SASKATOON, Sask. — Saskatchewan’s Opposition NDP says Premier Scott Moe’s government needs to address high food prices in light of recent scurvy cases in the province’s north.

Northern affairs critic Jordan McPhail says the cost of fresh produce and milk is exorbitant in Stony Rapids, a community near the Northwest Territories boundary.

Photos provided by the NDP, which it says were taken Monday from a grocery store in the hamlet, show a jug of milk selling for $18, a bag of apples for $15 and a package of grapes for $20.

McPhail says some people are choosing not to buy fresh food, which could lead to vitamin deficiencies.

He says the Saskatchewan Party government should suspend the 15-cents-a-litre gas tax to provide relief and help residents afford groceries.

Doctors in the northern town of La Ronge said last week they had treated 27 cases of scurvy over the last six months.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press