Disparity between CEO, retail worker salaries come to light in committee meeting
North Mart CEO makes $3.91M; The average Iqaluit North Mart worker makes $37K per year, MP Lori Idlout says
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout questions northern airline and grocery chain CEOs about the high costs of food in the North at the House of Commons Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday. (Image from INAN)
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout challenged the CEO of North West Co. over his annual pay Wednesday as the House of Commons Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee met to discuss the high cost of food in the North.
The heads of two northern airlines and two grocery store chains appeared before the committee. They were summoned by Idlout to testify about the Nutrition North program.
Nutrition North is a federal program designed to make food more affordable in northern communities. It provides retailers with subsidies on certain nutritious foods and essential items, which are expected to be passed on as savings to the customer.
The subsidy is applied against the total cost of an eligible product, including purchasing cost and transportation.
Idlout questioned North West Co. CEO Dan McConnell, who heads the Northern and NorthMart grocery chains, on his salary and bonuses versus the average salary of a cashier in Iqaluit, which Idlout said was $37,000.
When McConnell replied that his salary was searchable online, Idlout persisted during a second round of questioning.
“I’m not going to let you get away with not sharing your salary before the committee,” she said, stating McConnell’s salary and bonuses total $3.91 million.
Idlout cited reports she said show only 67 cents on the dollar from the subsidies are passed on to consumers through lower prices, “which is completely unacceptable.” She didn’t identify the reports.
McConnell pushed back, saying the company passes “100 per cent” of subsidies on to its customers.
Idlout disagreed, saying that on a recent visit to the Kimik Co-op in Kimmirut, she saw a dozen eggs priced at $3.99, while at the nearby Northern Store they were selling for $6.49 a dozen.
“I saw it as a pattern in every community,” she said.
Calm Air CEO Gary Bell, Canadian North CEO Shelly De Caria and Kimik Co-op general manager Jean-Pierre Goulet also testified Wednesday at the committee.
They discussed the high cost of transporting freight to the North, unique challenges presented by weather and climate change on their operations, and limited opportunities to transport food other than by plane.
In a phone interview Thursday, Idlout said she called the CEOs to Ottawa because she believed having them speak before the other committee members would provide the best platform to spur changes to Nutrition North.
“What our committee can do has a larger impact than if I just have individual meetings with the CEOs,” she said.
Idlout said she had mixed feelings about how the meeting went, saying “corporate greed” is being protected by the federal government.
However, she believes Nutrition North “can work,” citing the example she raised during questioning of the alleged price differences between eggs at the Kimik Co-op versus the Northern store.
Idlout said she views the Co-op as an example of a supermarket passing 100 per cent of the Nutrition North subsidy on to customers.
The committee will review the information gathered and at some point offer recommendations to improve Nutrition North and better help alleviate poverty in the North.
Over the last 20 years, if the Northwest Company had grown just with the size of inflation, they would have grown from a $379M company to a $583M company.
In reality, during that time the Northwest Company has grown from a $379M company into a $1.83B company.
Shop at the Coop if you don’t like businesses making a ‘profit’
Northmart Does have good price on (GREEN EXPIRE MOLDY PRODUCT) at 50% off.
i am forever thankfull of Lori Idlout effort taking a stand for all of us living in the north and (caring for others instead of trying to make a profit from other) we all suffer from those crazy over prices, no mather what we are, inuit,or white or black we all need to eat and our kids too. thanks Lori Idlout
Capitalist; How can ACL do anything? they can’t even change the hotel menu a ten year menu at ARV hotel (someone sure is autocratic manager down in WPG), no wonder they are doing so bad….Kugaaruk is probably next to go belly up, NWC could shut the store there just by losing half a mil a year million a year to force it shut. then for eons, rip of the locals, the locals sure made a bad choice, no more dividends to by hondas, boats or snowmobiles.
