A motion that would have seen 3 northern Manitoba First Nations, added to the Nutrition North program, has been defeated.
Churchill MP Niki Ashton spoke at the House of Commons when the NDP brought forth the motion: "It’s so critical that this government take seriously, while acknowledge its neglect of northern people, of northern indigenous communities and start immediately by including excluded communities , by reviewing nutrition north, and finally by working with northerners to bring a solution to this dire problem".
The motion would have added 50 isolated communities to the program, and called for a comprehensive review of the program with Northerners as full partners.
Conservative MP Leef Ryan said 2 new federal programs: Growing Forward 2 and the Northern Greenhouse Initiative have been successful in bringing food to the North.