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TIKIRARJUAQ/WHALE COVE
Whale Cove played host to a number of companies and organizations during its first Economic Development Day this past week.

Residents of Whale Cove and their guests enjoy a feast at the end of the community's first official Economic Development Day this past week. - photo courtesy of Shawn Trepanier

Senior administrative officer Shawn Trepanier said former economic development officer (EDO) Eloise Noble represented the community at a number of regional trade shows this past year.

He said when the EDO reported an interest in trade shows at the community level being expressed at the regional gatherings, the Hamlet of Whale Cove saw a chance to show the region what the community has to offer.

"Each community gets about $100,000 from Economic Development and Transportation (ED&T) to help improve economic conditions in the municipalities," said Trepanier.

"So we did quite a bit of homework to see if it was worth doing an Economic Development Day for the community.

"Once we determined it was, we had council's support in putting a plan together to hold the event this past week."

A wide-range of presenters attended the event, including Community and Government Services, the Kivalliq Inuit Association, First Air, Kivalliq Air, Arctic Co-operative, Nunavut Arctic College, Calm Air, Service Canada, the RCMP, Sakku Development Corp., Nunavut Development Corp, Agnico-Eagle, the North West Co., Kivalliq Partners in Development and ED&T.

The representatives spent Sept. 15 in Whale Cove, doing presentations at the John Adjuk Community Hall, interacting with local business leaders during a working lunch, and taking part in a local trade show at the Inuglak School gym before participating in a community feast that evening.

Trepanier said the event provided a lot of information to youth in the community and people looking for work.

He said it's important for them, especially those aged 18 to 24, to know what's available in the region in terms of training and employment.

"It's also important for them to understand how different organizations can help them obtain their goals.

"Whether they decide to stay in the community is up to them, but we need to see less dependence on social assistance and more support for working families.

"We have a lot of mining exploration going on and we want to see people in our community getting their share of those jobs, as well as support from our organizations to enable them to stay in their own community -- if that's what they so choose -- and not have to move to larger places like Rankin Inlet and Arviat.

"We have a lot of strong, hard working people in Whale who want to work."

Trepanier said in addition to increased training opportunities, Whale Cove, with a population of close to 400, needs to become more well-known for what it has to offer.

He said even though Whale Cove is a small community, it has a growing population and lots of future potential.

"Whale has a very young workforce.

"And we have a lot of kids who will be leaving high school in the next nine months to five years.

"We need to train these young people to become our future workers and, not only leaders of our community, but leaders of the region itself."

Trepanier said industry has shown potential interest in doing business within the municipal boundaries, and Whale Cove wants to be able to offer local services, rather than seeing outside sources being used.

He said Whale Cove has contractors and a capable and willing Co-op store to offer services, and it's also rich in Inuit culture and history.

"When the tourism people come in, they're always surprised by the amount of Inuit history, culture and tradition they encounter here.

"At the same time, it's very modernized, so we can take people from different cultures and get them interested in, and educated on, what the local Inuit culture has to offer."

Trepanier said the Economic Development Day created a buzz among many elders of the community, because they see the issues with kids not wanting to finish school.

He said too many youths think there's no sense in continuing school because they don't see any opportunity in their community.

"By offering incentives of training and business development -- whether here or abroad -- it lets them know there is opportunity out there and they don't have to rely on the welfare system.

"The elders are well-respected by some of the kids, and it carries a lot of weight when the elders tell them they can do this.

"The youths may see a lot of the negative aspects of a growing community with no real potential, but a lot of them are realizing they have to finish high school, take additional training or college courses, and then return in the future to offer their services to the community.

"We need these kids to be proud of Whale Cove and believe it can grow through mining and other opportunities."

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