A new report is shedding more light on 鈥渁larmingly high鈥� food prices in remote northern Ontario communities, including one First Nation where residents spend more than half of their income on basic nutrition.
looked at food costs on three reserves in northeastern Ontario: Moose Factory, Fort Albany and Attawapiskat. It found that on-reserve households in Fort Albany need to spend 56 per cent of their income on a basic nutritious diet.
Although current income data was not available for Attawapiskat and Moose Factory, the report said 鈥渁 reasonable assumption must be made鈥� that people in those communities also spend at least 50 per cent of their income on groceries.
In Attawapiskat, the average cost of a monthly food basket for a family of four was $1,909 in June 2015, compared to $847 in Toronto. Both Attawapiskat and Fort Albany, where the monthly food basket was priced at $1,831.76, qualify for the federal government鈥檚 Nutrition North Canada subsidy program, which aims to make fresh food more affordable in northern communities.
鈥淚 think this report highlights the wildly inappropriate assistance levels that exist in Ontario,鈥� Joseph LeBlanc, a Food Secure Canada board member, told 麻豆影视 Channel on Monday.
鈥淚t really showcases the reality of purchasing a healthy diet in remote communities and how inaccessible it really is.鈥�
For example, a 1.3-kilogram bag of apples in Attawapiskat cost $8. A 4.5-kilogram bag of potatoes in Fort Albany cost nearly $10.
Other examples include:
- $8.99 for a 680-gram box of Cornflakes in Moose Factory
- $10.65 for a 2.5-kilogram bag of all-purpose flour in Fort Albany
- $20 for a kilogram of ground beef in Moose Factory
LeBlancsaid one of the biggest issues lies with government-approved suppliers and retailers associated with the controversial Nutrition North program, which was heavily criticized by the .
In many cases, a northern community鈥檚 only grocery store is part of a chain that holds a virtual monopoly on the supply of perishable food items, Food Secure Canada says.
鈥淚n doing that, they constrain the buying power of the consumer and really, community initiatives that had been attempted to be developed to address this,鈥� LeBlanc said.
Other factors that contribute to high food prices in the North include higher transportation, fuel and maintenance costs and a complex food distribution system that is often restricted to limited deliveries by plane, the report said.
The report also notes that out of 32 remote reserves in Ontario, only eight are eligible for a full Nutrition North subsidy.
鈥淭he Nutrition North Canada subsidy program, while important, does not lower the cost of food in northern communities to affordable levels,鈥� the report says. It calls on federal and provincial governments to 鈥渕ake access to nutritionally adequate and culturally appropriate food a basic human right in Canada.鈥�
The Liberals鈥� included $64.5 million over five years and $13.8 million per year ongoing to expand Nutrition North 鈥渢o support all isolated communities.鈥�
LeBlanc said the larger issues facing remote northern communities, such as high suicide rates, poor education and health outcomes, can all be linked to food insecurity.
鈥淎ll of these are symptomatic of a broken food system and a broken economy,鈥� he said.
Arlen Dumas, Chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in northern Manitoba, agreed that expensive food is linked to health issues like diabetes.
Even where produce is available, 鈥測ou鈥檙e more likely to go purchase something that comes in a can or a package because it鈥檚 less expensive,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here aren鈥檛 a lot of jobs, a lot of people are on assistance,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult when those are the types of prices you have to pay for food.鈥�
With a report from Manitoba Bureau Chief Jill Macyshon
