Kugluktuk arena benefits from Harper-era infrastructure program

In a photo taken in 2009, youth from the Kitikmeot region play soccer on artificial turf installed at the Kugluktuk arena and community centre. (FILE PHOTO)

The Hamlet of Kugluktuk’s arena and recreation complex will get a $225,000 contribution from a Harper-era municipal infrastructure program that was once attacked by opposition parties as a pre-election vote-buying scheme, the federal government announced Aug. 11.

The money, which comes from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, will help the hamlet pay for upgrades and improvements to the arena.

That work includes replacement of the boiler system, upgrades to the ventilation system to improve air quality and heat recovery, upgraded fire sprinklers, and repairs to the building’s exterior.

When ex-Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program in the spring of 2015, opposition critics dumped all over it, accusing the Tories of pre-election vote-buying.

But Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government kept the program going in its budget earlier this year, pledging $150 million over two years, starting in 2016-17.

The stated purpose of Canada 150 is to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation by distributing funds to municipalities for improvements to local infrastructure such as parks, recreation centres, cultural centres, libraries, docks and cenotaphs.

In Nunavut, the Canada 150 money is distributed through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

The Hamlet of Kugluktuk will spend $75,000 of its own money on the arena project, bringing total spending to $300,000, CanNor said in a release.

“The Hamlet of Kugluktuk is pleased to have the support of CanNor to further enhance the quality of the infrastructure for future generations to use,” Kugluktuk Mayor Ryan Nivingalok is quoted as saying in the CanNor release.