Nunavik beneficiaries to save more at the gas pump

With the current price at the pump set at $2.02 per litre in Nunavik, a new rebate targeted at Nunavik beneficiaries means that, starting Oct. 1, they will pay $1.62 per litre. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

KUUJJUAQ — A program that subsidizes the cost of gasoline in Nunavik has been revamped to offer a bigger subsidy to Inuit drivers in the region.

The Kativik Regional Government and Makivik Corp. announced that starting Oct. 1, the new gasoline program will offer a 40 per cent per litre discount to Nunavimmiut, but only to those who are beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

“Now instead of applying to all the residents of Nunavik, it’s only for beneficiaries,” the KRG’s cost-of-living program coordinator Annie-Claude Houle told KRG council meetings in Kuujjuaq Sept. 9.

The current gas rebate in the region is set at 34 cents per litre. Starting Oct. 1, the new rebate is set at 40 cents per litre.

With the current price at the pump set at $2.02 per litre, the new rebate means Nunavik beneficiaries will pay $1.62 per litre, Houle said.

The new gasoline program will not affect transportation subsidies available under Nunavik’s Hunter Support Program, she added.

To access the new subsidy, though, Nunavimmiut are required to present a new beneficiary discount card when purchasing gasoline.

Beneficiaries can contact Makivik for information on the new card and where to get one.

Parnasimautik consultations that visited each of Nunavik’s communities last year heard a number of concerns from Nunavimmiut about ongoing challenges with the cost of living, which led to the gasoline program being revised, noted regional leaders.

“This discount card will in particular provide concrete help to wildlife harvesters and their families to get out on the land,” Makivik president Jobie Tukkiapik in a Sept. 9 release. “The measure will make it easier for us to practice our traditional way of life.”

KRG chairperson Maggie Emudluk said the program was tailored to target Nunavik Inuit, as employees who come from the South already have benefits built into their work contracts.

Nunavik’s gasoline program is one of six regional cost-of-living measures implemented since 2007, including airfare reduction program, elders’ assistance and store-bought food subsidies.

Since Sept. 1, Nunavik’s food and other essentials program has been expanded to now include 1,500 grocery items. Some of the new items include toilet paper, dry pasta (Kraft Dinner), mayonnaise and frozen pizza.

Those items receive a 20 to 40 per cent rebate, in addition to any subsidy available through the federal Nutrition North program.

While Nunavik has for many years received $5 million a year from the Quebec government to offset the high cost of living in the region, the province committed last winter to more than double its subsidies until 2016.

For more information on the gasoline program and how to obtain a new beneficiary discount care, click here. For information on eligibility or lost or stolen cards, beneficiaries can contact Laina Grey at lagrey@makivik.org or 1-800-361-7052.