Nunavut children going to school hungry, senators told
Dina Koonoo Arreak of Pond Inlet speaks to committee about education barriers in the North
Dina Koonoo Arreak takes a moment at the Senate after speaking about education challenges in Nunavut to a Senate committee Wednesday. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Children in Nunavut are going to school hungry due to the high cost of food, according to a Pond Inlet educator who testified Wednesday before a Canadian Senate committee.
Dina Koonoo Arreak, a 28-year-old early childhood program manager at Pirurvik Preschool, was one of five youth representatives selected to speak to the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples in a hearing on education barriers in Inuit, First Nations and Métis communities.
Brian Francis, a Mi’kmaw senator from Prince Edward Island, directly asked Koonoo Arreak if children show up to school without breakfast. Her answer: yes.
“I’ve seen many families that aren’t able to afford [food] that can last them to another pay,” Koonoo Arreak told senators.
“From my work, we sometimes distribute food for the parents.”
Food security isn’t the only barrier to education in Nunavut, she said. Adults hoping to earn a post-secondary education also face challenges.
Koonoo Arreak told senators that many Nunavummiut who hope to go back to school have children. The lack of childcare services makes it more difficult to pursue those studies, and many people don’t want to leave their children behind to earn a degree.
On top of that, overcrowded housing means students might have trouble finding a quiet place to study, and tuition support isn’t readily available.
“It’s hard leaving a community where you grew up, and leaving your family and friends when you have to attend college,” Koonnoo Arreak said.
“Sometimes the [student assistance] funds don’t make it on time, which makes it hard to put food on the table and pay bills.”
She also shared her personal story of overcoming adversity to finish school and build the career she’s in now.
While Koonoo Arreak was in high school, her mother, Martha Koonoo, died.
Koonoo Arreak said that in the difficult period after her mother’s death, she had trouble focusing in class and contemplated dropping out.
But wanting to do good for her father Solomon Koonoo, and with the support from teachers, a therapist and other family she persevered.
Koonoo Arreak highlighted her story as an example of the way students can succeed when they are given the opportunity, despite setbacks.
“There were days where I wanted to quit, but I wanted to make my dad proud of me,” she said.
“I never thought I would do what I went through after losing my mother, but I did it.”
In an interview after the hearing, Koonoo Arreak said there were two key policy areas she hopes to see senators legislate: reducing both food prices and teaching-position vacancies in the North.
“I want to be heard for the prices: how much we spend or how much the food costs,” she said.
Forgot to mention cigarettes too. Seeing someone pick smokes over food at the store is sad sad sad!
I come from Saskatchewan. The subsidized food prices in my community are ON PAR with what we pay for groceries down south. (Minus the odd few things, like canned vegetables but frozen is better anyway). Take into account the higher wages earned in Nunavut for those willing to work and you quickly realize that the cost of food isn’t the issue. But the rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, smoking, and various other vices and habits that “eat” into the food budget of most households.
It’s true cost of food is actually quite decent in most communities and has gone down quite a bit in the last few years. Seeing people spend their entire welfare or child tax on gambling is not an excuse for not feeding your kids.
Do you live in Pond Inlet? Or are your comments last century’s generalizations and stereotyping?
I’ve lived in three communities in Nunavut. This is true in all three. Wake up!
Uhhh you do realize you are in the south. Can’t compare apples to oranges.
Also I am by no means an advocate on substance abuse or addictions, but “rampant” alcoholism, drug abuse, smoking, etc… aren’t just mere habits. They are serious addictions and so aren’t something you can just brush off like they are something one chooses over food. For some people, it actually is a tough decision they must make, continually.
Be less heartless, listen and be good.
I figured by saying community that’d be enough to insinuate that I live in Nunavut. I see what happens every day up here. My father is an alcoholic and was my entire life growing up. I know what addiction looks like and can do. It’s not an excuse to abuse children by sending them to school hungry.
P.S. Doesn’t Pond Inlet schools have a breakfast and lunch program like my community? There are grants to get the schools food so they can feed the kids.
