Around Nunavut

All levels of government – including the food mail program – need to recognize the importance of country food to Nunavummiut, Iqaluit city councillor Glenn Williams said at a May 26 council meeting

Country food is important to the health of Inuit and strengthens traditional values and lifestyles, Williams said.

At the same time, he said the cost of replacing it with store-bought food would be extremely high.

Williams noted that caribou meat is flown daily into Iqaluit from the Kivalliq because caribou are now hard to find in south Baffin.

Williams said the federal government subsidizes air-freight costs for southern foods like pork or chicken, but does not subsidize char, muktuk or caribou.

He called for more work to support sustainable harvests in Nunavut.