Nutrition North releases fourth quarter stats

Fourth quarter statistics from Nutrition North show Nunavut gets the bulk of the money from the retail subsidy program.

From Jan. 1 to March 31, 2012, Nunavut received $8.2 million in transportation subsidies from Nutrition North, 55 per cent of the total $15 million spent across the entire country.

Overall, the Nutrition North program has an annual budget of $53.9 million.

The Baffin region, at $5.3 million ate up the most of the Nunavut. That’s more NNC money than was handed over to Quebec, Manitoba, and Yukon combined.

Overall, about 2.7 million kilograms of food went to Nunavut under the program during the final quarter of the 2011-12 fiscal year.

A total of about 11.4 million kg of food went to Nunavut throughout the entire year — enough to fill 34 737-100 Boeing jets.

Of communities in Nunavut, Iqaluit received the greatest amount of subsidy money at just under $1.5 million. Pond Inlet received the second highest amount — $731,806, and Sanikiluaq received the least — $61,713.

Fruit and vegetables were the most common subsidized foodstuffs, accounting for 29 per cent of the total subsidy amount for the quarter. Meat, poultry and fish were second at 17 per cent, and milk was third at 16 per cent.

Country food was the least subsidized food — only 192 kg of country food was distributed to communities at a total cost of $218.

To see how much a certain Nunavut community received, you can click here.

Much debate has been had over the Nutrition North program this past summer, with Liberal MP and aboriginal affairs critic Carolyn Bennett saying policy-making in Ottawa isn’t helping northerners when she visited Nunavut in June.

Jean Crowder, the New Democratic Party’s aboriginal affairs critic, also visited in June She said subsidies are only available when country food is processed in a federally regulated facility, and that solutions need to come from northern community members.

The minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, John Duncan, leaped to the defense of Nutrition North after both comments, saying, “Nutrition North Canada is having a positive impact.”