The problem is not the high cost of food up here. Everyone is more than adequately compensated for that. Also, there are many places where people can get food for free. The problem is social, not economic, and also, rampant apathy (because some parents who can afford food simply don’t take the time to feed their children). And yes, drugs are part of a serious problem here in the north as in the south: smokes, alcohol, neglect, abuse, and drugs (not in that order). And people with these issues cannot be responsible with money, or more importantly, with children. So let’s change that. Let’s fix society! But in the mean time, perhaps coupons need to replace cheques so that coupons must be used on quality food items and cannot be used on smokes, alcohol or anything else. Parents need to wake up and face their responsibilities! This is a Canada wide problem!
And if desperate enough, and like the gas vouchers (meant for hunters) recently given out, the “food vouchers” will be on sale on Facebook in minutes.
What about the people that are making minimum wage? Not everyone working in Nunavut makes the high wages you are talking about
What about the people down south that work a lower minimum wage job and don’t have access to year-round seemingly unrestricted hunting and fishing?
What does this have to do with people not having access to hunting year round down south?
Generally,people on minimum wage can’t afford the costly expenses that go with hunting.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t most HTO’s in Nunavut have funding available to help those less fortunate in getting out to hunt?
With comments like yours, makes me ask why are you in Nunavut if you are only going to put down the Inuit? People forget that without the Inuit there would be no Nunavut and you would not have your high paying salary. With this being said it makes me ask who was Nunavut made for? I do not see the Inuit prospering, also people like you make me sick, making big money off the trauma of the Inuit. Instead of putting the Inuit down why not take a look and see that the Inuit have only been colonized around 50 years, colonization was not a good thing for the Inuit and people like you farther traumatize and damage the culture, only up there to make the big Nunavut money and leave a bigger mess when you leave. Get out of Nunavut if you are so racist to the Inuit!!!!!
Nothing I said has been racist. At ALL.
This is Canada. I will live where I want.
Person from Saskatchewan, you are the very definition of ignorant people!! Have you even been in Nunavut? Do you know what Inuit have been through? Inuit never had any type of addictions what so ever! Inuit mirgrated with the animals, all these addictions were brought to us, as wells as everything else, housing shortage, over crowded homes, Inuit education system is still very new in our culture and we have adapted to this new culture and thriving! There are Inuit living today that was born on the land and now living modern way of life. And we are still judged for when something is wrong, like food security, remember this is not natually our way of life.
Yes, I live here. And I plan on living here for quite some time. I might even choose to die up here.
What do you recommend is done to curb the addictions and other problems that Inuit currently face? Without blaming anyone else. Endless blame is always placed. Let’s DO something!
Thanks to Nunavut Housing, our children go hungry due to high rental, get rid of Based on Income Rental
Just wondering. I thought that most schools, in Nunavut, had a breakfast program and some even provide lunch.
Some schools have Breakfast programs, however stop feeding kids/teachers until well after 9, then the lunch programs(if they have them) or busses come at like 11:30, so a holdback to education is also that it is more focused on feeding the kids/teachers then it is on the teachers educating the kids.
And that is the morning only afternoon isnt much better with “class” starting at 1:15 and they end at like 3:15. not to mention the number of movies(non educational even) they watch.
The breakfast program is great, however it should start earlier and end before classes start. if you do not have money to feed your kids (i get it, life is hard and things come up) however be responsible enough to wake them up and send(or walk) them to school early enough to get them feed.
This is not true of all schools in Nunavut. For instance, the times vary greatly. There are differences between communities and differences between the type of school, ie elementary, middle and high school. Food is provided at schools in the way it is down south, we do not let our children go hungry at school! The problem is with the parents. And that is a southern problem as well. It is not unique to the north. It is not an Inuit problem. Perhaps it is apathy. It is more a social problem then an economical one here in the north. Parents need to prioritize: shall we feed the kids or buy smokes ? Shall we gamble and hope for more? Shall we buy chips or veggies? It’s a systemic, deep rooted problem across Canada, much more pronounced in the north I personally think.
As a single person that makes the typical northern wages it would cost me 200$ or more each time I would go to the grocery store and I can’t imagine all the other households with 3-5 kids on a single income or multiple families in one household. I don’t think you can blame it on misuse of household funds or drugs. Even in the south the cost of living is really high nowadays. People typically have to supplement their income with “side hustles” and that’s the new normal. People making 100k a year today isn’t the same is 5-10 years ago. That’s the facts today.. Kids all over Canada go to school hungry, pretty sad.
