All sizzle no steak as MPs grill execs over Nutrition North – Nunatsiaq News
May 13, 2024
Partisanship gets in the way of parliamentary committee getting meaty answers from heads of northern companies
Lightly grilled executives seasoned with political rhetoric was the menu served up by Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and other members of the House of Commons Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee Wednesday.
But the result wasn’t terribly satisfying.
The committee summoned the heads of Canadian North and Calm Air airlines, North West Co., and Kimik Co-operative to appear at the meeting. It’s studying how well Nutrition North, the federal program that subsidizes food prices northerners pay, works.
Idlout, the NDP’s member on the committee, turned up the heat on North West Co. president Dan McConnell, demanding to know his salary and the average salary of a cashier at the Iqaluit Northmart.
McConnell dodged the question, saying he didn’t have the answer at his fingertips but that it was included in a company circular published online. He agreed to provide it to the committee later.
