FCNQ expanding Montreal warehouse with $26M renovation
Many Nunavik-bound items go through warehouse before getting shipped north
FCNQ-Ilagiisaq general manager Mark Blair announces plans to expand its Montreal warehouse during a news conference in Montreal on Tuesday. He made the announcement standing in front of the federation’s extensive Inuit art collection. (Photo by Cedric Gallant, special to Nunatsiaq News)
Nunavik’s Co-op store is more than doubling its warehouse space in Montreal with help from the federal government.
Representatives from FCNQ-Ilagiisaq announced the move Tuesday at a news conference in Montreal.
“We always say that this building is an extension of Nunavik, a 15th community with all the services that are given here,” said FCNQ-Ilagiisaq general manager Mark Blair, referring to the co-operative federation’s Montreal office, where a lot of Inuit art is stored.
The co-operative federation offers a number of essential services like stocking the shelves of Co-op grocery stores across Nunavik, delivering car parts for its mechanic shops, and delivering diesel fuel. Most of the items it delivers up North are stored in the Montreal warehouse.
The project’s budget was around $26.5 million; around $1 million was provided by Indigenous Services Canada.
“We want to commit ourselves in the spirit of reconciliation, and of respect going forward,” said Ginette Lavack, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, at the news conference, in French.
“We will continue to collaborate with FCNQ and Indigenous partners to support economic development in the North and the province, and to improve the quality of life for all people who live there.”
The expansion adds 9,750 square metres of storage and office space to the 9,000 square-metre space.
This will improve FCNQ’s capacity to supply Nunavik’s 14 communities by better storing essential goods and food items, increasing its capacity to purchase in bulk and reducing the risk of stock shortages in communities where deliveries can be disrupted by weather conditions, Blair said.
Bulk purchasing also enables FCNQ to hunt for discounts, which eventually will cut down grocery costs for Nunavimmiut, he added.
The co-operative federation is currently working on the final touches of the expansion.
It intends on using part of the expanded warehouse for this sealift season in the fall, mainly to store goods that would eventually be transported in more than 600 sea cans. On top of that, an additional 350 sea cans are loaded for the construction division of FCNQ.
The expanded warehouse is expected to be ready for full-capacity use in September.
Just what the North needs, another 26 million dollars siphoned out of the region to placate the South.
It’s fairly obvious by your comment that you are someone without any kind of vision. The $26 million is a much needed investment to help support all the growing communities in Nunavik. Placating the south is an empty and thoroughly baseless comment from a troll or an ignoramus.
This is great news for Nunavik and FCNQ/Ilagiisaq. Congratulations.
Motson burger , Hahahahaa hit a nerve, corporate welfare is the Name.
@ Motson
Give me your money and I will tell you how you NEED to deplete it.
@ Motson
Throw sticks and stone, ’cause names will never hurt me.
Just like the visionaries of Makivvik and KI, the FCNQ NEEDS a reason to keep their Southern operations going or their staff would have to work out of Nunavik.
These operations can’t have that, as it would be an inconvenience and cause discomfort to those running the individual sh*t shows.
Where do you think the stuff in the warehouse goes?
The coops are the only stores in Nunavik in many communities, and FCNQ is owned by its members. That means nearly all Inuit are not just members but co-owners.
Excellent showcase of people who just complain but could not be bothered to think a little. The worst is sometimes you’ll find these individuals making decisions in some board they have no business being in.
If as the Murdoch/FCNQ family was really created to “help Inuit”, there is no reason the warehouse could not be built in Nunavik, other than their “talking point” of helping Inuit being really just a verbal smokescreen.
As it is, there will be more than enough jobs to go around for the southern hires to construct the facility, as well as rather than have items temporally stored (for additional redistribution) in a hub community in Nunavik creating further long term employment and even less delays due to weather, the limited northern economic cash flow is now shortchanged (by millions) to prop up jobs/facilities in the South.
I guess their Kuujjuaq beer sales will go to paying off that warehouse, rather than our membership costs going to the facilities in Nunavik .
I have heard negative comments about FCNQ from outside parties (not from Nunavik) in the grant/ NGO spheres. I have heard scripted comments in favour of FCNQ from fellow Inuit, non-scripted as well. I also hear negative comments about FCNQ form Inuit too. Mostly from Inuit who have experience in the qallunaak concept of Economy.
For FCNQ to gain full trust of all Inuit members. I think they MUST (but not limited to):
remove all traces of the Murdoch lineage from within the management of FCNQ and subsidiaries
replace upper management with Inuit. Especially with the business development branch.
separate membership classes for any dividends. Class A for Inuit beneficiaries and Class B for non-beneficiaries.
come up with a communications plan, transparent with their pricing formulas, with their lending practices to local co-ops, and how local co-ops are obligated to give contracts to FCNQ subsidiaries ie procurement obligations
FCNQ Petro financial audit made available to members
make public their internal succession plans for Inuit capacity building
@ 2 cents
You are nudging the discussion in a good direction by bringing up grants and I would add loans with “favourable” terms Ie low to no interest as well as prolonged repayment schedules, etc.
Sadly you have the talking heads/political pundents railing on about the north, ad nausium decrying the amount of monies from various governments and programs earmarked, to deal with an endless need of basic infrastructure and services.
Now when a pundent goes on the airwaves/e-verse ranting on about the amount of funds “earmarked” for the north, it should be pointed out in reality, a LARGE chunk of the funds are really to prop up cost centers in the south, that happen to have tenuous connections to the north.
Inuit institutions such as Makivvik and KI have normalized this practice such that when you hear announcements for “funding for the north” you have to realize much of the funds themselves will never reach the north, but be expended in the South (with a Northern footnote in the reports)
Just wondering –
How much funds of FCNQ; Makivvik ; KI; the two Nunavik health boards and KRG’s annual budgets have, that will never see the north, Ie Property rentals, vehicles, southern salaried employees, meeting expenditures because, well, you know, offices in the south so got to have meetings in the south etc?
Is it 10 20 30 40 50% or more of their budgets?
For certain it runs in the millions between them.