If baffin Island gets a train for the Mary river project. Maybe they’ll be able to use the train to ship food and stuff. Sort of like how kivalliq can benefit from the AWAR that will stretch from arviat to baker lake. Planes can drop off to rankin inlet in kivalliq and truckers can deliver them to other communities it is connected to. Baffin Island people can have planes drop off to iqaluit and the train can pick them up and drop them off to the communities that ordered shipments.
The Mary River train line is only running from the mine to the port some 50km away. It isn’t stretching to ANY community, let alone from Iqaluit to Pond Inlet.
A group of you guys need to go up to baffinland about it. Tell them, look, you guys have a trillion dollar mine in operation. We know you want a rail for train. You guys can build it, but under one condition, connect all communities together through the rail. You guys tell em that. Baffinland is sitting on millions of tonnes of iron. One rail connecting all communities is peanuts for a mine that size.
What the ceo makes and the growth of north west company is the result of smart business practices it should not concern a LIberal MP IN NDP COLORS..IS MS IDLOUT ENVIOUS OF A SUCCESS STORY,NW COM0ANY CAME TO THE ARTIC WHEN NOT TOO MANY COMPANIES WERE RUSHING TO THE ARTIC…WHY DONT YOU ASK ALUKI AT NTI WHAT SHE MAKES AND WHY NTI IS RENEGING ON HOUSING MONEY THAT OTTAWA HAS ALLOTED FOR HOUSING WHY ARE THE MORE NON INUIT WORKING AT NTI…NTI HAS FAILED THE INUITS AND ARE CONTROLLING THE ALA COLONIST STYLE…YOU AND THE WEEK SELF CENTERED INUITS NEED TO STOP PLAYING THE VICTIM CARD…YOU SPINELESS LEADERS SURE HAVE LEARNED WELL FROM THE OPPRESSORS OF YOUR LAND AND PEOPLE,NOW YOU ARE DOING IT TO YOUR OWN AND OTHERS. I HAVE FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE IN THAT REGARD..CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE LEARNED WELL..
CASE IN POINT..WHY????? THE GAP BETWEEN HAVE AND HAVE NOTS IS WIDENING DRASTICALLY SINCE NLCA
Despite low-ball salaries of NWC. Never the less minimum wages but honest employment. NWC employment rate is about 90 Nunavummiut (feeding babies most times). And good MP, you’re not even in position of one good legislation for the the good of us u here. Mai critical for the sake of it, power trip. Before you shoot, make sure the gun is loaded.
Shop Co-op is what I’ll do from now on until the prices drop at Northern/Northmart.
I think I won’t drink alcohol until the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup.✌️🤘❤️
How much do the Mullin-Idlouts make each year from their carving retail business, and how much do the carvers make?
Pension plan,Lori when re-elected will receive a pension of over 100k a year for life.so over 30 years 3million dollars at least not bad.
Ouch!
But that’s neo-feudalism, which is far more ethical than evil capitalism.
I hope she isn’t expecting/demanding that a cashier with minimal education and experience gets the same pay as a CEO who busted their a** to get there.
Get off the entitlement train and go to Skool.
Strawman arguments don’t address the issue
I assume by the ‘issue’ you mean how ineffectual Idlout is because of the party she is in? If she wished to serve us well, she would cross the floor.
Where do you think she might cross over to? She’s already a defacto Liberal. There’s no chance she’ll turn Blue.
She’s made it clear she hopes to stay around after the next government takes over. Better to be on the inside, than on the outside looking in.
She made it clear what she wants, but the voters will decide. If the conservatives can field a half decent candidate (which, you never know with them) I don’t think she will win again.
She and her party are already across the floor.
The North West Company doesn’t even apply the 100% nutritional north subsidy to all healthy food. It’s ridiculous and sick how junk food is cheaper then healthy food in Nunavut.
If I shop at northern, my two weeks worth of groceries for a family of 3 cost close to a thousand dollars and this is all healthy food like meats, diary products, dry goods and fruits.
I am hopeful this gets fixed very soon as prices are outrageously ridiculous and slowly unaffordable to buy two weeks worth.
