New grocery benefit leaves ‘gaping hole’ in easing burden of food prices: Idlout
Nunavut MP frustrated by Carney announcement she says does not address issues in the North
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout is calling on the federal government to provide solutions to food insecurity in Nunavut directly after a new federal government grocery benefit failed to do so. (File photo)
Nunavut’s MP says the federal government’s recent announcement of a national grocery benefit to ease the burden of food prices doesn’t do enough to address food security issues in the North.
“That was a gaping hole that I noticed in his announcement,” MP Lori Idlout said, referring to an announcement Prime Minister Mark Carney made Monday.
The NDP politician called Carney’s plan a failure to address the North directly.
“The announcement didn’t mention anything about fixing or replacing the Nutrition North program, and this is something that we’ve been talking about since 2021,” Idlout said.
Nutrition North is a federal subsidy aimed at reducing the price of healthy groceries to shoppers. The federal government began a review of the program in 2024 that is expected to be completed this year.
On Monday, Carney announced a new grocery benefit as part of what he called a “series of new measures to bring down costs.”
The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, formerly the Goods and Services Tax credit, will be increased by 25 per cent for five years starting July 26, a news release issued by Carney’s office said.
For the first year, the benefit will be increased by 50 per cent, providing a combined one-time payment of up to $1,890 for a family of four. Families can expect up to $1,400 per year for the remaining four years, while a single person will receive up to $950 for the first year and up to $700 a year for the remaining four years, the release said.
The new benefit will provide support for more than 12 million Canadians.
The government also announced measures to lower the cost of food production; $20 million to ease pressure on food banks allocated to the Local Food Infrastructure Fund; and a National Food Security Strategy to tackle the root causes of food insecurity.
The Local Food Infrastructure Fund is a government initiative to support small-scale and large-scale projects in the development of programs to increase community food security through the purchase and installation of food infrastructure and equipment.
Idlout said she wants to know what the federal government is doing to address the cost of groceries in Nunavut and what it will do to support hunters and trappers who provide food security at the community level.
Never enough! Time to say thank you, Lori.
“Never enough!” is an appropriate slogan for corporate greed, Kenn. How much profit must they squeeze out of families?
How is a national roll out of assistance, that leaves out Nunavut, something we in the North should be thankful for?
How does it leave out Nunavut? Nunavut likely has the highest proportion of people receiving the GST Credit out of all provinces and territories. Who it leaves out is pretty much anybody that works for a living.
If you’re a single person it’s not terrible, if you make more than $56,181 per year you’re not eligible. That’s $28.81/hour on a 1950 hour/year schedule.
If you’re a couple it’s way worse. If you make a combined $59,481 per year you’re not eligible. So if you’re both working a 1950 hour/year schedule and each make more than $15.25/hour (minimum wage in Nunavut is $19.75/hour) you’re not eligible.
If you’re a family of 4 they’ll let you make up to $66,841 per year. With 2 working parents, you’re not eligible if you each make $17.14/hour. Again, minimum wage is $19.75.
Time to give up the dream of working to make a decent living. Just quit your jobs, get a public housing unit, collect $2000 monthly in social assistance, collect $1330 monthly in CCB, collect $125 monthly in GST Credit, and visit the food bank every day. That’s $3400/month in spending money because your public housing unit costs $60/month. They have more money to spend than I do after I pay mortgage, municipal, electricity, heat, property tax, insurance, and maintenance.
Very nice running of numbers, Too Many at the Trough. Very cool.
The point is that nothing was done re food prices here. So while one can grumble at those on benefits, and make a calculation to leave food prices alone (out of spite?), it could also be helpful to everyone, grumblers and people receiving help alike, if actions/measures were taken against the common problems of a poorly administered Nutrition North program, and other ways to control price gouging. Big companies game our systems a lot more effectively than those on assistance do: it’s their mandate to make profits, even unethical margins. Never enough! if you look at the most artificial prices on products in the stores. So yes, it is annoying if social benefits are misused, but we should not punish everyone by ignoring grocery prices and corporate greed.
Remember this CERB thing?
I wonder how much people in Nunavut owe. (Just curious)
Remember this CERB thing?
I wonder how much people in Nunavut owe. (Just curious)
I envied people getting “Free” money.
Not any more.
Tax refund coming up.
Gas prices will increase as with food as always in our territory where 85% is on welfare where there is no economy and canada only think of itself as a sovereighn nation. What a broken one it came out to be ! Federals cant figure out anything especiallythis current government. We need to seperate like Alberta and let our resources count in federal matters we still 100% under the colonial rule
The “gaping hole” in easing food prices for Nunavummuit is most certainly not a government food subsidy program.
It is the gap between the average education level and employability of Nunavummuit and the thousands of high paying jobs that already exist in our territory.
I wish our leaders would focus more on building up our people other than simply trying to make us the passive recipient of money from others.
Finally, a comment that acknowledges the real issue.
Constant handouts don’t fix anything, they’re just band-aid solutions. Our MP doesn’t seem to understand that and nothing is good enough for her. Why folk felt inclined to vote for her again is beyond me. We could have had a seat at the table, but instead we have a voiceless MP in a party that barely exists.
Correct, complaining about everything,Carney knows she is a voice in the wilderness.and if she really wants to take care of the people of Nunavut cross the floor join the liberals, give him the majority he needs, and she will have a seat at the table, this is her last term, almost lost, and a guaranteed huge pension,
Lori, it’s simple… Start cutting taxes for ALL Canadians.
Through all branches of government, Canadians pay roughly 40% of their pay cheque on taxes.
If the Liberals had less of our money, would it stop them sending $10 billion to countries overseas for gender/sexual assistance. Or would they still keep printing money out of thin air?
To start, get hammering the Liberals for lower food prices by ending their 2 different carbon taxes.
The industrial carbon tax and the hidden carbon fuel tax which are both snowballing food prices upward. Because it all gets passed on to us with a thud, the end user at the food store.