Abstract
The Nutrition North Canada program is a federal retail subsidy designed to make nutritious, perishable food more widely available and affordable in northern communities. Implemented in April 2011, Nutrition North replaced the Food Mail freight subsidy long used to offset the high cost of transporting perishable food to remote towns and villages lacking year-round road access. An examination of program and government reporting to date reveals little evidence that Nutrition North is meeting its goal of improving the availability and affordability of nutritious food. The fiscal reporting and food costing tools used by the program are insufficiently detailed to evaluate the accuracy of community subsidy rates and the degree to which retailers are passing on the subsidy to consumers. Action is needed to modify the program reporting structure to achieve greater accountability among retailers, and lower and more consistent food pricing across northern communities.
Keywords: Food, nutrition policy, food supply, public health, Canada, Arctic regions
Résumé
Le programme Nutrition Nord Canada est une subvention fédérale au commerce de détail qui vise à rendre les aliments périssables nutritifs plus largement disponibles et abordables dans les communautés nordiques. Mis en œuvre en avril 2011, Nutrition Nord a remplacé le programme d’aide au transport Aliments-poste, qui a longtemps servi à compenser les coûts élevés du transport des aliments périssables vers les villes et villages éloignés sans accès routier toute l’année. Un examen des rapports de programmes et des rapports gouvernementaux jusqu’à maintenant ne révèle guère d’éléments indiquant que Nutrition Nord répond à son objectif d’améliorer la disponibilité et l’abordabilité des aliments nutritifs. Les outils de rapports financiers et de calcul des coûts des aliments utilisés par le programme sont insuffisamment détaillés pour évaluer l’exactitude des taux de subvention des communautés ou la mesure dans laquelle les détaillants transfèrent la subvention aux consommateurs. Il faut agir pour modifier la structure de rapport du programme pour responsabiliser davantage les détaillants et pour réduire et uniformiser les prix des aliments dans les communautés nordiques.
Motsclés: aliments, politique nutritionnelle, approvisionnement en nourriture, santé publique, Canada, arctique
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