Nunavut candidates talk country food and food insecurity at forum
Gun laws, the carbon tax and Nutrition North also hot topics
Conservative candidate James T. Arreak, left, Liberal Kilikvak Kabloona and New Democrat Lori Idlout take part in an all-candidates forum Wednesday at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre in Iqaluit. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
A federal election forum Wednesday in Iqaluit included some jabs between the candidates over Nutrition North and gun laws.
About 30 people attended the event, which was organized by the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre. Co-executive directors Francine Doucet and Joseph Murdoch-Flowers moderated the discussion, which was mostly focused on country food, hunting rights, food security and sovereignty.
Not being able to afford food is one of the most pressing issues for Nunavummiut, all candidates agreed, but their opinions differed on the reasons.
“Liberals have known all along that food insecurity is a major problem in Nunavut. They helped to make it happen,” said NDP candidate Lori Idlout, the incumbent MP.
She talked about the failures of Nutrition North, which provides subsidies to retailers to lower the cost of essential food, and blamed the Liberal government for not reforming it.
Nutrition North has been under fire for years, with accusations that the subsidies don’t reach the consumer. Former federal northern affairs minister Dan Vandal announced in October the program will go through an external review, which has not yet begun.
Conservative candidate James T. Arreak agreed with Idlout’s assessment of the Liberal track record on Nutrition North, saying the program benefits “deep pockets” and needs reform.
He also said a Conservative government would cut taxes, including a complete elimination of the carbon tax, which would make life more affordable to Nunavummiut.
Liberal candidate Kilikvak Kabloona said Nutrition North does a lot of good that can be “built on.”
“Yes, it’s not perfect and it needs to be improved,” she said, pointing to the planned external review as evidence the Liberal government has a willingness to reform.
All candidates agreed there is a need for more infrastructure, like ports and airports, in Nunavut that would help tackle the food insecurity crisis.
In response to a question from Doucet about country food, all of the candidates said they support the Inuit right to hunt, but Arreak said he knows what it’s like to be a hunter.
He criticized Liberal gun legislation “supported” by the NDP that included amendments to ban some rifles Inuit use for hunting.
Arreak said those amendments, which the Liberal government abandoned in February 2023, made Inuit hunters feel like “criminals.”
Idlout pushed back, saying the “NDP was there to stop that ban from happening.”
“Families very much rely on hunters,” Idlout said, adding she would advocate for the creation of more community freezers to help support Inuit hunters and their families.
The candidates also talked about Inuit employment, housing, reconciliation, support for people with disabilities, Nunavut businesses and non-profits.
The forum was the second public debate between the three candidates after an April 17 radio debate hosted by CBC. Although the candidates were slightly more aggressive in their rhetoric during the Wednesday event, at the end, they all shared Arctic char and caribou provided by the food centre.
The forum was livestreamed on Facebook and the recording is available on Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre’s Facebook page.
The federal election is scheduled for Monday.
“Conservative candidate James T. Arreak agreed with Idlout’s assessment of the Liberal track record on Nutrition North, saying the program benefits “deep pockets” and needs reform.”
Clueless, it was the Cons. Leona and Harper that changed this program for their friends with deep pockets.
Correct. April 1, 2011 is when Nutrition North replaced Food Mail. Harper was PM until November 4, 2015.
…and 10 years of libs just made it worse.
Something to keep in mind as we head into this upcoming election: most politicians regardless of party are often friendly with each other behind the scenes. I know people who are genuinely afraid to speak their mind about politics because reactions can get too heated or emotional. You can see that in some of the comments on other articles already.
Yes, this is an important election. But at the end of the day, politicians work for us, the people, not the other way around. Regardless of who wins, please don’t demonize those who see things differently. We’re slowly drifting toward the kind of division we see in the U.S. and it’s not healthy.
Be kind. Be respectful. We can disagree without dehumanizing each other.
Having no FAC firearms certificate with new territory and new businesses from South, its not safe to have any firearm inside homes here in Nunavut without FAC. Inuit and citizens, please understand about it and really unsafe. Just get rid of unregistered firearms out of our homes. And start renewing those FAC.
What this guy said;
Posted by Walter P on Apr 23, 2025
Question is….how does anyone this day in age trust a Liberal? They have spent far to much money then we can to balance any budget leading to the position we are in currently, they opened the flood gates to let anyone in, so our housing across Canada is crazy, and what do we expect them to fix the housing problem we have in Nunavut. What we have on average 10-20 people per house hold in Nunavut? Sure we have an uneducated problem with people just having kid after kid after kid…..where do you make a a baby with that many people around you sleeping? The Liberals have promised things for the North every election, and how many houses have been built?? Don’t vote Red Inuit!!
No matter what party you decide to vote, one thing I think we can all agree on is that its nice to see candidates be civil with each other to the point where one can agree with the other rather than just trying to sling more mud.
Its refreshing and appreciated.
No more approval for inuit child first initiative food voucher program. Liberal can’t fix this. The program can’t be managed efficiently.