The 56-page document stated that the Inuit experienced the highest incidence of food insecurity recorded among all the indigenous people living in developed countries.

ITK stated that at any time, many families are striving to obtain adequate, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and their food preferences for a healthy and active life. It said that this struggle had a disproportionate impact on women and children.

The document reads: “The high incidence of food insecurity among our people is one of the longest lasting public health crises faced by the Canadian population, and it is also the result of many interconnected social and economic inequalities experienced by too many Inuit. A disturbing indicator.”

It said these inequalities include poverty, insufficient housing and overcrowding, low education and underemployment.

ITK also pointed out that climate change is a factor leading to food insecurity, which makes the harvesting process “more expensive, unpredictable and dangerous”.

The report outlines actions to improve food insecurity

Compared with other parts of Canada, the Inuit community has a unique food system. The system combines land-based harvesting with store-bought food-these foods are often airlifted to remote Inuit communities, and the purchase cost is significantly higher than in other parts of the country.

“The food insecurity and poverty experienced by many Inuit people stems from the combined effects of Canadian colonialism, systemic racism, and structural inequality in the history and present day,” ITK President Natan Obed said in a letter in Food Strategy .

“Living in food insecurity is in daily crises, and trying to manage through food insecurity can lead to long-term physical and psychological trauma.”

The food strategy is divided into two parts. The first part outlines the prevailing food insecurity in the Inuit Nunangat region. The second part lists the five priorities for investment and action, as well as the goals and actions to improve food security and support food sovereignty.

Priority areas include:

• Food system and well-being-integration of Inuit-led food security and poverty reduction actions.
• Legislation and policy-Create continuous Inuit participation in a comprehensive legislative solution.
• Plans and services-establish evidence-based and responsive plans and services.
• Knowledge and skills-support the food and sharing system of the Inuit nation.
• Research and Publicity-Mobilize Inuit food safety research and evaluation.

According to the document, the vision is to end hunger and advance Inuit food sovereignty in the Inuit Nunangat region. ITK hopes to achieve this goal by helping to develop a sustainable food system that reflects the values ??of the Inuit society, supports the well-being of the Inuit, and ensures access to “affordable, nutritious, safe and culturally popular food”.

It stated that in order to be effective, the strategy requires a comprehensive federal approach from multiple federal government departments and agencies.

Infrastructure gap

The document stated that the Inuit must work with the government to reshape the food system to solve the systemic challenges that lead to food insecurity.

These challenges include the widening infrastructure gap between Inuit Nunangat and most other parts of Canada.

For example, it pointed out that most airports in the Inuit Nunangat community only have gravel runways, limiting the types of aircraft that can land and the types of payloads they can carry.

For example, in Greenland, it said that 14 of the country’s 18 airstrips were paved, while in Alaska, there were 61 paved airstrips—more than six times the total of Canada’s three territories.

According to the document, the marine infrastructure is also flawed. The document again points to Greenland, where it states that 95 ports support the transportation of harvested food and other goods between communities. At the same time, Inuit Nunangat has two deep-water ports, but they were built specifically for independent mining operations near the entrance to the pond in the Arctic Bay and Nunangat.

The document also stated that the area was “deprived” of small ship ports that exist only in Nierdong, Nunavut, Nain and Makovic in Nunavut.

It did point out that Iqalto is building a $85 million deep-water port, but it will take several years to complete.

The document stated that the fixes to these problems are not entirely “one size fits all.”

For example, it said that due to geographical conditions, extending and laying airstrips may not be feasible in all communities. At the same time, in many communities where local temperature-controlled storage is limited and generally unaffordable, being able to land larger jets with larger cargo volumes is not necessarily the best.

How colonialism affects food shortages

Although the Inuit have experienced periods of food shortages in the past, ITK strategy states that chronic hunger is rare.

This document breaks down some of the changes in the Inuit food system, which began in the early 1900s due to the “changed Inuit society” multiple colonial policies.

Inuit communities were forced to move north, settle in towns and attend boarding schools. ITK says this limits the mobility of Inuit, and in some cases, Inuit cannot participate in harvesting and imparting these skills.

These policies also restricted the Inuit’s right to self-determination in the development of the Inuit Nunangat food system, a reality that still exists today.

“Our ancestors thrived in our environment, were self-reliant, moved between seasonal camps, and harvested food year-round,” the document reads.

“Once the Inuit moved into permanent year-round settlements, strict harvesting regulations in some areas and the culling of Inuit sled dogs had a huge impact on the Inuit’s ability to maintain self-reliant food.”