Why is this comment getting down voted. This is absolutely true. Walk down the isle here in Cambridge Bay. Nutritions North stickers all over the place by the sugar packed cereal and again under all the fruit juices that are no better than pop.
Unfortunately most people in Nunavut lack any basic education around nutrition hence a diabetes rate that’s significantly higher than the rest of Canada and Nunavut while leading the way in malnutrition also has a much higher obesity rate than Canada’s average.
Turns out tossing a stick of lard in a pan every morning and night isn’t exactly healthy when you no longer go out and physically expend yourself like older times and most of us are sitting in office chairs.
And healthy alternatives absolutely are absurdely priced. You can’t buy a big bag of frozen fruit any more for less than 35 bucks. It was 15 just a few years ago for the same bag. But let’s keep adding more subsidy to lucky charms. Keep the diabetes rolling and hook them with sugar young so they buy those 45 dollar cases of pop with every dollar they have.
Alot of people in Nunavut lack basic education. Period.
Demanding more…😥
People In Nunavut lack basic education??? Demanding more?!?! I’m sure you’d be demanding for food prices to be lowered too if you lived in Nunavut where everything quadrupled compared to the south and food that are close to it’s expiration or molded finally put on the shelves for sale.
Idlout states at Committee that, on a recent visit to Kimmirut, she saw eggs being sold 3.99 a dozen at the COOP, while at the Northern, they’re being sold for 6.49 a dozen. It’s wonderful to see an NDP MP unknowingly give a great example of the free market system well at work bringing competitive pricing for people . Thanks to the free market, I expect people in Kimmirut will choose to buy their eggs at the COOP. If the Northern wants to continue to pocket the subsidy and keep their prices high, no one will shop there. They will then lose money, have to close up shop and the COOP wins. That’s capitalism, that’s the free market, that’s competition and it works pretty darn well most of the time!! If the Northern is pocketing the subsidy, it’s stupid and bad business for them to do it and they will pay the price by pushing people away to their competitors.
Ooor the Northwest Company still gets the subsidy and pockets the difference.
Okay, but how is it the free market when it’s wildly, wildly distorted by Nutrition North? Notably how the Northwest Company can get bigger discounts from its suppliers, get bigger discounts from airlines (or fly it on their own airline), and then play the Nutrition North game. That sounds like a win-win for the NWC
If NWC is making such a killing up here, why aren’t other major grocers like Loblaws coming up here for a piece of this action???
The North West Company doesn’t even apply 100% of the Nutritional north food subsidy to all of the healthy food.
It’s ridiculous how junk food is cheaper then healthy food in Nunavut.
IF I shop at Northern, my two weeks worth of groceries for a family of 3 cost me close to a thousand dollars and this is all health food like meats, diary products, dry goods and fruits.
I hope this issue gets resolved soon!!!!! The prices in Nunavut is outrageously ridiculous and slowly becoming unaffordable, especially trying to get two weeks worth of food.
Yes the NDP would be the type to believe that CEO’s should make the same amount as cashiers. I heard Cuba is nice.
Was there this winter, talked to some of the staff at the resort, they told me they make about $30.00 a MONTH !!!!!!!!!!!!
And their cost of living? Gotta share ALL the info
I mean if one company is charging half the price for the same product, not sure why even bother scolding the company that charges more, the free market will solve that problem
So the CEO of NWC, and the two airlines. But a coop store manager. Did she invite list on the one example of a coop being cheaper that Northern? Where was Duane Wilson?
Idlout disagreed, saying that on a recent visit to the Kimik Co-op in Kimmirut, she saw a dozen eggs priced at $3.99, while at the nearby Northern Store they were selling for $6.49 a dozen. “I saw it as a pattern in every community,” she said.”
It’s unlikely to find someone less capable of seeing a pattern than Lori. She sees the world through very biased and self-serving lenses. Shameful pathos.
That aside, I recently visited friends in a medium-sized city in Ontario. Eggs were nearly $6.00 prr dozen at Sobeys. Must have been a sale on tiny eggs at Co-op the day Lori was looking for patterns.
