Nunavut Inuit corporations hand out dividends, donations

Board members of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the Qikiqtaaluk Corp. stand with a giant-sized cheque of the $1.8 million dividend the QC has given the QIA for its Legacy Fund. (HANDOUT PHOTO)

It’s not even Christmas yet, but money is flowing out of Nunavut’s development corporations this month to Inuit beneficiary organizations and trusts.

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association announced Tuesday that it had received a $1.8 million dividend from its subsidiary organization, Qikiqtaaluk Corp., which manages economic development on behalf of QIA.

The announcement came just days after the two Baffin region organizations announced they would team up on a big, multi-million-dollar Iqaluit development plan.

“These dividends, which represent the economic achievement of Inuit, go a long way in helping fund important programs for Qikiqtani Inuit in all our 13 communities,” said QIA President P.J. Akeeagok in a news release.

The dividends, from profits derived from QC’s nearly 30 subsidiaries, will go into the QIA Legacy Fund to generate interest for future programs and activities for Inuit in the region, the release said.

“We at Qikiqtaaluk Corp. are proud of our success over the past fiscal year,” says QC Chair Olayuk Akesuk in the release. “We are pleased to be able to contribute to the important work at QIA and in turn, give back to Inuit in our region.”

Also on Nov. 28 came an announcement that the Nunasi Corp., whose board of directors includes three members from the QC and QIA—Harry Flaherty, Levi Barnabas and Akeeagok—will donate $1 million to Nunavut Sivuniksavut, the Ottawa-based college leadership program for Nunavut Inuit.

The money will go towards the purchase and related expenses of an NS student residence, which NS co-ordinator Morley Hanson said would “enable NS to deliver quality support services to the more than 50 students who select the program as their post-secondary destination each year.”

“Nunasi is proud to support Nunavut Sivuniksavut’s commitment to serving the educational needs of Inuit youth. This donation will help to enhance the learning experience of the students and will contribute to the variety of support services provided to the program participants,” said Flaherty, Nunasi’s acting president and CEO, in a news release.

Created in 1976, and originally called the Inuit Development Corp., Nunasi has investments in construction, transportation, retail, logistics, expediting, bulk fuel storage and supply, medical boarding homes, digital communications and manufacturing.

In recent years, Nunasi had been financially weakened by losses suffered by the Norterra group of companies, one of its most important subsidiaries.

The corporation said in November 2012 that it would undergo a makeover of its organization, to restore Nunasi to profitability and “ensure Inuit benefit from the economic boom Nunavut will see in the coming years.”

Nunasi started to shed assets in 2013 when it sold its subsidiary Secure Check to Scarlet Security Services, which specializes in safety, security and screening support for remote mining, ice roads, pipelines, and oil and gas projects.

Then, on April 1, 2014 Nunasi sold Norterra “to align Nunasi’s interest with those of the three regional development corporations.”