Nutrition North Program worries some retailers

The federal government's new Nutrition North Program is drawing mixed reactions from small northern retailers who fear they may not enjoy the same benefits as larger retailers.

The Nutrition North Program will replace the government's existing Food Mail Program, under which Canada Post shipped healthy perishable food to remote communities that are cut off from regular road and sea access. Implementation of the program will start in October and be complete by April 2011.

Unlike the Food Mail Program, Nutrition North subsidies will go directly to retailers and wholesalers, which will then be responsible for arranging transport for their products.

In outlining Nutrition North on Friday, Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl emphasized that all retailers and wholesalers, large and small, can have access to the program.

Bigger firms may have advantage: chamber

But Chris West, president of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he's worried that bigger companies will have an advantage in making the most out of the subsidy.

"They do have an unfair advantage over any of the smaller retailers when it comes to their buying power and their ability to negotiate freight rates with the airlines," West told CBC News.

West said if smaller retailers buy less products, they may not get as favourable a shipping rate from airlines. On the other hand, larger companies order more products, so they can negotiate cheaper rates with airlines and therefore offer lower prices to customers, he added.

"As to the technicalities of being able to ship, so far we're a little uneasy, as the larger companies seem to … have the upper hand," said Mona Godin, who manages the DJ Specialties store in Iqaluit.

Officials with the Indian and Northern Affairs Department say they are still working on setting the subsidy rates, which will include community-specific rates to ensure the subsidy is greater in places where food has to travel farther.

West said the chamber and its members are studying details of the new program to see how it will work for small businesses.

Concern over shipping northern foods

As a first, the Nutrition North Program will subsidize the costs of shipping commercially produced northern foods, such as Arctic char, muskox and caribou meat, to communities.

Paul Kaludjak, president of the Inuit land-claims organization Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., said while he is happy that northern foods — also known as "country foods" — will be included, he hopes the new program will go further and subsidize the trading of country foods between northern families.

"On a regular basis, we ship [country food] amongst family," Kaludjak said.

"I hope that subsidy will again enhance that possibility and help us get that country food to our relatives, where it's needed."

Strahl said an advisory committee will likely address the concern about shipping country food between families, among other issues.