New food mail shipping point to Nunavut promises lower grocery prices

Canada Post adds Winnipeg as entry point for food mail to Kivalliq

Last Updated: Friday, May 11, 2007 | 4:40 PM CT

CBC News

Attention all shoppers in Nunavut's Kivalliq region: now that Canada Post has added Winnipeg as its second entry point for food mail service to the region, some grocery stores are promising fresher food coming north at cheaper prices.

Food mail is a federal government-designed program to provide vegetables, meats and other nutritious food to people in northern and remote communities.

Until recently, Churchill was the only point of entry for food being flown to the region. That had prompted criticism from residents that the freight costs were too high and the delivered food was not fresh.

Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jim Prentice had announced Winnipeg as an additional entry point to Kivalliq late in November, but it took Canada Post officials until May to set up the food mail system in that city. Canada Post is in charge of inspecting and delivering the food before it is shipped north.

"It's a big process to have a new point of inspection integrated into the system," Canada Post spokeswoman Nicole Lemire said Thursday.

"There are electronic shipping tools that also need to be implemented as part of the process, and it's fully operational since May 6."

Shoppers in Kivalliq should start seeing prices drop pretty soon, said Fred Hill, food mail program manager with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

"Since service started this week from Winnipeg, they should see an immediate reduction in the cost of fruits and vegetables … milk, bread, meat — all those products that are being shipped under the food mail program, that should be pretty immediate," Hill said.

In fact, one of the most prominent grocery chains in the region has promised that prices will change.

"If you don't see all your prices change this week, it'll be changing, I can assure you," said Jim Deyell, a spokesman with the North West Company, which operates the Northern chain of stores.

Hill said his department will continue to monitor food prices across the North, "but it's always helpful if shoppers … pay attention to this and challenge retailers if that isn't happening," he said.

Hill said there are no plans to add more new points of entry, such as Val-d'Or for the Baffin region.