Several Nunavik projects get boost from Quebec government

The Quebec government is giving $1.5 million to several Nunavik organizations to fund initiatives aimed at economic development and education.

Natural Resources Minister Kateri Champagne Jourdain and Ungava MNA Denis Lamothe announced the money in a news release Tuesday.

Makivvik Corp. will receive $100,000 to create design plans for offices in Kuujjuaq and Inukjuak; $100,000 to install drying equipment for harvested plants and berries in Kuujjuaraapik, Kangiqsualujjuaq, Umiujaq and Inukjuak; and $92,000 to deploy technology for environmental data collection related to fish.

Production company Tukisivallirutitsanut Parnaitiit will receive $100,000 to establish an audio-visual archive centre in Puvirnituq and Rouyn-Noranda, Que. The archive centre is intended to preserve and share Inuit knowledge.

Half a million dollars will go to the Isuarsivik Regional Recovery Centre in Kuujjuaq to establish the Katsipitaaq centre, which will host cultural, traditional and therapeutic activities for its residents and the local community.

Nunavik-based technology company Heritage Lab will get $100,000 to develop an Inuktitut speech recognition system.

Another $100,000 is going to the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières to map underwater habitats in Ungava Bay and study species, including scallops and sea cucumbers.

Finally, Nurrait | Jeunes Karibus – a Kuujjuaq-based organization that facilitates on-the-land activities for youth – is receiving $470,000 to build two cabins in Ivujivik and Quaqtaq. Young participants would build the cabins, which would be accessible to community members afterward.

“The selected initiatives will help improve living environments and support the region’s economic and social development,” Lamothe said in the release.