CHARGE TO THE PANEL

Health Canada, along with its portfolio partners at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Public Health Agency of Canada, and other federal departments such as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and Environment Canada, administers several programs and conducts a range of activities related to food security in the North. To effectively contribute to food security for healthy northern Aboriginal peoples and communities, a coordinated and updated evidence base is required. With this in mind, in October 2011, the Minister of Health, on behalf of Health Canada (the Sponsor), asked the Council of Canadian Academies (the Council) to appoint an expert panel (the Panel) to respond to the following main question:

What is the state of knowledge of the factors influencing food security in the Canadian North and the health⁴ implications of food insecurity for Northern Aboriginal populations?

In addition, the Sponsor asked five sub-questions:

1. How are social, environmental, economic, and cultural factors impacting food security, and the subsequent health of Northern Aboriginal populations?

Considering the interaction among these factors, what are the knowledge gaps associated with enablers and barriers to food security?

2. What are the current knowledge gaps in food security as a determinant of health for Northern Aboriginal populations, particularly in the areas of nutrition and environmental health? What are these knowledge gaps in the context of store-bought and country food? What is known about the relationship between country/traditional food and food security, for example, the use and importance of traditional foods, harvesting practices and resources to support

3 Including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

4 Health in this context refers to a broad definition that includes social, mental, physical, spiritual, economic, and cultural well-being.

7 Chapter 1 Introduction

these, food sharing systems, marketing systems, and their contribution to food security among Northern Aboriginal populations? What are effective ways to promote country/traditional food consumption, especially among youth, taking into consideration nutrition education, skills development and approaches to knowledge exchange (e.g., intergenerational; use of technologies)?

3. What is known about the evidence base that informs strategies to mitigate food insecurity among Northern Aboriginal populations? What can be learned from strategies implemented by other circumpolar countries, such as Greenland?

4. What contribution are traditional knowledge networks of Northern Aboriginal communities making to food security research?

5. What are the international approaches to developing scientific evidence and knowledge systems in support of interventions to mitigate food insecurity among northern Aboriginal populations?

At the outset of the assessment process, Panel members and Council staff met with representatives from Health Canada to clarify the scope of the charge.

To maintain the independence of the Panel and the integrity of its work, and in keeping with standard Council processes, this was the only time during the course of the assessment that the Sponsor was contacted. At this meeting, the Sponsor clarified that the Panel’s report is not intended to be a program review. Rather, its findings were expected to help drive future research agendas, programs, and policies for the North. The Sponsor also noted that, although water is commonly included in definitions of food security, the Government of Canada is already engaged in a series of independent initiatives on water.

As a result, the emphasis of this assessment is on food, although the Panel agreed that water-related issues, ranging from access to potable water to the environmental protection of waterways, are critical considerations related to food security. The Panel did not include water in its report, but hopes that ongoing research and policy initiatives will continue to address this important topic.

For the purposes of the assessment, the Sponsor defined northern Canada as the “land and ocean based territory that lies north of the southern limit of discontinuous permafrost from northern British Columbia to northern Labrador,”

but also directed the Panel to consider communities served by the Nutrition North Canada program. Because these two definitions do not directly align with one another (e.g., at least five communities covered by the Nutrition North program would not be included if the permafrost line was used as the boundary), the Panel decided to include the entire region covered by the Nutrition North

■ Area north of the most southernmost limit of discontinuous permafrost

■ Region served by Nutrition North Canada (approximate as of 2011–2012)

Created by: Glenda Smith, Oct 2013 Hydrology and Boundaries: GeoGratis (Atlas of Canada Vector Data) Southernmost limit of discontinuous permafrost boundary line: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada – Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) Nutrition North Data: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, News Releases, 2011.

Datum – D_North_American_1983; Projection – Canada_Albers_Equal_Area_Conic Figure 1.1

Geographic Scope of the Assessment

This map illustrates the geographic area of “North” as understood by the Panel. All area north of the southernmost limit of discontinuous permafrost is included in this assessment (area shaded in green).

The approximate area served by the Nutrition North Canada program (area shaded in blue) as of 2011–2012, which coincides with the beginning of this assessment, is also included. This vast area is noted for its diversities — cultural, biological, linguistic, and geographical, to name a few. Rates of food security, and the means by which food security is achieved, also vary regionally. For example, the availability and type of wild food in northern Saskatchewan differs from that on Baffin Island;

traditional knowledge varies in turn.

9 Chapter 1 Introduction

program (rather than only the communities), as well as the region north of the southernmost limit of discontinuous permafrost (see Figure 1.1). The Panel determined that, by combining these two zones, northern regions of the provinces could be integrated into its analysis, along with observations and practices from regions not covered by Nutrition North Canada (such as the majority of Yukon). Importantly, this definition incorporates biophysical, geographic, and political definitions of the North and amalgamates them into a coherent and inclusive whole. This whole is intended to convey that the geographic location of communities in northern Canada influences the accessibility, availability, adequacy, and acceptability of both traditional/country and market food.

Such communities are often remote, not only in terms of physical distance to sources of market food, but also in terms of poor transportation infrastructure to help bring that food to the communities (Thompson et al., 2012). The cost of transportation is often passed on to consumers.