NUNAVUT
The Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour is thousands of kilometres and $1 million away from completing its schedule.

Charlie Arnayuinak of Arviat captures images of the Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour performance in his community in late June. The viability of the tour, originally scheduled to continue into August, is now in question because money has run out. - photo courtesy of Canadian Arctic Airshow Tour

The series of air shows has been postponed since the July 9 performance in Yellowknife. Tour organizers and pilots, who are mostly volunteers, are chasing after funding from the federal government - money they thought would be forthcoming, but a government official says no agreement was ever reached.

Although tour representatives had been in talks with the Government of Canada about funding since last November, a formal proposal for financial assistance was not submitted until June, according to Valerie Hache, spokesperson for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). By then, most of the 2017-2018 funding had already been granted to other projects, she noted.

"Project funding requests are usually submitted before the end of March, in order to allow for full consideration for the next fiscal year," Hache said.

Nancy McClure, the aviation tour's executive director, said the final $2.3-million budget was actually sent in May, and not submitted earlier for a reason.

"They told us that it could not be looked at until April 1, the 2017-18 budget year. There was nothing left in the prior year," McClure said. "So we were told that we could not be considered until this budget year. We were told that in December."

Hache said the federal government considered other pots of cash that might be available for the aviation tour, including Canada 150 - money to celebrate the country's 150th year of Confederation - but the air shows did not meet the funding criteria.

McClure strongly disagrees that the Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour, which has reconciliation and educational components, doesn't qualify as a Canada 150 project.

"I am, as a Canadian, saddened that this is forgotten... I would like to hear government say there isn't value to this project," she said. "I still have bills to pay and I'm not going to leave communities in the lurch... We certainly feel that there's still the ability for them (INAC) to work with us, or other government departments."

With 35 of 98 stops unfulfilled on the tour calendar, including many in Nunavut, McClure said she is researching seasonal weather trends in the north Baffin communities beyond mid-August because, even if government funding materializes, cooling conditions may scuttle air shows that far north.

Either way, McClure said she's met "some amazing new friends" while travelling North of 60.

"I consider myself fortunate to have been in many of those communities," she said.

"We're very proud of what we've done."

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