2022-23 Horizontal initiative - Nutrition North Canada
General Information
Lead department: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNAC)
Federal partner organizations: Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Note that the revised Nutrition North Canada (NNC) Horizontal Results Framework is anticipated to be approved by the Treasury Board by June 2022, once CIRNAC's enhanced NNC policy on food security is finalized.
The NNC Horizontal Initiative will be published following the approval of the Horizontal Results Framework.
Description: The objective of Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is to help make perishable, nutritious food more accessible and more affordable than it otherwise would be to residents of eligible isolated northern communities without year-round surface (road, rail or marine) access. Registered retailers in the North, country food processors/distributors located in eligible communities, and food suppliers can apply for a subsidy based on the weight of eligible foods shipped by air to eligible northern communities. These subsidies are to be passed on to northern consumers by appropriate reductions in the selling prices of eligible foods. The NNC program — National Manual governs the terms of the funding agreements with CIRNAC's subsidy recipients.
Given that there are a number of factors that influence healthy eating patterns other than food cost, ISC and PHAC complement the NNC retail subsidy by providing funding to support culturally-appropriate retail and community-based nutrition education initiatives. These initiatives aim to increase knowledge of healthy eating and develop skills for the selection and preparation of healthy store-bought and traditional or country foods.
Governance structures: The NNC Advisory Board gives Northerners a direct voice in the program. The Board provides information and advice to the Ministers of CIRNAC to help guide the direction and activities of the program, and to ensure that northern residents receive its full benefits. Members of the Board collectively represent the perspectives and interests of northern residents and communities in relation to the management and effectiveness of the program. Members serve in their own right, as volunteers and not as representatives of any particular organization, area or special interest. Members are appointed to a 3‑year term.
Contact information
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Wayne Walsh
Director General, Northern Strategic Policy
Northern Affairs Organization
Telephone: 819-934-3171
Wayne.Walsh@canada.ca
Indigenous Services Canada
Dr. Tom Wong
Chief Medical Officer and Director General, Office of Population and Public Health
Population Health and Primary Care Directorate
First Nations and Inuit Health Branch
Telephone: 613-952-9616
Tom.Wong@canada.ca
Public Health Agency of Canada
Sally Scott
Executive Director, Division of Children and Youth, Centre for Health Promotion
Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch
Telephone: 613-960-0376
Sally.Scott@canada.ca