Sign-up opens for food voucher program in Iqaluit
Families may collect $500 a month per child aged 18 and under, additional $250 per child under 4
Inuit families in Iqaluit can now register for a federal food voucher program that offers $500 per month per child under age 18, and an additional $250 per month for children under four. The money is meant to help families afford healthy foods. (File photo)
Registration for the Jordan’s Principle food voucher program for Inuit families is open as of Nov. 1, the City of Iqaluit announced this week.
The program is funded by Indigenous Services Canada through its Inuit Child First Initiative, which is also commonly known as Jordan’s Principle.
City council approved the funding agreement earlier this month.
Eligible families with children under the age of 18 can receive $500 monthly to spend on food. Families with children under four years of age can receive an additional $250 to spend on items such as diapers, wipes and baby formula.
Parents and guardians can apply online or at city hall.
The application process requires submitting either the parent or child’s Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Inuit enrolment number, as well as each child’s birth certificate or health card.
The online registration form allows applicants to choose from one of five Iqaluit grocery or convenience stores to shop from.
In a follow-up news release Thursday, the city advised residents that it may take up to five business days for applications to be processed.
The city is receiving $5.4 million from the federal government to run the program until the end of March next year.
Honestly …what is the real goal? . Is it intended that we continue reliance on Government to live? . Why are we not promoting economic growth? How can Kakivak and NTI arnt helping inuit open stores ? Why continue to support North West monopoly?. We need people to open stores to sell goods . Start 5 yr pilot project , 5 year hand holding till business is successful? More jobs , more stores …=more wealth and less reliance on Government! . This should be the territory goal .. so that funding can go to other areas that need modernization.
There you go. For families with 0 jobs and 5 younger kids, you could get $39,000/year on top of your $37,718/year Canada Child Benefit, plus what is it, around $9600/year income assistance? That’s like getting a $3,320 paycheck every 2 weeks and only having to pay $30 for your housing. That’s more than my pay for working every day, and I have to pay a lot for my house.
Guess I’m the one doing it wrong.
What is the point of working. I work so I can pay my bills, try to put a little away, feed my kids. But after all the federal income tax, NU payroll tax, CPP and EI deductions I end up living worse of in a rundown place because upkeep costs so much but its a honest living. Sure one day ill get the CPP after I am old and crippled up from working a honest living. Awesome.
But i’m surrounded by all the news and seeing new builds go up around me for social housing. Brand new, my tax dollars while they pay nothing, dont work, get all the income benefits n the world and have so few bills, well the major one anyway.
It’s a cruel living in NU as an honest person.
Welcome to Nunavut. Don’t forget to grab a Tshirt on your way out. They’re really nice. They have some kind of a touristy slogan about togetherness and culture or something. In syllabics.
That’s nothing wait till your name gets through the mud even if you’re innocent of theivery. We pay the price even if it’s no fair
The City did great work with the website and registration process. It is simple, easy to use and efficient.
Liberal programs create such a deep dependence on handouts. What is going to happen when these programs get chopped by the next government? And they will. NNC, voucher-rama mindless spending with absolutely zero emphasis on job creation. The welfare state will be a hard fall when the government changes and the audits and cuts come. What are people going to do then?
What ever happened to the concept of self-reliance and self-determination?
The territory will never have a real economy at the rate things are going.
Nunavut is insane. Completely and totally insane.
Is there an income threshold for eligibility for this program? I can’t find any information on this on the city’s webpage. Wondering if high earning Inuit families are able to access this funding.
There’s always programs for parents, but what about for the aunties and uncles? I want free spending money to spoil my niece and nephews too
You do understand why Nunavut and the people are the way they are, right??? Just move if you hate seeing the open trauma that is still lingering through the Inuit today. If you hate that Inuit are finally being seen and being treated to something that Inuit never had access to, and to this day, still don’t have access to all the things the rest of Canada has. Clearly taking up space that an Inuk can use, why hate living where the locals are finding hard to make ends to meet, or sleep, or find the next meal.