Feds announce $7 million for project bringing broadband, clean energy to Kivalliq
Five Kivalliq communities to benefit; first infrastructure project to link Nunavut, southern Canada
Arviat, shown in this file photo, as well as Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Rankin Inlet and Whale Cove are expected to benefit from faster internet and access to clean energy through the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link project. (File photo)
To help bring high-speed internet and clean energy to the Kivalliq region, the federal government has announced $7 million in funding toward the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link project.
“Nunavut and the Kivalliq region have a legitimate right to become grid-connected and access the same prosperous future as all other Canadians,” said Kivalliq Inuit Association president Kono Tattuinee, in the federal government’s news release announcing the funding Tuesday.
The Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link project — which is the first time an infrastructure project has linked Nunavut and southern Canada — proposes a 1,200-kilometre overhead hydroelectric transmission line between Gillam, Man. and the Kivalliq region.
The five communities that will be connected are Arviat, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Rankin Inlet and Whale Cove. Kivalliq’s Meliadine and Meadowbank gold mines will also be connected.
The project is led by Nukik Corp., which is a partnership organization between the Kivalliq Inuit Association and Sakku Investments Corp. to manage it.
By using clean energy to reduce the use of diesel fuel, the fibre link project is expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 371,000 metric tonnes annually and displace 138 million litres of fuel per year, the federal government’s Indigenous Services said.
“Transformational initiatives like this one will help Canada meet its climate objectives and more importantly, serve as the foundation for resilient and thriving northern communities, all while saving them money on polluting diesel,” said federal Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal, in the release.
For internet, the fibre-optic cable should provide faster and more affordable broadband service for 10,000 residents, the release noted, and create future opportunities in e-business, telehealth and education.
The funding comes from the federal government’s Northern REACHE program, which aims to help transition Indigenous and northern communities off diesel and onto renewable energy. It was part of the federal government’s fall economic statement.
In 2021, the federal government committed close to $3 million to the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link project.
About time
Starlink already beat them to the punch by providing high speed internet to the North.
If I had my choice between Starlink and fiberoptic highspeed I would choose fiberoptic all day every day. It is orders of magnitude faster than satellite and far more reliable.
Bruh, starlink isn’t all that great when you compare it with fiber optic!
I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but a 1200 km overhead power line is going to cost a lot more than $7 million.
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$7 million won’t even pay for the wire.
Yep. This story is missing a lot context and background. Last time I looked, the estimated cost Kivallliq Hydro Fibre line was than $1 billion. This bit of funding is probably for some kind of study to help develop the project proposal. The story really should be more precise in saying what the funding is for.
Again we will have to wait for almost a decade, it should’ve been done almost decade ago.
If you consider the 100s of millions that Trudeau has been throwing at pointless vanity issues to ensure he is “loved” by all the right groups in perpetuity, this should be seen for what it is, is a paltry and embarrassing sum. But then this is a serious investment issue being treated by an unseriousness government.
Oh I know people like to complain that statements like this are ‘ungrateful’ but consider where this should be in the sequence of priorities for the federal government. This is a ‘real’ investment in human development, something that should be prioritized, yet among its mindless orgy of spending hundreds of millions this government has given only enough priority to pretend it has done something substantial.
$7 million to support the interests of less than 9,000 Canadians is a pretty princely investment. Its time that Nunavut woke up to the reality of its place in Confederation. It has one seat in the House of Commons and less than1% of the country’s population. For that it receives over 2 billion annually in federal transfers and more than its fair share of federal funding and attention on issues like housing and health. Time to stop whining.
How often do you wake up on the wrong side of the bed old man?
Is the $7Mill in addition to the already announced #3 Mill or just really an extra $5 Mill.
Also better not go through important caribou corridors.