Harvesters Support Grant

What is the grant?

The Harvesters Support Grant is a new addition to the Nutrition North Canada program. It was developed in direct collaboration with Indigenous partners to increase their access to traditional foods by reducing the high costs associated with traditional hunting and harvesting. The grant supports the complete range of harvesting activities and traditions, from community decision making to ceremony and celebration of the harvest. It respects the inherent hunting and harvesting rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

It provides $40 million over 5 years, and $8 million per year ongoing, to Indigenous governments and organizations representing eligible Nutrition North Canada communities.

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How does the grant work?

The Harvesters Support Grant relies on a distinctions-based design to maximize Indigenous control and decision-making. Because each community has unique harvesting needs and priorities, dedicated grant agreements have been developed to ensure that Indigenous governments and organizations can decide how best to support their own communities. The grant is supporting a wide range of harvesting activities such as:

• transportation and related capital investments
• maintenance of equipment
• harvesting equipment
• temporary shelter and outdoor clothing
• safety and rescue equipment
• training, certification and education
• traditional knowledge, practices and techniques
• processing, food preparation and storage such as community freezers
• maintenance of harvesting sites
• innovation in harvesting
• community, research, culture, and food sharing initiatives

There are 2 funding streams:

Stream 1: Land claim organization and self-government stream

For communities with settled land claims, grant funding is being provided to land claim organizations. These organizations will decide how the grant is spent and how harvesting support programs are administered.

Stream 2: Communities stream

For communities without a settled land claim, an Indigenous organization representing the community will receive and administer the grant. With input from community leaders, the organization will develop the program within their region.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for the Harvesters Support Grant, a community must:

• lack year-round surface transportation (no permanent road, rail or marine access)
• be reliant on air transportation for more than 8 months each year
• meet the territorial or provincial definition of a northern community
• have an airport, post office, or grocery store
• have a year-round population according to the national census

Eight communities eligible for the retail subsidy are not reliant on air transportation for more than 8 months each year, and are not eligible for the Harvesters Support Grant as a result. These communities are all on the Quebec North Shore:

• Pakuashipi
• La Tabatiere
• Mutton Bay
• Tête-à-la-Baleine
• Harrington Harbour
• Chevery
• La Romaine
• Port Menier

Recipient organizations

Additional recipient organizations serving communities marked "pending" are in the process of submitting proposals.

Funding per organization

The organizations shown below are recipients that registered beginning in 2020 fiscal year. Funding has been set aside for all eligible communities, with an understanding some proposals are pending and some may be modified.

Contact information

If you live in an eligible community, the best way to learn more is to contact your local community leadership.

• If your community does not have a settled land claim or self-government agreement, contact your local band council or other leadership office
• If your community has a settled land claim or self-government agreement, you can contact hunters and trappers organizations, land claim organizations or regional governments directly

For other questions about the Harvesters Support Grant, email aadnc.nutritionnordcanada-nutritionnorthcanada.aandc@canada.ca.