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Funds to assist youth, economy CanNor pledges $1.81 million for four NWT projectsLaura Busch Northern News Services Published Monday, February 25, 2013
Part of the investment will help restore recreational services in Behchoko where the closure of the community's recreational centre six years ago left many youth out in the cold. The half million dollars pledged to help with renovations of the Khon Go Cho Complex in Behchoko will kick start efforts to raise the $16.1 million needed for the project, said Chief Clifford Daniels. Daniels held a public meeting in Behchoko the night before CanNor's announcement, where he said residents voiced their concerns about how the lack of a recreational centre is hurting their community. "Sadly, many of our children will grow up with at least half of their childhood (spent) not being involved in such a facility," said Daniels. The Khon Go Cho Complex has been closed since 2007 due to disrepair. Once re-opened, it will provide space for recreational and fitness activities, enable the community to host public events such as conferences and assemblies, and will house office space for the community government. CanNor's investment is the first "substantial amount of money" received for these badly-needed renovations, said Daniels. He said he is confident the investment will help solidify partnerships with other investors "within a matter of weeks." The Behchoko community government has pledged $4.1 million for the project; the Tlicho Government will pitch in $1 million; and the Building Canada Fund is slated to contribute $1.5 million. Four million dollars from corporate sponsors are under negotiations, leaving $5 million left to be raised. If all funding is secured in a timely manner, the centre could be re-opened as early as March 2014. "This enables us to work together for our future health," said Daniels on the importance of this project. "Not only for our children, but for the entire community of Behchoko. "These projects deliver on our government's commitment to strengthen public infrastructure to provide Northerners, including aboriginal communities, with the tools and the skills to obtain jobs in the North," said Aglukkaq at a press conference. "(Also), to attract continued investment in the North." Also benefiting from the CanNor funding are the Children's First Centre in Inuvik, the Tlicho Learning Development Centre, and the Conseil de developpement economique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (CDETNO). The Children's First Centre, currently under construction in Inuvik, will offer a space for early childhood education in the community. The project is expected to cost $6.45 million, of which CanNor's Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund has pledged $500,000. Last month, that same fund committed $1.1 million in funding for five other NWT projects. The Tlicho Learning Development Centre is purchasing a mobile crusher to train workers in its Crusher Operator Training Program. The mobile crusher will allow the program to be offered in all four Tlicho communities, said Jasper Lamouelle, president of the Tlicho Investment Corporation. The Tlicho Learning and Development Centre is splitting the cost of the $750,000 crusher with CanNor's Aboriginal Economic Development program $300,000 and $450,000, respectively. CanNor's Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development program will provide $175,000 per year over the next two years to the CDETNO's efforts to promote the territory's mining, oil and gas and tourism markets in Northern Quebec. Some of this money will go towards a trade mission in March when six NWT businesses will meet with potential investors, including Resolute Forest Products (formerly known as Abitibi), said Andreanne Laporte, executive director of CDETNO.
Federal funding for NWT projects announced Inuvik's Children's First Centre
Behchoko's Khon Go Cho Complex
Mobile crusher for the Crusher Operator Training
Economic Opportunities Toolkit and outreach campaign
Source: Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
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