The Nunavut Food Security Coalition held its annual face-to-face meeting in Iqaluit from March 17-19, 2015.
Key outcomes of the meeting included:
1. Agreed to a Terms of Reference
The Terms of Reference will clarify the mandate, roles, and responsibilities of the Coalition; guide decision-making regarding membership; and describe how Coalition members will work together.
The Coalition will make the Terms of Reference publicly available once all Coalition members have had the chance to sign it.
2. Agreed to a Coalition position on short-term food relief efforts
The Coalition acknowledges that long-term changes are required to address the root causes of food insecurity, but that short-term food relief efforts are needed in the meantime. The Coalition believes that efforts to support food relief in Nunavut should reflect the Nunavut context by aligning with the Nunavut Food Security Strategy. The Coalition feels as though external support should be directed to community-based efforts, and is committed to developing resources to facilitate relationship building.
The Coalition will provide a publicly available position after the content is approved at the next monthly Coalition meeting.
3. Agreed to work together to advocate for improvements to the Nutrition North Canada program
Coalition members shared their perspectives on the Nutrition North Canada program.
The Coalition will publish the Niqittiavak Committee’s report on the Nutrition North Canada program, which offers recommendations for enhancing the program to better suit the needs of Nunavummiut.
The Coalition will create a working group to review the report recommendations and identify emerging issues, and will engage with the Nutrition North Canada Advisory Board on these recommendations and issues whenever possible.
4. Participated in the Public Policy Forum’s Iqaluit Roundtable on Food Insecurity in Northern Canada
The Coalition discussed what lessons can be learned from the implementation of the Nunavut Food Security Strategy, what initiatives have proven most successful, what gaps remain to be addressed, and what should be the key areas of focus in aligning future collaboration.
Coalition representatives will participate in the Public Policy Forum’s Ottawa Roundtable on April 20, 2015.
