The federal government is investing $2.1 million in economic development in the Beaufort Delta and Sahtu regions of the Northwest Territories in Inuvik April 5.
Three Inuvik organizations will receive portions of the funding.
Inuvik's Children First Society will receive $230,000 for a new biomass boiler and solar heating system in its building.
Samantha McKay/NNSL photo
Executive director Patricia Davison said the funding will hopefully save the centre $30,000 annually, and $750,000 over the projected lifespan of the systems.
"We're saving the environment and we're saving money," Davison said. "It's helping the children stay warm and safe, and we're role modeling to the children how to save the environment."
The federal contribution of $114,000 will be added to $28,910 from the Nihat Corporation to do a feasibility study on the potential for expanding commercial fishery activities in the Mackenzie River Delta Region.
Nihat Corporation president Jozef Carnogursky hopes the study will help bring local fish options to Inuvik.
"If you go into Northmart here, you won't find any local fish," Carnogursky said. "We are hoping that this project will help gear toward providing local fish to people."
Aurora College will receive $26,722 to improve the Western Arctic Research Centre's educational garden.
Pippa Seccombe-Hett said the educational garden would not have been possible without the funds provided by CanNor.
"The goal of this garden is to highlight the traditional uses of plants found in the Mackenzie Delta region," said Seccombe-Hett. "Using traditional knowledge from both the Inuvialuit and the Gwich'in, we see that plants are not just scenery, they are food, fuel, tools, medicine and more."
The funding announcement was made by Liberal MP Michael McLeod at the Children's First Society on behalf of Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and minister for CanNor.
"Being here reminds us of all of our purpose – not only to support and celebrate homegrown solutions to uniquely Northern challenges, but to seek out and seize opportunities for the development of sustainable, sensible and innovative ways to move our communities forward," said McLeod.
Eight other projects designed to improve community infrastructure and provide for foundational commercial planning will be funded in Deline, Fort Good Hope, Fort McPherson, Norman Wells, Tulita and Ulukhaktok.