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The Kivalliq boat

Chris Windeyer
Northern News Services

Kivalliq (Jun 28/06) - With costs for a proposed road connecting the Kivalliq to northern Manitoba projected at $2 billion or more, Grant Cool thinks his company has hit upon a less expensive alternative.

Cool is a co-owner of Kivalliq Marine, which operates the port of Churchill, Manitoba and sealift services to the Kivalliq.

The company wants to add a passenger and cargo ferry service to its repertoire.

"Our goal is to offer more alternatives to local people," Cool said in a telephone interview from Aurora, Ontario. "The next step before roads is a ferry service.... It's just a natural progression."

Cool said Kivalliq Marine is looking at spending $2 million to $3 million on a ferry capable of carrying 300 passengers and 2,000 tonnes of cargo. The model in question also has the capability of unloading directly onto a beach.

The service would run once a week, from mid-July until late October from Churchill to Baker Lake, with weekly stops in larger communities like Rankin Inlet and bi-weekly stops in places like Chesterfield Inlet. Cool expects half the business to come from passengers. A round trip fare for the whole route would cost around $500.

Cool hopes to tap into the 20,000 tourists who already visit Churchill every year. While the Manitoba town isn't connected to the south by road, it has regular air and rail passenger service to Winnipeg. The ferry should also help drive down shipping costs, he said.

"This service would be a new level of infrastructure," Cool said. "Cargo costs would drop significantly, tourism revenues would increase dramatically (and) resource development projects would be attracted to the area with improved infrastructure."

Norma Lefurgey, of the Keewatin Business Development Centre, said she's skeptical the service would reduce shipping costs, but supports the idea of new infrastructure and jobs for the region.

"If this group is successful, hats off to them," she said.

Brian Webb, marketing director of Nunavut Tourism, said his organization likes the possibility of cheaper access to the territory for southern tourists.

"The idea they're tossing around...we think looks very promising," he said. "It's beneficial any time you have a second form of access to the territory."

Kivalliq Marine still needs regulatory approval from the governments of Nunavut and Manitoba.

Service would begin in the summer of 2008 at the earliest.