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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Federal cabinet minister Tony Clement was in Yellowknife yesterday to announce $2.4 million in federal funding to 26 arts and culture projects within the Northwest Territories.

The most notable contribution was $1.2 million in funding for renovations and an addition to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC).

"The Northern Arts and Cultural Centre is being revitalized with a renovation and addition which greatly increases the theatre's infrastructure and abilities," said Maureen Crotty-Williams, vice-president of NACC.

Clement, president of the Treasury Board of Canada, made the presentation on behalf of James Moore, minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.

"These are things that help connect us together, that really help define us as Canadians," said Clement at a press conference held at the Explorer Hotel.

"We really want to teach our children and our grandchildren about what it means to be Canadian in this vast land where somehow we manage to keep our connections so strong despite the challenges of geography and even climate."

The funding is part of a larger Canada-wide pool of $1.1 billion called the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2008-2013: Acting for the Future.

The purpose of the fund is to "reaffirm the Harper government's commitment to our two official languages and to official-language minority communities," the Department of Canadian Heritage stated in a press release about the Yellowknife event.

"Perhaps the ultimate definition of cultural identity is the language we speak," said Crotty-Williams.

Yellowknife funding recipients

Total funding in the NWT: $2,455,467

• Northern Arts and Cultural Centre renovation and addition: $1,200,000
• Frozen Eyes Photographic Society's youth mentoring in the North project: $270,000
• Federation franco-tenoise (FFT): $190,000
• FFT's leadership, animation, mobilization and action project: $150,000
• FFT La viree Gaia TAiGa project: $75,000
• Association franco-culturelle de Yellowknife (AFCY): $73,500
• Up Here Publishing: $70,868
• Garderie Plein-Soleil: $52,240
• AFCY Visages au feminin project: $34,825
• Sharing Our Stories: $25,816
• Societe Radio Taiga (SRT): $25,000
• Editions franco-tenoises (EFT): $22,000
• SRT training tool program: $10,000
• Association des parents ayants droit de Yellowknife: $9,000
• EFT freelancer's guide project: $8,000
• Old Town Ramble and Ride Festival: $7,200
• Festival Miroir sur la francophonie Nordique: $4,200

Source: Heritage Canada

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