KIVALLIQ
A hydro line to hamlets in the Kivalliq region from Manitoba may yet become a reality after one MLA demanded concrete action in the legislative assembly during the current session.

Baker Lake MLA Simeon Mikkungwak, picking up on a major theme at the Hudson Bay Neighbours Regional Round Table held in Churchill in February, questioned Community and Government Services Minister Joe Savikataaq Feb. 25.

"Earlier this month, the minister co-chaired the most recent meeting of the (regional roundtable)," said Mikkungwak. "One of the resolutions that was adopted at the meeting concerns the establishment of a hydroelectric power transmission line from Manitoba to the Kivalliq. Can the minister outline the next steps that will be undertaken by the Energy Options Working Group on this important project?"

Savikataaq co-chaired the roundtable with Churchill Mayor Michael Spence, who together welcomed more than 80 delegates, including Manitoba MP Terry Duguid and Kivalliq Inuit Association president David Ningeongan, as well as Mikkungwak and Rankin Inlet MLAs Tom Sammurtok and Alex Sammurtok.

The resolution reads "That the Hudson Bay regional roundtable direct the Energy Options Working Group to access the required federal funding to undertake the next phase of the transmission line project between Manitoba and Nunavut."

Savikataaq explained that the resolution is about nailing down the cost of a transmission line.

"In short, it means that they would like to pursue federal funding to fund a proper feasibility study because the scoping study that was done was like a class X estimate and they want to get a more finely detailed study with costs tied down more. Everyone was in support of it and discussions were informative, like I said, and productive," Savikataaq said last week.

In September, the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) released the scoping study it commissioned on behalf of the regional roundtable which explores the viability of a hydroelectric power transmission line running from Churchill, Manitoba to the Kivalliq region. The report states the project would create savings projected at $40 million annually in diesel energy and a projected savings of between $60 and $100 million in diesel fuel annually for the mining sector. The report also estimates a reduction of up to 380 thousand metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

The study estimates the project would cost $904 million.

"Next steps include funding requests to the governments of Nunavut, Manitoba and Canada in order to conduct a briefing and feasibility study. The report projects a completion date of 2025, should the feasibility study begin by early 2016," stated KIA president Ningeongan in a news release at that time.

Rob Hedley, the Department of Community and Government Services manager of community operations in Rankin Inlet, told Kivalliq News the roundtable has a real sense of immediacy in making the project a reality now.

He said everyone understands what needs to happen, so it's a matter of getting studies done, getting through regulatory processes and finding levels of government to sign cheques.

"I'm an eternal optimist, so I believe in the government eventually getting it right," said Hedley.

"We keep doing this because we are optimistic and we want to get it done. And, right now, it all seems to be going in the right direction."

Saying the project is an obvious nation-building project of magnitude, Mikkungwak noted that it would require significant federal investment to make (it) into a reality.

"Yesterday, the house was informed by the minister of Finance that the government is seeking a quarter of a billion dollars from Ottawa for energy investments. Can the minister indicate whether funding for the Manitoba-Kivalliq hydroelectric project is a part of this request?" Mikkungwak asked Savikataaq.

The minister replied the resolution comes from the roundtable and it is the roundtable's responsibility to seek funding for a feasibility study.

Meanwhile, Arviat Mayor Bob Leonard told Kivalliq News the February meeting of the roundtable represented a big step forward for the hydro line.

"That power line will change everybody's life in our region. The GN's infrastructure - the power houses, tank farms and everything -- are getting old. We're going to have to invest in something really soon, so, are we going to invest in what we're doing now and build more tanks and diesel-generating plants to leave us right where we are now, with the most expensive way of producing power?"

Leonard said nobody messes around with fuel oil in Churchill anymore, with every house in the town using electric heat.

"They have a made-in-Manitoba rate of about five cents a kilowatt hour. We pay 60-some cents per kilowatt hour for private homes in the Kivalliq."

- with files from Darrell Greer