Federal budget is about fairness says Northern Affairs minister
Government is prioritizing addressing food insecurity in the North, Dan Vandal says
The Minister of Northern Affairs, Dan Vandal says his government is taking aim promoting fairness for all generations in Canada. (File photo)
The 2024 federal budget is about fairness for every generation, says federal Northern and Indigenous Affairs Minister Dan Vandal.
“For too many Canadians, especially younger Canadians in the North, all over Canada, the promise of Canada seems at risk,” Vandal said in a phone interview Friday, three days after his Liberal government presented its spending plan for 2024-25.
“We are taking bold action to build more homes faster, we are helping to make life cost less, and we’re growing the economy in a way that’s shared for everybody in Canada.
“I think we have to make sure this is a budget that promotes fairness for all generations, especially young people living in the North and that’s where we’re going,” Vandal said.
He said budget funding specifically earmarked for the North includes $4 billion for the Northern, Rural and Urban Support Program, $2.15 million for Nunafab Corp. to establish a modular home production plant in Cambridge Bay, and $3.5 million for Polar Knowledge Canada.
The minister said the government is putting $150 million of new money to tackle food insecurity, an important issue for the North.
“To lower the cost of food, we have $100 million for the harvester support grant, which was developed with Inuit harvesters,” said Vandal.
Other funding allocated to food insecurity includes $20 million for the Nutrition North subsidy, $14.9 million to renew and expand the Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund to all regions of Inuit Nunangat, and $1 billion for a national school food program.
“To lower the cost of food, we have $100 million for the harvester support grant, it was co-developed with Inuit harvesters.”
Nunavut MP and NDP Indigenous Services critic Lori Idlout has been critical of the Nutrition North program, calling for an overhaul by giving financial support directly to northerners, rather than to retailers.
Earlier this month, the House of Commons Indigenous affairs committee passed an NDP motion calling on grocery store executives, including NorthWest Company CEO Daniel McConnell, to appear at committee meeting.
As we learned in the 2022 Convoy Ottawa/Trudeau has an underlying authoritarian streak. Thus anything that can be sold as for our protection as in the auto-theft allocation $$$$ in the budget will be used to further restrict our freedom and right to privacy and beef up that Federal authoritarian-like streak. Bet the farm on it.
Fairness for Whom? Would that fairness be for the inuit where the monies are entitled to go to or would these same monies be spent on hiring non Inuit family members from the south?
Northwest CEO shows up with Kobe beef, caviar, and edible gold and this mole rolls out a different trade treaty called fairness to all the climate zombies. Laughing and giggling his way to his Swiss bank account 🤑
Why are jobs filled by southerners or should we simply say fellow Canadians not inuit. Because there are not enough skilled trades or sufficiently educated people in NU as well as not enough willing to start at the bottom, stick with it and work thier way up. Anytime I hear anyone complain about someone taking ” my job” I ask “did you apply for that job , can you do it” if the answer to both is no, then, IT’S NOT YOUR JOB.
Same thing here , everybody want to be the boss, not start from the bottom and work their way up.
Even gaddaffi was a better leader than any inuk mp or mla ever. Even better than trudeau. Better than trump. Better than biden. He was a dictator. But, dictator is too harsh for a man like gaddaffi. Gaddaffi forgave loans for people. He took 50% off for people buying their first car. He gave 50 000 cash to people wanting to buy a house. Power was free. Get that? Nunavut joke. MLA joke. MP joke.
And how did he die? Oh yes, violent revolution, beaten, with a stick shoved up his fundament, so that all worked out well.
$150 million can go towards free remote amazon deliveries give Canada Post the money and it will really become food mail.
Nunavutmiut should enjoy free dry good food delivery like the rest of our fellow Canadians as long as it is not just food.
Flour, canned food, rice, sugar, diapers. baby formula, etc. essential stuff. then we would be getting prices like our fellow Canadians no middle men like the greedy North West Company or buying services we are being forces to use.
NWC has the Canada post contract 🙁
There should be laws in how stores calculate their costs/expenses. Stores are charging a restocking fee, freight costs on top of the actual freight costs and their profit margin on top of all their extra “charges” (profits) they are charging/making. They are acting like payday loans and charging expenses, fees etc… on top of their expenses. There should be laws against this, especially being such a necessary service in the country.
GN-CGS has a a Consumer Affairs office that provides consumer protection. If contacted they will confirm that what you describe is capitalism in action, and businesses are free to charge the prices they determine to be a fair return for the goods or services they provide.
Remove the manager of the year at NWC, Managers just jack up prices to make big profits for the store executives just to receive big bonuses.