New training centre holds key to Quaqtaq’s future

The Tuvaaluk centre can accommodate groups of up to 35 (equipped with videoconferencing) in its conference rooms. It also offers office suites for local and regional organizations and eight bedrooms for visiting guests. (PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB DEER)

The new Tuvaaluk training centre opened in Quaqtaq Jan. 20. The centre, which is owned by the local Tuvaaluk landholding corporation, hopes to bring more jobs and training opportunity to Quaqtaq’s youth, says Tuvaaluk’s general manager Bob Deer. (PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB DEER)

“Are we in Quaqtaq or what?” says Bob Deer, as he looks proudly out his new office window.

Deer’s office overlooks the vast hills and tundra outside of the Ungava community.

But for the general manager of the local Tuvaaluk landholding corporation, the view represents Quaqtaq’s new connection to the outside world and opportunities for its young residents.

Quaqtaq inaugurated its new Tuvaaluk training centre Jan. 20. The brand-new, two-floor complex is not only home to the landholding corporation’s offices, but also a modern conference centre and training facility for the small community of 350.

The new complex can accommodate groups of up to 35 (equipped with videoconferencing), office suites for local and regional organizations and eight bedrooms for visiting guests.

“We had a great need for an office facility for our own corporation, but we wanted to extend it to and what else we could offer,” Deer told Nunatsiaq News. “So we developed a larger conference centre with accommodation — which is often a huge challenge for smaller communities to provide.

“This is going to be a great opportunity for us.”

The Tuvaaluk centre has already created five new jobs in Quaqtaq, Deer said, and has begun taking bookings from regional groups.

The travelling court system in Nunavik has already booked the centre’s conference room to host hearings, while visiting judges and lawyers can stay in the building’s overnight accommodations.

The Canadian Rangers have also reserved the centre for upcoming training sessions, while the Kativik School Board’s council of commissioners plans to meet there for its upcoming annual meeting.

But building the Tuvaaluk centre was no easy feat: Deer said the project was decades in the making.

The centre’s $3.4 million price tag was paid largely by the landholding corporation, with help from the Kativik Regional Development Council and a loan through Makivik Corp.

“It took us 30 years to get this far – we’ve never owned our own building before,” Deer said. “Now we can show that determination pays off. And not only for us, but for the benefit of all.”

Over the long run, Deer hopes the centre will bring training opportunities to the community that Quaqtaq’s youth can take advantage of.

He also hopes it will open up the region to more tourism as the landholding corporation prepares to develop local catering services, vehicle rentals and cultural excursions.

The launch of the Tuvalluk centre coincides with the opening of the Quaqtaq Co-op Association’s new 10-bed hotel, another service that will drive local economic development, said Tuvaaluk’s president, Noah Ningiuruvik.

“When you combine the co-op’s capacity with our eight beds and the training centre, you can see that Quaqtaq should become a popular destination for training and meetings,” Ningiuruvik said.