Mine training idea still has life

I was disappointed that a recent article painted a negative picture of what is, in fact, a positive story about economic development in Nunavut (re: “DIAND says no to Kitikmeot mine training scheme,” March 18). I’d like to clarify the following points.

In Budget 2004, the federal government announced $90 million over five years for northern economic development. Across the North, the Government of Canada and key economic players immediately began work to design approaches for investing these funds. In the meantime, in order to maintain momentum and take advantage of current and emerging economic development opportunities, $10 million was made available to the territories during 2004-2005.

Nunavut’s portion of the federal funding for 2004-2005 was $3 million. This funding became available in late fall 2004 and by March 2005 $2.5 million had been approved against projects. This is a major accomplishment given the amount is about 10 times what is usually available to the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Nunavut Regional Office to disperse on northern economic development through INAC’s Innovation and Knowledge Fund.

Proposals were solicited from several sources, including the Nunavut Economic Forum (NEF). The Kitikmeot mine equipment training proposal was one of these. The Nunatsiaq News article repeatedly refers to INAC “rejecting” the proposal from the Kitikmeot Corporation. This project wasn’t “rejected,” as it was never eligible for consideration under program criteria in the first place.

In part, the project was ineligible because it proposed for the Kitikmeot Corp. to purchase the equipment from Nuna Logistics, a company in which Kitikmeot Corp. owns a 25.5 per cent share.

The training proposal is still worth examining, though. In fact, we have indicated to the NEF that the project should be looked at as part of the Nunavut Mine Training Focus Group initiative. I look forward to reviewing the submission under a more appropriate program.

We would have been happy to outline this to Nunatsiaq News, however, we weren’t given the opportunity. Reporter Greg Younger-Lewis requested information on March 11 about economic development projects and was told official announcements were planned the following week during Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Andy Scott’s visit to Nunavut. At no time was the Department asked to comment specifically on the Kitikmeot training proposal.

Work continues to identify priorities and develop territory-specific investment plans for Nunavut’s remaining share – $24 million – under INAC’s northern economic development fund. I believe Nunavummiut will benefit greatly from the $2.5 million awarded to 13 projects this past year. All unspent funds will be incorporated into future years’ expenditures, meaning Nunavut can plan for projects through 2009. We encourage Nunavummiut to contact our office for more information.

Stephen Traynor
Acting Regional Director General
DIAND, Nunavut Regional Office

Editor’s note: Nunatsiaq News began soliciting comment on the mine training funding issue about three weeks before the story was published.