “ I mean these things are that are real problems for Canadians and I really don’t appreciate that we get off track on this today and I hope that everybody pulls it back together and understands that we are talking about real people and there needs to be accountability for what we do.”
The subsidy program goes to retailers to help offset the high transportation costs associated with bringing in perishables to remote fly in communities. The parliamentary secretary to the minister of aboriginal affairs and northern development Canada says the program is working, but he admits it could be improved. Mark Strahl says the budget for the program has been increased to about 60 million dollars, the government is following the auditors recommendations on how to improve the program and he says more changes could be coming.
“The department is currently conducting a detailed review of all northern communities across this country and this will help determine the government’s next step.”
The conservative MP for the Northern Saskatchewan riding of Desnethe Missinippi Churchill River, Rob Clarke, says a northern advisory board will give isolated residents a say on how to make the program better.
The five communities affected in Saskatchewan include Fond-Du-Lac, Stony Rapids, Black Lake, Wollaston Lake and Uranium City.