A Manitoba court has dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit against The North West Company, which runs the Northern store in Garden Hill, over claims it did not pass along the full value of a federal food subsidy to shoppers. The Court of King’s Bench struck the claim on May 12, 2026; the court’s written reasons are expected at a later date. The company had argued the claim had no legal merit.
The lawsuit was launched by three Inuit women, including former Nunavut Commissioner Nellie Taptaqut Kusugak. They alleged the company kept between $21.6 million and $30.8 million each year from the Nutrition North Canada program, money meant to lower food prices in remote northern communities. Over a three-year span starting in 2018, the claim said the total reached more than $163 million.
The North West Company, a major employer in Garden Hill with 62 staff and a workforce that is 91% Indigenous, has always denied the allegations. In a statement after the ruling, the company said independent government audits confirm it passes 100% of the subsidy to customers. The Northern store in Garden Hill moved to the mainland in June 2018, something the company said removed barriers to better serve the community.
The lawsuit leaned in part on a 2023 university study that found only 67 cents of each subsidy dollar made it to shoppers across the north. The research showed the number dropped to just 55 cents in communities with only one store, such as Garden Hill. But the court’s decision to strike the claim means those arguments will not be tested further, at least for now.
The Nutrition North Canada program gives subsidies to retailers so they can cut prices on healthy foods in 124 isolated communities. The North West Company receives about half of the $120 million handed out each year, making it the biggest player in the program. Along with welcoming the court’s decision, the company is calling on Ottawa to do a better job explaining how the subsidy works and to look for more ways to bring down food costs in the north.
Meanwhile, a separate external review of Nutrition North Canada, led by former Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated president Aluki Kotierk, was handed to the federal government in late May 2026. Her report and any recommendations it might contain have not yet been made public.
