XPost: can.politics, ont.politics   
   From: {~_~}@nyet.ca   
      
   >> Who is Ellen DeGeneres and why should we care?   
      
   Kim Dobranski aka Chom Noamsky wrote:   
   > The target of Inuit anger. I know you like to "play" dumb but I'll copy   
   > the relevant bit for you, again.  This a popular backlash against   
   > activist, not the words of one MP:   
   >   
   > "Canadian Inuit across Nunavut posted "sealfies," which are selfies   
   > showing sealskin clothing, to protest against Ellen DeGeneres' donation   
   > of funds to an anti-seal hunting group from the money raised from the   
   > record-breaking Oscars selfie."   
      
      
   See?  It was always about the cancellation of the seal hunt for profit.   
   And the goddamned Harper Cons have used their MP, Leona Aglukkaq, an   
   Inuit, to portray environmentalists as being responsible for high food   
   prices in regions where Inuit live.   
   This is propaganda of the worst type:  using someone's racial heritage   
   to link the cancelled seal hunt with the cost of food for the Inuit.   
      
   Like I have said before:  the Harper government finds a new lower level   
   in depravity every day it stays in office.   
   See the extract below . . .  "food has always been expensive"  and . . .   
   .   "Hunters used to be able to use meat to feed their families and sell   
   pelts to offset the costs, but Ms Redfern says   
   an EU and US ban on seal products has meant many people can no longer   
   afford to hunt".   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   Think about that.  They've hunted for generations, but suddenly they're   
   tied to survival because they can't sell pelts for fashion items in the EU?   
      
   'No pelts to sell, now we're paying for the same high-priced food   
   without those profits.'  And that, of course, makes their food prices   
   the fault of 'the environmentalists'.   
   If you can't see the Harper government's fingerprints all over this one,   
   then you've got the government you deserve . . . .   
   ___________________________________   
      
      
   Leesee Papatsie, who organised the protests and lives in Iqaluit, has a   
   good job but still spends more than a third of her pay on food - about   
   $500-$600 a week.   
      
   "Food has always been expensive," she says. "The cost doesn't shock me   
   any more. Luckily, I live in a large town, smaller towns are more   
   expensive."   
      
   The minimum wage in Nunavut is the highest in the country at $11 an   
   hour, but high living costs mean it doesn't have the same purchasing   
   power. And the unemployment rate is high, at 16%.   
      
   "Most people will know someone who is hungry or has been hungry," says   
   Ms Papatsie. "Lots of kids go to school hungry and don't have proper   
   meals. It's cheaper to buy an oven dinner than the separate ingredients,   
   it's not a good diet, but people think at least they have food."   
      
   Food security   
      
   The Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey conducted in 2007-2008 found that   
   nearly 70% of Inuit children aged three to five years in 16 Nunavut   
   communities resided in food-insecure households, meaning they did not   
   have sufficient access to appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.   
      
   Overall, 31% of Inuit children lived in homes with moderate child food   
   insecurity; many were fed less expensive food or did not eat enough   
   because there was no money for food.  Another 25.1% lived in homes with   
   severe child food insecurity; many skipped meals, went hungry, or did   
   not eat for a whole day.   
      
   The UN's Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter,   
   recently travelled to Canada, where he said 2-3m people couldn't afford   
   the diets they needed to lead healthy lives. He said one million First   
   Nations people and 55,000 Inuit were in a "desperate situation".   
      
   Many southern Canadians have been asking the group whether locals hunt   
   and gather for traditional foods to mitigate the impact of costly imports.   
      
   Foraging and hunting for so-called country foods are important, says Ms   
   Redfern, but it can hard for people to get hold of them.   
      
   "They often have to travel for days, and it is expensive," she says. In   
   summer, hunters need boats with motors, fuel, nets, gun and bullets. In   
   the winter they need snowmobiles, sleds, tents, stoves and warm winter   
   clothing.   
      
   Hunters used to be able to use meat to feed their families and sell   
   pelts to offset the costs, but Ms Redfern says an EU and US ban on seal   
   products has meant many people can no longer afford to hunt.   
      
   A federally funded programme, Nutrition North Canada Program (NNCP),   
   gives subsidies to retailers who are supposed to lower the prices of   
   essential healthy foods in communities without regular road or water access.   
      
   Mr McMullen says the scheme, which pays $53.9m a year, has brought the   
   cost of four litres of milk down from $15.19 to $7.79, but he concedes   
   that more needs to be done to make food affordable.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)