Two old sealift partners make new waves in Nunavik

Two companies that have served Nunavik together for nearly 40 years have joined forces to create a new firm aimed at providing Nunavimmiut with an improved sealift service.

The companies, Desgagnés Transarctik Inc. and the Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, have created a new firm called Taqramut Transport Inc.

During the 2007 shipping season, they hope to take the first steps towards creating what they call a “personalized and enhanced” sealift service for Nunavik residents.

In many ways, Taqramut will function in a way that’s similar to Nunavut Sealink and Supply Inc., another joint venture between Desgagnés and Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. that controls a big share of Nunavut’s sealift business.

Waguih Rayes of Desgagnés says that starting this year, Taqramut will start handling the sales and marketing of all sealift cargo in the same way that NSSI works in Nunavut.

And he says his company’s new arrangement with Nunavik’s co-op organization helps build customer loyalty and will eventually give them a one-stop shopping point for sealift service.

“In every community you have a co-op store. The co-op store can become, at the very least, an information centre. That’s the very first step,” Rayes said.

“If you have the feeling of belonging to this company Taqramut, you will do what it takes in order that this company succeeds. Every dollar of profit will go to members of the co-op. There’s no big detour through a corporate structure before you get the benefits.”

To that end, Rayes says that for the 2007 shipping season, Taqramut hopes to distribute information in all Nunavik co-ops about how to make sealift orders, as well as copies of all forms needed to make sealift bookings.

“People in the community who would like to have a booking who do not have access to the Internet, who are not comfortable speaking English or in the case of Nunavik, French, and who are not comfortable speaking other than Inuktitut, at least we are giving them the access to the information locally with a person who can talk their language,” Rayes said.

In future years, Taqramut hopes to offer more advanced services at the community level, Rayes said.

That could include arrangements to help groups of customers make combined orders to save on shipping expenses by sharing containers.

Another possibility is the creation of warehouse cargo hubs in certain communities to store non-perishable goods that are in high demand.

“Imagine if Salluit or Ivujuvik ran out of pop in February. It’s a big cost to fly it in from Montreal. But if you have a hub somewhere, let’s say Inukjuak or Puvirnituq, then the air freight from the hub will cost less,” Rayes said.