Today, the Honourable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for PrairiesCan and Minister responsible for CanNor, announced investments of more than $2.4 million, delivered by CanNor, to support three fisheries projects in Nunavut.
This investment is through CanNor's Inclusive Diversification and Economic Advancement in the North (IDEANorth) program and Northern Aboriginal Economic Opportunities Program (NAEOP). IDEANorth makes investments in economic infrastructure, sector development and capacity building to help position Northerners in the territories to take advantage of Canada's innovation economy. The program focuses on four priority areas: economic growth and sector development; business scale-up, productivity and innovation; small-scale economic infrastructure development; and foundational economic infrastructure.
NAEOP is divided into two funding streams. The Community Readiness and Opportunities Planning (CROP) program works to improve the economic development capacity of Indigenous communities and increase economic development in the three territories. The Entrepreneurship and Business Development (EBD) Program assists Indigenous entrepreneurs and Indigenous businesses through project-based support for activities that help facilitate the establishment or growth of Indigenous businesses.
Fisheries Research in Support of Industry Development in Nunavut $1,200,000
CanNor is investing $1,200,000 towards a two-year project, with additional support coming from the Government of Nunavut, the Nunavut Fisheries Association, the National Research Council and the World Wildlife Fund. Total funding for the project is $3,300,000. Funding is being used to continue advancing the knowledge of Nunavut's fisheries industry to levels comparable to other regions in Canada. The project will monitor current fisheries stock to ensure sustainability, test new technologies, explore the feasibility of identifying new species for commercial harvesting, and to research and test different practices to reduce the environmental impacts of catching unwanted fish and other marine creatures and trawling.
Advancing Nunavut Fisheries and Sealing Economies $1,140,000
CanNor is investing $1,140,00 towards a three-year project with additional funding coming from the Government of Nunavut, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Ocean Tracking Network, the Seals and Sealing Network, the Arctic Fisheries Alliance, and Baffin Fisheries. Total funding is $3,771,540. The project will advance Nunavut's fisheries economy and contribute to its growth by increasing data available for the Greenland Halibut and Arctic Char fisheries, along with reducing how much unwanted fish and other marine creatures are caught. It will provide community fishermen with training so they can develop and operate small-scale fisheries. It will also increase market access for sealing products through the development of digital marketing strategies and promotional campaigns.
Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium $100,000
CanNor invested $100,000 towards this one-year project with additional funding coming from the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium (NFMTC), the Arctic Fisheries Alliance, Pangnirtung Fisheries, and the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation. Total funding for the project is $200,000. The funding allowed NFMTC to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to review short-term and long-term priorities as well as design and develop a mentoring program to help Inuit employed within the fisheries sector to further develop their skills to prepare them for technical and management positions.