Lori’s Idlout salary as a Member of the House of Commons:
April 1, 2024: $203,100
April 1, 2023: $194,600
April 1, 2022: $189,500
October 2021: $185,800
I don’t believe we are getting that value for our tax payer’s dollars. Oh, don’t forget the house on the Plateau her company rents out to, for example, GN medical travellers amongst others.
Cashier makes $37,000, CEO makes nearly $4 million, and Lori makes close to $300,000 annually. Both the cashier and the CEO earn their income.
In addition to her salary, Lori costs us another $1 million in overhead (travel, housing, office) and significant ly more for her wasted committee membership and ‘pattern’ research
Self checkout kiosks coming to your Northern/NorthMart soon🤑
THEFT WILL GO THREW THE ROOF , IF THEY DO THAT !
Pleeaaasee get your own handle……..
Wait tell she find out how much CEO of amazon make 😂😂😂😂
Ooor the Northwest Company still gets the subsidy and pockets the difference
Idlout disagreed, saying that on a recent visit to the Kimik Co-op in Kimmirut, she saw a dozen eggs priced at $3.99, while at the nearby Northern Store they were selling for $6.49 a dozen.
—————-
Eggs come in medium, large and extra large and all have different pricing. Is she cherry picking or does she not know better?
Lost leaders are items that stores intentionally lose money on to draw customers into the store to shop. They place these items at the back of the store knowing damn well that the customer will buy other profitable items as well.
Stores often use eggs, like bread and milk, as “lost leaders”. Lost leaders are not a good metric for comparison.
It’s great Nunavut’s MP is talking salaries. When Canada is $1 trillion dollars in debt. A time, when Canadians struggle to find any extra money to pay the carbon tax increase.
Strange we didn’t hear anything from her before and on April 1st. When backbench MPs salaries pay zipped lined up to $203,100 a year. Plus bills and travel paid for.
Making Canadian MPS the world’s second highest paid elected officials in the world.
If Nunavut’s MP is so concerned about salaries. Why didn’t she stand in the house to say it’s not the darn right time for a $8,500 pay increase? Is it because it’s an automatic yearly pay raise? She and other MPs could not do anything about it but accept.
Wait. Are they not elected MPs, legislators who are the ones who make laws? Who could easily have changed the automatic yearly pay raise. Or demand the pay raise be frozen.
Instead voted no halt to carbon tax. Which increased food prices… and almost everything else.
Will Nunavut MP donate her yearly pay raise over the past years to 1, 2, 3 cashiers?
Come on leave her alone, 4 more year, 4 more years, you boo birds
A lot of items at rankin inlet coop are more expensive than northern. Our dividens are a lot smaller too compared to other communities
Just over a year after NutritionNorth stared off. NWC got a shiny new small business plane with the tail number C-FNWC to visit the arctic during the beautiful summer months a year later, they came to town with another shiny new plane, along with the one from previous year. Not long after that, they got a third small aircraft. Even one aircraft for the big shots was never an option all those years previous to NN.
Explain this to use NWC, and MP Idlout, maybe you can get us answers. Why is the local Manager Also charging a lot of customers his own private interest. Pretty sure that is illegal on any sort of payment plan. Many are getting the NWC(WE) financing, and HO Financing (local managers) own interest an the same bug ticket item financing, or grocery bill.
Call the phone number that appears on your statement. I am sure they will be able to address the issue and explain what all the charges are for.
I thought that the long time manager had recently departed? Or are you talking about a new manager?
the north west company operates out of winnipeg and has over 6000 employees operating in many locations including 31 giant tiger locations. its not just iqaluit. so whats Lori trying to get at? its a false equivalency. a person may not like northmart then shop elsewhere.
She must be like…”If you can’t dazzle them with your brilliance. Baffle them (voters) your bull …”🤣
Does Idlout know that the Northwest Company doesnt just operate Northern and Northmart? They operate Giant TIger plus many stores in Alaska, Hawaii, Virgin Islands, Samoa, Barbados, Curacao, Saint Martin, Guam, and Fiji. They also own North Star Airline in northern Ontario.
