Aboriginal Food Security in Northern Canada: Letter to the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health

Hon. Rona Ambrose
Minister of Health
Brooke Claxton Building
Tunney’s Pasture
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0K9

May 6, 2014

Dear Minister Ambrose,

I write to you on behalf of Food Secure Canada, a national membership-based alliance of organizations and individuals concerned with zero hunger, healthy and safe food and sustainable food systems.

We are encouraged by the recent report released by the Council of Canadian Academies, Aboriginal Food Security in Northern Canada: An Assessment of the State of the Knowledge, which was commissioned by your Department.  This report reflects many of the concerns and convictions held by our members regarding the urgent and unacceptably high level of food insecurity (up to 70% in some cases) amongst Aboriginal peoples in Northern communities.  The on-going crisis is not news to us, as many of our members deal with this reality on a daily basis and are engaged in creating solutions, including proposals to reform Nutrition North.  We hope this report will usher in a new era of action by the Canadian Government to implement concrete and viable long-term solutions to the complex problem of food insecurity in Northern Canada.

To date, we have not seen any public announcement or reaction to this report on behalf of the Canadian government.  We are writing today to enquire about your plans for action in response to this important report.  We would be more than happy to provide you with our recommendations in writing or in person if this would be useful to your reflections.

Sincerely,

Diana Bronson
Executive Director

Cc:

Hon. Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development
Libby Davies, Health Critic, New Democratic Party
Hedy Fry, Health Critic, Liberal Party of Canada
Jean Crowder, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Critic, New Democratic Party
Carolyn Bennett, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Critic, Liberal Party of Canada