ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The chief executive of the North West Co. Inc. says its stores in remote Indigenous communities are “absolutely not” hiking food prices when funding flows in from federal programs such as Jordan’s Principle.
Dan McConnell made the comments today during a call for shareholders discussing the company’s third-quarter financial results, in which it reported consolidated sales of $637.5 million.
The figure marks a 3.3-per cent increase over the same quarter last year, but McConnell said that didn’t translate to the bottom line, as the company’s net earnings were $36.4 million, down from $38 million in the third quarter of 2023.
The North West Co. operates 118 Northern grocery stores in remote communities across Northern Canada, as well as a host of other businesses, including Quickstop convenience stores in Northern Canada and Alaska.
Last month, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the land-claims body representing Nunavut Inuit, said it is planning to investigate whether retailers, including Northern stores, hiked food prices after communities began receiving Jordan’s Principle funding earlier this year.
Jordan’s Principle, or the Inuit Child First Initiative, offers federal cash for children to access necessities including education and food, and McConnell flatly rejected the idea that his company’s stores increased food prices when the money arrived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:NWC)
Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press