So, the CEO oversees the operations of an international company with many different ventures. But yeah, let’s compare apples to oranges.
That’s a lot of profit there, but don’t they have their own CEO’s for each stores, Giant TIger plus many stores in Alaska, Hawaii, Virgin Islands, Samoa, Barbados, Curacao, Saint Martin, Guam, and Fiji. They also own North Star Airline in northern Ontario.
Why don’t Lori get her ol’ buds the Nuluujaat Land Guardians to block the runways where NorthWest Company planes land. Problem solved…
Thus it will continue to persists across the Territory with make-up prices and price gouging. Just take a peek with ACL (Arctic Co-operatives Ltd.) non had make an effort to improved infrastructures with Co-operatives stores across remote communities but may be few 5%!?! You’ll notice inventory to mark-up food prices, and managements (elected at all levels in four different boards same time managing), this raises whether ACL Head Office manipulate this system under admin.??? This is broken at all level’s!?! Next ACL AGM keep look out for cards games!?!
This does raised eyebrows how management of Co-operatives Ltd. administer their Retail’s, and Hotel’s, at the same time running as ELECTED Boards with honorarium. This does certainly raises concern HOW ACL Head Office pretend NOT to notice this broken system??? Notice this trend in remote communities based on Co-operatives Ltd. Management’s? Is this focusing on infrastructure’s, or Monopolizing systems under the NOSE of Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. Head Office in Winnipeg? What’s the conclusion!?!
If someone wishes to purchase an Illak fare on Canadian North, they can only do so if the seats are available. Usually, they sell only 2-3 seats per month. If you make a reservation but want to change the date later, you can do so but must pay a change fee. If you cannot travel and want a refund, you can get one, but you must use it for another travel or can use it for freight within a year.
On the other hand, Calm Air provides Piuvut fare to its beneficiaries, which is considered a full fare. You can travel on any day you choose. You have the option to change dates without paying a fee, and if you need to cancel your reservation, you can get a full refund with no hidden costs. You will receive a refund on the card you used to purchase the ticket originally. Wait… On top of all this, if you are beneficiary and your spouse is not, you can purchase a beneficiary fare for your non beneficiary spouse too!!
Go Get Canadian North; yes Calm Air is not bad, but arriving and departure times nightmare. Having no competition does that sort of thing. as for the North Star, it’s seen on TIKTOK flying at 400-500 ft over the major caribou herd near Arviat. Inuit hunters are the problems with caribou herd? It appears even eve take a dive to look at the herd. Environment Dept? NWMB? KWF? ARV HTO? As for NWC, no use boycotting them, we’ll starve.
Would you please help the tuktu and report that to Environment.
It’s typical for people to complain about their Members of Parliament. I recall hearing complaints after complaints about Mumilaaq, Mr. Hickes, Mrs. Karetak, Miss Aglukark, and Mr. Anawak. No one can ever please everyone, and those who aren’t pleased will be outspoken. Yet, they do not attempt to run in the next election. Go figure.
Good job, everyone; the comments for this article are easily the most incoherent I’ve seen on Nunatsiaq
The food mail program worked so much better years ago. Pizzas were $5 each, T-bone steaks usually less than $10. Only bad thing about it IMO was sometimes the produce would go bad quicker. Overall I thought the Food mail program worked great! I use to order every week and saved a ton of $$$ than shopping at Northmart. I only went NM for Milk and some veggies.
… Some items are cheaper at the Coop than the Northern.
Bring more advanced refrigerators to stores in Nunavut. Or personally order one. Make it available and be able to buy those more advance refrigerators.
You need to ask that question??
And voted for the increase in taxes on April 1
What in heaven’s name do you mean “his own private interest”
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a store manager contributing his personal time to the community. Not many others do.
And as much as I hate to be paying the prices we do, I know Northern and the Co-op contribute a lot of bucks to the community.
