N.L. group slams Nutrition North subsidy program as federal food failure

Food First N.L. members have a grocery list of complaints for federal representatives who are in LabradorTuesday for the Nutrition North food subsidy program hearings.

Ottawa is overhauling the program, following a scathing auditor general'sreportthat showed the federal government can't prove savings are being passed on to Northerners.

• Nutritious to who? Northerners say food subsidy program needs overhaul
• Nutrition North's impact on northerners uncertain, auditor general says

"As far I know, there aren't any subsidies, they're not using them in both retailers here in Hopedale," said Martha Winters-Abel, a regional coordinator with Food First N.L.

There is a Nurtition North subsidy available in Hopedale, but Winters-Abel said expensive items are only one part of a double whammy.

"The fruits are rotten. Some of them come in and they're already quite spoiled," she said.

'Prices are sohigh'

The Nutrition North program, launched in 2011, provides subsidies to certain Northern retailers, suppliersand food processors and distributors.

But according to a 2014 report by Auditor General of Canada Michael Ferguson, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs doesn't require merchants to report their profit margins.

"This data is necessary to determine whether the full subsidy is passed on," the report said.

Winters-Abel said customers aren't seeing any benefits.

"We need an improvement in that the prices are so high," she told CBC's Labrador Morning.

Hunters, not retailers, should get federal cash

Winters-Abel, and others in some of the 20 Northern communities where consultations are taking place, have an alternative to the current program.

• Feds consider Nutrition North 'experiments' to support hunters

They wanthunters to be eligible for a subsidy to cover certain costs, like gas and ammunition.

"If you could provide a hunter support program, I think it would help our community, especially in terms of providing traditional food," said Winters-Abel.

The public consultation sessions wrap up in November.