Moving forward

Following the Nutrition North Canada public engagement, the Government of Canada continues to identify ways to improve the program to work better for Northerners, while remaining within budget.

Public meetings postponed

Previously announced town halls in Hopedale, NL and Nain, NL scheduled with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade, Yvonne Jones have been postponed until further notice.

Nutrition North Canada improvements since 2016 engagement

Nutrition North Canada is committed to updating and expanding the program through co-development with Northerners.

Examples of what Nutrition North Canada has heard from Northerners and what we are doing to improve the program's sustainability and effectiveness for residents of northern, isolated communities are provided below.

What we heard	What we're doing
Subsidized food should be more relevant to Northerners	Updating the subsidized food list to focus on nutritious northern staples and family-friendly items Increasing subsidy rates to lower the cost of healthy foods Updated eligible food list
Community subsidy rates should be increased, reviewed and adjusted regularly	Increasing Higher level subsidy rates in all eligible communities by at least a $0.15 per kilogram Inroducing a targeted (Highest level) subsidy rate for all eligible communities to further reduce the cost of: frozen fruits frozen vegetables milk infant food infant formula Increasing Lower level subsidy rates to $1.00 per kilogram in 76 eligible communities where this subsidy rate was previously less than $1.00 per kilogram. Reviewing and adjusting subsidy rates annually
Personal/direct orders should be more flexible	Nutrition North Canada registered suppliers are making direct orders more flexible by offering more than one payment method, such as: e-transfer credit card cheque cash Expanding the list of suppliers available for direct/personal orders, to provide consumers with more choices
Smaller retailers should be able to participate more easily in Nutrition North Canada	Providing financial support to smaller retailers to help them with the costs of meeting reporting requirement Providing financial help with point of sale systems for retailers entering the program, so they can show the subsidy on their receipts
Eligible establishments should be reviewed to ensure the subsidy directly benefits Northern residents	Nutrition North Canada is updating its eligibility criteria to ensure that only recipients that serve the residents of isolated communities are eligible for Nutrition North Canada. This will allow a greater proportion of program subsidy dollars to be applied to establishments that focus on serving Northerners and ensure that the subsidy goes to the intended program beneficiaries.
When communities become fully isolated, provide the subsidy on an expanded list of items	Ensuring communities that are completely isolated (no sealift, road, or rail access) will be eligible for a year-round subsidy that supports an expanded list of food and non-food items. Nutrition North Canada is committing to annually reviewing communities' supply chain systems to assess whether the surface transportation routes are available to them or not.
Enhance communication products so community members can better access information about Nutrition North Canada	Nutrition North Canada is working with communities to co-develop communication products to keep Northerners informed.

Here is list of activities undertaken since the engagement closed in December 2016:

The Final report of what we heard during the engagement, prepared by BDO Interis and summarizing the feedback received through community visits, key stakeholder interviews, surveys and written submissions was published and shared widely.
- Nutrition North Canada Engagement 2016: Final report of what we heard
The Nutrition North Canada Advisory Board provided their reflections on the What we heard report, focusing on the underlying program principles and what changes can be made within the program mandate and budget. Both this report and the What we heard report will guide changes to the program.
- Reflections on the What we heard report
A stakeholder meeting with Indigenous organizations, northern retailers and airlines, provincial and territorial governments and other federal government departments was held on May 2-3, 2017 to discuss the feedback received during the public engagement process and the key areas where there were many different views as identified by the advisory board. Through facilitated group discussions, participants collaborated on ways the program can be more responsive to the needs of Northerners.
- Summary of discussions
The Nutrition North Canada Indigenous Working Group was launched in May, 2017. This working group includes 14 national and regional indigenous organizations and program officials, and will work together to co-develop options to help Nutrition North Canada work better for Northerners.

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Date modified:: 2019-04-24