Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) announced several recommendations on June 9 outlining how it wants to replace the Nutrition North federal food subsidy program.
Transitioning from grocery stores owned by corporations to Inuit-owned co-ops, regulating the price of groceries and supporting harvesting are among the recommendations.
“NNC (Nutrition North Canada) was conceived as an economic development program and has proven ineffective in either improving earnings in the region or making food more affordable,” the ITK report reads.
The organization highlighted the Nunavik Federation des cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec as an example of Inuit communities exercising greater control over their food supply chain.
Other models, such as country food stores, could also be part of what replaces Nutrition North, ITK argued.
Local reinvestment, social and economic accountability and direct community benefits were highlighted as reasons to move from corporate grocers to Inuit-owned stores.
Prices in stores should face government regulation, ITK asserted, enforcing specific dollar amounts on staple goods to even out the disparity of food costs across Inuit Nunangat.
Food subsidies that grocery stores currently receive should instead target the cost of shipping, ITK recommended, because that would pass on greater savings to customers.
The Harvester Support Grant and the Community Food Programs Fund, currently part of Nutrition North, should be expanded to include long-term funding for equipment, storage and processing of country food, ITK argued.
Sending money directly to Inuit through regional associations is another strategy ITK says will help.
Using an Inuit Nunangat food guide instead of the Canada Food Guide would better suit the needs of Inuit, the report states.
A replacement program for Nutrition North should be data-driven, using prices from retailers and consumers, according to the report.
The report focuses on grocery prices in Inuit Nunangat, which includes the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik in northern Quebec, and Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador.
The federal government is in the midst of its own review of Nutrition North.
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jun 09, 2026 at 13:45
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