Northern doesn’t do as much or anywhere near what co-op does. Co-ops give back to the community. Where as northern let’s their customers pay for their stupid ski doo or atv raffles. Or give away near expiring or expired food to people. If northern wants to do raffle for a snowmobile, they make more than what the bloody snowmobile sells for by selling tickets. Got that John wp murphy? It’s SALES in tickets. Co-op doesn’t do that with the money back they do for their customers. Their is a fine line of differences when it comes to co-op and northern. Northern with we financial? When we wanna load cash into we cards, we financial states that cash load is free of charge. But northern charges you 3 dollars for it anyway. If i want to cash a cheque’s at northern, they’ll take 49.00 to 150.00. When I cash my cheque’s at co-op, I get what I’m cashing in.
The conclusion is you and many posters here think the store managers are hired to work 24/7/365.
Not so. What they do on their little time off is their business and much of it goes back to the community.
Yeah? So, what’s the conclusion IF you’re Managing a Retail Store, Hotel, and other Business related to Co-operatives Ltd? Does this make sense managing a Retail and Hotel, and at the same circumstances ELECTED various four boards. Is this focusing on Co-operatives Ltd. interests and INFRASTRUCTURE??? This does raised issues how Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. administer their day-to-day operation’s! Don’t you think???
So, what is the conclusion???
Yeah!?! You’re absolutely conclude a point! How can a Co-operatives Ltd. Manage a RETAIL STORE to administer Hotel, Petro, Guest’s, include Retail or Hardware, and at the same circumstances administer a Member’s Co-operatives Ltd. store, and elected in various 4 board’s with paid honorarium in each different director’s? This does raises concern to conclude HOW system with ACL administer their management’s in remote communities???
Lori be in no position whine about salary discrepancies, her boss (ceo) Singh be wearing a $15,0000.00 watch.
either governement or private sector should have or make effort and plan to save us money,how about using drone to ship eggs on our head at a cheapper cost ?
nah seriously,anything should be consider,if only they really wanted to find away to provide cheapper prices they would inovate and find a way,such as some kind of new shipping ways for the food perhaps ?
– Others have pointed out that each remote Northern community has a customer-owned Co-op store and a privately-owned NorthMart.
– Both receive the Nutrition North subsidy to offset food prices (not junk food, not vices, not toys). – — Both buy their products from suppliers in the south and ship them by annual sealift and regular airlifts.
– Prices are essentially the same at both stores, by default
– Is anyone suggesting that the customer-owned non-profit Co-op stores are ripping off their owners? If so, why haven’t you arranged an audit? Are the Co-op owners (the customers) colluding with NortMart ownership?
– All that aside, food prices are as reasonably low as they should be under present circumstances. Lori Idlout, her cohort, and their supporters are a large contributor to the other problems in Nunavut and Canada
Nunavut MP; even your salary with perks and add-ons is appalling in comparison with NWC cashier in Iqaluit. Conservatize MP, what is your real compensation when ALL $$$ are added? Your personal expenses are well cared for. And will be for life.
Hey Eskimo Joe, have you ever considered running in the next election? You could use your voice to advocate for the rights of Nunavumiut and make sure they have access to the same resources as other rural communities in the south. What do you think?
How much is the mark-up on the Inuit art her store resells?
if its bought from carver for 120, it’s than marked to 360 for the tourist….old joe is in the wrong field of work. Then again, It would be tiring talking BS about Sedna and the dancing polar bear….
Shop Co-op, you get returns in dividends. What’s so complex about that? It’s so simple it’s difficult?
Pay 5 – 10% more to (maybe) receive a 2 – 3% dividend that I then have to spend in store? No thanks.
So what are we discussing. Everyone should earn 38k per year or everyone should earn 3 million per year. What exactly is the point here.
Juan Carlos: You just prom😂ise to abstain booze for the rest of you life….hehehe.
Good MP’s good intention bring in a back-fire. your though you did good but you cannot fight most CEOs of most Corporations. you just brung to yourself desktop critics who (we) are going to vote you out in favor of ConPerson in the next GE.