The Inuvialuit Group of Companies revealed in April that its businesses had accumulated robust earnings of $66 million for 2023.
The includes operations under the umbrella of the the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Inuvialuit Investment Corporation and the Inuviatluit Petroleum Corporation.
"These returns are primarily from the group's diversified investment holdings and our growing businesses throughout southern Canada," a news release stated.
This resulted in a distribution payment of $1,088.69 to 4,956 enrolled beneficiaries, equating to $5.4 million. All told, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation has now disbursed more than $67 million to beneficiaries since its inception in 1984 with the remainder "reinvested for future generations."
The Inuvialuit Development Corporation has business interests in aviation, construction, national defence, gas services, consumer goods and manufacturing.
New identity
Prosper NWT became the new name of the NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC) in February.
Through its five subsidiaries, the organization generated $800,000 in sales in 2022-23, helped to support 80 arts and crafts producers and was responsible for the equivalent of 10.3 full-time jobs in several communities. Prosper North injected $200,000 into Fort McPherson Tent and Canvas, $100,000 into the Ulukhaktok Arts Centre, $100,000 into Dene Fur Clouds in Fort Providence and $50,000 into Acho Dene Native Crafts in Fort Liard. There was no indication of any financial aid for Arctic Canada Trading Co., it's other subsidiary venture.
The territorial government is projecting that Prosper North will finish 2024-25 with $7.2 million in revenues but will have close to $7.8 million in expenditures, for a deficit of $578,000, a deeper hole than the $60,000 deficit from 2023-24.
Renewable energy project
The Tlicho Investment Corporation will install a renewable energy generation and storage unit at the Colomac Gold Project, 200 km north of Yellowknife.
The two-year initiative will cost an estimated $774,543, with $619,625 of that coming from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor), it was announced May 29.
In addition to purchase and installation of solar infrastructure, staff training will be provided on how to operate and maintain the unit with expertise from Solvest Inc.
The solar panels are expected to last 25 years while the batteries have a 15-year lifespan. The Tlicho Investment Corporation calculates that 51,000 litres of diesel (or 138 tonnes of carbon dioxide) will be saved for project owner STLLR Gold, formerly known as Nighthawk Gold.
Camp management extension
Det'on Cho Corporation's Bouwa Whee Catering extended its agreement to supply camp management services at Rio Tinto's Diavik diamond mine. The announcement came in December.
Bouwa Whee offerings janitorial services, housekeeping and catering at the mine site, which is slated to close in 2026.
More good news came for Det'on Cho, the economic development arm of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, in April when the corporation was named one of Canada's "most admired corporate cultures" by Waterstone Human Capital.
That was followed by accolades from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business in late May. That organization chose Det'on Cho as its 2024 Aboriginal Economic Development Corporation of the Year. The award recognizes a development corporation’s “profound work and ability to increase the prosperity and sustainable economic development of entire communities,” according to the council's website.
Det'on Cho employees close to 300 people in industries such as logistics, construction, environmental services, transportation, waste removal, mining services, camp management and aviation and seven fully-owned subsidiaries.