Nutrition North announces new subsidy list

Diapers, pictured here at Kuujjuaq’s Newviq’vi store, will not get a subsidy under Nutrition North when the program is fully implemented in October 2012, along with dry rice, pasta, canned foods and any other hygenic products. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Nutrition North’s finalized list of subsidized items was created with the advice of the program’s advisory board, whose members are pictured here at a May 2011 meeting in Iqaluit. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

If you were hoping to see items like rice and coffee back on the list of foods eligible for subsidies under Nutrition North Canada, you’ll be disappointed to read the new list, released Nov. 17 by the federal government.

“With continued guidance from the Nutrition North Canada Advisory Board, we are pleased to be releasing today the list of items that will be subsidized as part of the Nutrition North Canada program,” said John Duncan, minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, in a Nov. 17 news release. “The subsidized food list is designed to support increased access to nutritious and perishable food to Northerners.”

The new list won’t go into effect until next fall, but program officials say the finalized list of products will give retailers time to adjust before the program is finally implemented Oct. 1, 2012.

Overall, the Nov. 17 list looks similar to the original list presented by Nutrition North, with minor tweaks.

Once the program is implemented in October, 2012, items like infant formula will continue to receive a Level 1 subsidy.

Country foods will get a Level 1 subsidy if and when they are purchased “through local stores or when purchased from processing plants that are registered with the program.”

Other items like margarine, flour, side bacon and processed cheese spread will receive a Level 2 subsidy.

And non-prescription drugs will get a Level 2 subsidy — the only non-food item to make Nutrition North’s final cut.

Items once subsidized under the original food mail program, such as rice, pasta, canned food, condiments, coffee, tea, hygienic and infant care products, will not be eligible for subsidy come Oct. 1, 2012.

Nutrition North was set to launch in April 2011, but hit the brakes when fears that the program would hike food prices across the North forced officials to delay its implementation.

Instead, Nutrition North put out a revised list of items that would be subsidized during a transition period to give retailers time to adjust to the changes.

Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, also Nunavut’s MP, said the finalized list “covers a broad range of foods that are typical of the northern diet, including country foods.”

And that list of foods eligible for subsidy was created based on advice from Health Canada and discussions with the Nutrition North Canada Advisory Board, made up of representatives across the North.

The list of subsidized items and subsidy rates will be reviewed at least once a year, program officials have promised.

In the meantime, Northerners should refer to the new list “to plan and prepare for their food needs and to use sealift and winter roads where possible to maximize their cost savings,” said the Nov. 17 release.

See a copy of the finalized subsidy list here:

Nutrition North 2012 Food List