Yes but living in the South you also make changes where you shop not at a Safeway or even a Walmart but at the Dollar Store or Giant Tiger I can’t afford to shop at Safeway anymore. I only get my’ scripts there,
NOT the “new normal”. When I was in my 29s and early 30s, there was a time I worked three jobs to make ends meet. Two low-level jobs that I was willing to take to provide. Kids today aren’t that motivated, unfortunately.
That’s tough for kids to go hungry, especially since they depend on caregivers to meet their basic needs. Currently, hopefully parents can get referrals to try get training or get work to feed their families (best case scenario). Also, plan to budget only for food and other things go next, kids need food to do well in school.
For long term plan, educate youngsters to hold off on having children until they can manage and financially support themselves plus children. Kids/families are great to have, just wait a little longer to make sure they don’t come into the world to suffer.
All the best to the families! And good on them getting this in the spotlight.
Why am I not surprised of the comments? I have nothing to say other than that
The cost of items in the store are high compared to neighboring communities. Our community is silently struggling for almost.a week with no store due to a fire that cut power to the building .
It seems we have been forgotten.
I lived here now for few months and experienced and saw the situation with my own eyes. Foods are very expensive, people mostly were alcoholic..Drug addiction is growing fast it’s uncontrollable. Government should step forward and do something for this people. They need action not words. You cannot just put the blame on this people. Life in here is soooo depressing.Our government used millions to help other countries like Ukraine and left behind Nunavut!. Nunavut needs more social welfare workers, funds to build infrastructure for recreation especially for children so they will not grow up like their parents, My heart breaks watching this children, kids seating beside their parents when they’re smoking or using their drugs.They need to educate and help this people. Someone should step up here and help.Right most of them used their money for their vises ( alcohol & drugs) and left their children hungry. They need help ,few more years this will be a big problem for CANADA. South will only blame people here. You never experienced the boredom this people felt living in a place where you can only see snow in winter and rocks and gravel in summer.They cannot even swim in the sea nor lakes for its too cold. They need something to divert their attention not to turned to drugs and alcohol. Blaming them is not the solution. Also young teenagers like 14, 15 and up had 2 or 3 kids of their own. Population is growing up rapidly with this kind of environment most of this kids will end up alcoholic and addicts too!!! NUNAVUT NEEDS HELP!!!!Not only Pond Inlet but whole North!!!
Oh WOW you have live there for a few months now (how are you doing, there are help lines you can call if your struggling), you should write a book on all the in-depth knowledge you have.
‘eye roll’
I know of a store in Nunavut that had 1 steak for $40.00, while chicken breast cost $54.00 for 4. Any parent will choose frozen pizza over the steak or chicken breast.
Government needs to look at the food prices in these communities and check if the stores are adding the discount received from the GN.
Jack up the tax on cigarettes, junk food, sugary foods. Government you are spending more on insulin to treat patients with diabetes or warfarin.
Ms. Arreak forgot to mention that the Federal Government and Government of Nunavut spend millions annually to ensure that each and every child in Nunavut that attends school has access to at least one nutritious meal during the school day. Its called the CPNP and while it doesn’t meet all the child’s needs it at least something.
Maybe we need a provincial sales tax on goods, to support all of these extra demands on our government. Seems to work in every other jurisdiction.
It’s the same situation in Nunavik. Drugs and alcohol rule peoples lives. Kids in dyp care from neglect is staggering sad. What we see are parents in their late 20s 30s and 40s partying all night long. Supposedly mature adults out driving around smelling of weed and booze 24/7. It’s a nightmare for children that live under that kind of abuse. Yes, food is expensive, but drugs and alcohol come first. You watch little children following along to and from the beer sales store , and tagging along a few feet behind parents lugging 24 beers on their back, and later that night, dyp becomes involved, with police, parents are offen charge and in jail. It’s the biggest sin on earth. And the leadership don’t seem to acknowledge.
Would it be possible for Nunatsiaq News to have a section for people to submit cheap and
nourishing recipes for Nunavut people to benefit from ?
Can’t hurt can it.
The cost of food going up and everything else but were still at some wage pay sad.