Nanisivik needed another $200M, says Department of Defence
Ottawa confirms reports its pivoting away from long-promised naval facility
The federal government is ending its attempts to revive the Nanisivik Naval Facility, says the Department of National Defence. (File photo)
Nanisivik would have needed another $200 million to be operational, according to the federal government.
The Department of Defence included this detail Thursday in a news release that confirmed reports it’s pulling the plug on the naval facility.
To date, the Department of National Defence spent $110.2 million on Nanisivik and planned another $610,000 for this fiscal year before it quashed the program, according to the department’s release.
“The Royal Canadian Navy can operate in the Arctic without the Nanisivik Naval Facility,” said vice-admiral Angus Topshee, the Royal Canadian Navy commander, in the release.
He said the decision to close the facility was made to “focus our effort where it best strengthens readiness.”
Nanisivik is located at a now-demolished mining town site. Plans to revamp it were first announced in 2007 by then-prime minister Stephen Harper as a way to “significantly strengthen Canada’s sovereignty over the Arctic.”
The facility – about 20 kilometres from Arctic Bay – saw construction delays and cuts over the years.
For the past year, the federal government called the facility “complete” but “not yet operational.”
Now, the federal government will begin the process of “transitioning” Nanisivik out of operation, the department said.
Once the government and the Canadian Armed Forces determine that the site will no longer be useful for defence purposes, they will assess “re-use potential or transfer opportunities.”
The government will also take on environmental assessments and remediation measures.
This was always a dumb idea, from the minute it was announced in 2007. Thank God they are pulling the plug on it.
I find it quite interesting that we are pulling the plug on one because it costs too much to fix and in the exact same week we are announcing an initial 50M into the development of a new port in the West, potentially connected to a road that then needs to also connect to a NWT road that is not built.
I wonder if perhaps this is foreshadowing for the next tax payer write-off.
Ukraine receives more then that from Canada all the time.
Why spend over a half-billion dollars on a facility located in an area that can be accessed only with icebreakers and possibly submarines for about 9+ months a year? It’s an answer looking for a question.
Please know inuit of the arctic nunavut is overlooked. Rid of these useless gov’t. Making noise buildings. Waste of time.
So, everything we see on here was just abandoned and staying like that? OMG, that is a waste of $ that can be auctioned to the mining’s in Nunavut.