Food Security in Nunatsiavut: From Historical Perspectives to Future Prospects

Abstract

Objective: Inuit in Canada identify food security as an Inuit-specific determinant of health. Historical and contemporary policies shape determinants of health. These policies vary among the four Inuit regions or Land Claim Areas in Canada that comprise Inuit Nunangat. This thesis focuses on one specific Inuit population, Labrador Inuit, located in Nunatsiavut, Canada, which is the southernmost Inuit Territory. Recognizing the variation and distinctness of each Inuit region, I pose the question: What is the role of policy in food security in Nunatsiavut, Labrador? To answer this question, I completed three studies. Study one is an analysis of the historical changes experienced by Labrador Inuit in governance, nutrition, and food security policies from the 1500s to 2005. In 2005, Labrador Inuit formed the first Inuit self-government in Canada, the Nunatsiavut Government. This study provides an understanding of the historical influences on the current context of Nunatsiavut and the policies that pertain to food security of Labrador Inuit. Study two is a scoping review that identifies current policies that pertain to food security and are implemented in Nunatsiavut. Finally, study three looks towards the future. In this study, policy actors were interviewed on policies that pertain to food security to understand their perspectives on current policies, including the opportunities for and barriers to improving food security in Nunatsiavut.

Methods: Article one is a historical-critical narrative analysis of governance, nutrition studies and interventions and policies that pertain to food security. It uses a critical dietetics lens to examine the extrinsic causes of nutrition and food security issues that resulted from colonization, and describes the interventions implemented to address them. Each document included in this analysis was assessed by the criteria for historical research that includes provenance, purpose, context, veracity, and usefulness. Also, this study employs process tracing using an adapted timeline from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples four stages of colonization. Article two is a scoping review that follows the Joanna Briggs scoping review methodology to identify current policies that pertain to food security in Nunatsiavut. Article three is a qualitative study of key informant interviews conducted from July 2020–December 2020 with policy actors that spanned the Nunatsiavut Government (regional Inuit government), Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (provincial government), the Government of Canada (federal government), non-governmental organizations and private industry. Participants were asked about their role, policy gaps, and opportunities for improving policies that pertain to food security of Labrador Inuit in Nunatsiavut. It also included initial insights from emergency food security measures implemented during the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020. The results were reported as per the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ): 32-item checklist. Each of these studies contained a process for member checking and validating results with key informants, subject matter experts and/or Nunatsiavut Government Advisory Group members.

Results: Article one describes the changes in governance, nutrition and food security of Labrador Inuit. The results show that country foods were a major contributor to overall Inuit health and protected Labrador Inuit from the nutrient deficiencies experienced by the Newfoundland population. However, colonialism that included settlement impacted Labrador Inuit’s relationship with the land and access to country foods. Moreover, policies such as income support and residential schools negatively impacted the food security status of Labrador Inuit. However, in 2005, when Nunatsiavut became a self-government several policies and programs were in place to address the growing awareness of a lack of food security. In Article two, scoping review results identify policies that pertain to food security for Labrador Inuit in Nunatsiavut. Results from this study show that 25 policies, spanning three levels of government, implicitly or explicitly addressed at least one dimension of food security. Accessibility was the most frequent food security dimension identified and stability was the least food security dimension identified. The Government of Canada developed 60% of the identified policies and the Nunatsiavut Government implemented 48% of identified policies. In article three, 15 key informant interviews were completed, and three participants provided written responses. Seven participants (39%) stated they developed policy, six participants (33%) stated they both developed and implemented policy, and five participants (28%) stated they implemented policy. Seven themes were identified from discussions with policy actors. Policy recommendations to improve food security included improving transportation, social policies, and policy coherence in policy implementation. Five separate themes were identified from discussions on implementing emergency food security measures during the first wave of COVID-19 in Nunatsiavut. These included inadequacies of social policies, hidden poverty among people living in Nunatsiavut, and future considerations for post-COVID-19 food security policies.

Conclusion: The article results within this thesis show that historical and current inequities contribute to the current lack of food security of Labrador Inuit in Nunatsiavut. These inequities have persisted over time. During COVID-19, these inequities were further highlighted, demonstrating the importance of urgent action. The results of key informant interviews show that improving food security in Nunatsiavut is a matter of health equity. Findings from this thesis can inform actions to improve existing and future policies that pertain to food security of Labrador Inuit in Nunatsiavut.