Empty shelves in Clyde River’s Northern store
Hamlet learns to live without certain items, chief administrative officer Jerry Natanine says
The North West Company has experienced delays in shipping, leaving some shelves in Clyde River’s Northern store empty. (File photo)
People in Clyde River have been learning to live without everyday household items and foods as a rough winter has left shelves bare in the hamlet’s only grocery store.
Hamlet chief administrative officer Jerry Natanine says people haven’t had consistent access to ground beef, pork chops, some fresh produce, frozen foods and even diapers.
That’s been the case for the last few months.
“We just have to learn to live with what’s not there,” Natanine said in an interview.
“It’s quite daunting, the fact that, when you go to the store, you cannot find any meat, you cannot find what you expect to find, like fruits or anything like that.”
Clyde River declared a local state of emergency on Feb. 10 after more than a month of blizzards left roads and houses blocked with snow.
Hamlet staff had trouble delivering water to residents, and sewage tanks were left to freeze over. On top of that, snow-clearing vehicles had broken down because they were being filled with the wrong type of fuel.
The state of emergency ended a week later, but blizzards continued to hit the community.
Hunters and trappers are still going out to get country food, such as Arctic char and seal. What’s caught is either given away for free or sold.
But Natanine said, “It’s not enough to feed the whole town.”
Community members will sometimes blame the Northern store, accusing it of holding back new products so that less-popular items will sell first, Natanine said, pointing out the hamlet’s mail and cargo has been experiencing delays as well.
North West Company sales director Darrin Maidment said the store doesn’t hold items to sell out its stock on the floor.
He said the Clyde River store received two produce and cooler orders on Monday and had a large delivery on Tuesday. The rest of the product is in Iqaluit and will be flown out soon, he said.
Before that, he said, the last shipment the store received was around March 1.
“This is not a normal situation for Northern and our store team is working hard to get the shelves restocked,” Maidment said.
“We thank Clyde River customers for their patience.”
I love how everyone blames northern for everything but never their local co-ops. Prices could be the same at northern and co-op, but “lets blame northern and turn a blind eye to our local co-op.”
Obviously you’re not from Nunavut or live there. Clyde River has no Co-op store., only Northern store.
I’m not sure about your community, but in mine the Co-Op always sells VERY expired products. Salad dressings expired by a year. Boxed food several months out of date.
Co-op is the store I’ll NEVER shop at.
i am so tired and Feed up at (ALL ) Northern stores,specialy in far away comunity,god bless you people living there but also both Nothmart and Venture in iqaluit, for some time selling food That are dangerous to eat cause it got (mole) wich are way beyond expiry date, But Why ? do they think people are dumb and will eat it or think that we will just buy it by mistake without looking, just to trow it out in our garbage can at home and not ask for our Money back ? do we have to take the food with mole and force the manager to eat it so he can understand that what he is selling is unfit for human to eat ? thats just an idea lol
A mole is a creature that digs in the dirt.
What you found is MOLD. And I can almost guarantee it was on Beef Jerky, wasn’t it. Here’s a pro-tip. STOP BUYING BEEF JERKY AND JUST MAKE SOME TUKTU JERKY IN YOUR OVEN
uhmm actualy the latest unfit food item i just saw was bread,not just one loaf but all the bread on sale on the shelf with nice greenish & blue colours,in the past i stumble upon expired frozen sugar pie hard like a rock after defrosting,old glass jar of olive with pimple growing on it,Roten bananas on sale,Poultry With a slight beguining case of chicken pox,a year old can of gravy sauce. i dont recall all the horrors i ve seen ,how about you? people should post the items they seen that was Moldy or a year old at any stores in nunavut.
spoken like a true old HBC guy, Co-ops; they try to give back to the communities and the other; money flows to the country side estates of Canada, USA, Europe to some old rich shareholders…Its not a fair level playing field though; (HBC) now Northern have 300 years of ripping people off experience and Co-ops only have about 50-60 years, not a level ball park.
just wondering ? whats a HBC ?
these smooth brained individuals think that The Northern Company in some way shape or form embodies the old Hudson Bay Company. Because at one point they were the HBC.
To me, that’s like saying Hitler’s surviving family members are all scum that deserve death because they’re related to Adolf. It’s moronic to even think it, let alone say it.
thanks you for educating me to what HBC was ,,, Hudson Bay Company. now i know, Nakoomik
If they have been plagued with blizzards I’m sure that would also affect planes landing and resupplying the store. Hopefully your weather will improve so food and supplies can be restocked, clear your streets, get water and sewage back on track. But LOL who’s the peanut that put the wrong fuel in the vehicles? Didn’t have enough on their plates then that happens too.