$11.3M more for Nutrition North food subsidies

The federal government announced Friday in Iqaluit it willputanother$11.3 million over the next yearinto Nutrition North, the much-criticized northern food subsidy program.

It also says it's looking for ways to improve the program.

"There's always an opportunity for public input," saidMarkStrahl,the Parliamentary Secretary forAboriginal Affairs andNorthern Development Canada.

"Ottawa's a long way from here, and we want to hear from Northerners how these programs are benefiting them."

Under the program which was established in 2011, Ottawa hands about $60 million a year to northern retailers to subsidizethe cost of shipping food to remote communities.

Some Northerners say it doesn't do enough to bring down the cost of food and an academic recently said that putting the retailers in charge of the subsidy doesn't lead to enough savings for northerners.

A report on the program by Canada'sauditor general is dueto be released on Tuesday morning.