The North West Company (NWC) has been accused of misusing federal subsidies that were supposed to bring down grocery prices in the north, which the company said isnSA国际影视传媒檛 true.
Last week lawyers representing multiple current and former residents of Nunavut filed documents in ManitobaSA国际影视传媒檚 Court of KingSA国际影视传媒檚 Bench asking that a class action lawsuit be certified.
The plaintiffs claim that NWC, a Winnipeg-based multinational grocery and retail company which operates stores in northern communities in western provinces and in northern territories, kept portions of funding that it had received from the federal Nutrition North Canada program.
According to the federal government, the Nutrition North Canada program was launched in 2011 to make perishable and nutritious foods more accessible and more affordable to residents in eligible isolated northern communities that donSA国际影视传媒檛 have year-round road, rail or marine access.
Through the program, registered retailers in the north can apply for a subsidy based on the weight of eligible foods shipped by air to eligible northern communities.
The feds say those subsidies are to be passed on to northern consumers by SA国际影视传媒渁ppropriate reductionsSA国际影视传媒� in the selling prices of eligible foods.
The lawsuit states that between 2018 and 2021 NWC received more than $163 million in subsidies from the program and that the NWC did not appropriately pass those savings on to consumers.
SA国际影视传媒淒espite making representations that it complies with the requirement to pass through the entire subsidy to consumers, and despite making a commitment to do so as a condition of receiving the subsidy, the North West Company has instead unlawfully retained millions of dollars of funding received through the program,SA国际影视传媒� the lawsuit alleges.
The suit calls for the NWC to return SA国际影视传媒渕isappropriatedSA国际影视传媒� federal funding to its SA国际影视传媒渋ntended beneficiaries.SA国际影视传媒�
The lawsuit also claims that because grocery prices were not appropriately reduced as required when companies receive the federal funding, that led to poorer health outcomes in northern communities including, SA国际影视传媒渋ncreased rates of malnutrition, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other morbidities associated with unhealthy diets, as well as increased rates of depression and suicidal ideation.SA国际影视传媒�
Since being launched in 2011 the Nutrition North Canada program has handed out more than $1 billion in subsidies.
An NWC spokesperson denied the allegations made in the lawsuit.
SA国际影视传媒淭he North West Company works with Nutrition North Canada, and fully participates with 3 party audits, ensuring 100 per cent of the funds are passed along,SA国际影视传媒� the spokesperson said in an email to The Winnipeg Sun. SA国际影视传媒淚n this, The North West Company has passed all audits, meeting the obligation of having 100% of subsidies passed onto the consumer. We remain committed to this.SA国际影视传媒�
The spokesperson added, SA国际影视传媒淭he Nutrition North program partially offsets the costs of bringing food to the north SA国际影视传媒� but on its own, it is not enough. There are still substantial cost drivers in the north due to the lack of infrastructure, the high cost of materials and operations, and inflation.
SA国际影视传媒淲e want Northern communities to thrive and we want to work with all parties to help make that possible.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒擝y Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Winnipeg Sun
