Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Apr 05/02) - The federal government will be providing financial aid to enhance the quality of muskox meat from the Mackenzie Delta.

Agriculture and Agri-Foods Minister Lyle Vanclief announced last Saturday that the federal government will be helping to fund a project that will provide a more tender and more consistent muskox meat.

The Lacombe Research Centre in Lacombe, Alta. will get $63,000 from a matching investment initiative on the first phase of a multi-year project to research better ways to harvest and process the product. That funding should continue for the next three-to-four years.

Inconsistency in the meat has been an ongoing problem with marketing the meat.

Vanclief became involved in the project following a meeting with Western Arctic Liberal MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew and Nellie Cournoyea, chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.

"I became very excited by the challenges and opportunity and potential that is here to develop this project," Vanclief said. "Canada has an opportunity to provide a distinctly Canadian, quality-assured product to the world."

The centre will research nutrition and processing of the meat to improve the overall tenderness of the meat.

"The management will also work on the management and mitigation of animal stress during the gathering process that also, will significantly improve animal welfare," he said.

Vanclief said they have already added aging into the process, to make the meat more tender.

Extra steps in process

"Up until now, they were cut up and wrapped right after they were slaughtered, now they have that extra step in the process," he said.

Vanclief also announced that for the first time, the GNWT will become part of the framework agreement on agricultural risk management in Canada.

"That means that the territorial government will benefit from funding available from the federal government for risk management programming until March of 2003," he said.

Vanclief said some of these funds could be used to further research and development in the muskox harvest.

The minister said the project comes thanks to a co-ordinated effort between food safety inspection, RWED, hunters and trappers and the Inuvialuit Development Corporation.

Cournoyea thanked the minister for the support and his visit on behalf of the corporation and the Bankslanders.

"Our vision as Inuvialuit is to try to have a diversified economy in our region and it's always been our vision to see projects like this one being utilized," Cournoyea said.

"We need to make sure the partnership is solid and the understanding of what we're attempting to do is solid.

Fernando Alvarez, President of Jacques Cartier Clothier also toured the muskox facility with the minister.

His company manufactures, processes and markets the muskox wool or "qiviuk" under a long-term contract with the IDC and the Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Association. The process takes place in Peru where the expertise was gained through alpaca production.

"We de-hair it, we spin it and then we make it into very fine garments," Alvarez said.

Highly specialized industry

"It's a highly-specialized industry; you require a certain know-how that is only found in a few cities in the world."

The wollens are sold in Lake Louise at the Qiviuk Boutique and in Banff at Jacques Cartier Clothier, but also throughout the world.

"We have very exclusive wholesale accounts throughout the world with precision manufacturers or brands in Japan and Europe," Alvarez said.

Vanclief sees the wool as a great innovation that will only make the muskox harvest more and more successful.

"We look forward to seeing even bigger and better returns from this project," Vanclief said, adding that more than just economic benefits will be achieved through the project.

"Returns on what it does for individual people and individual communities is just as meaningful as the rest of it."