Tourism, film industry, CKLB get federal cash

Tourism initiatives, film industry marketing, Indigenous-language radio, and a carbon-neutral building are all highlighted in CanNor’s latest funding announcement.

The federal government said it was investing $2.7 million in “a strong and resilient” NWT economy as it recapped a range of projects funded by its northern economic development agency.

Some of that funding has already been spent; some was more recently awarded.

Almost two-thirds of the cash will go to NWT Tourism to bolster the funds at its disposal when marketing the territory to potential visitors. Another $200,000 chunk will help attract film productions to the NWT.

A separate project receiving more than $300,000 in federal cash, largely focused on the NWT’s francophone community, will help tour operators and entrepreneurs. There was also $122,000 for workshops designed to foster Indigenous cultural tourism projects.

In full: CanNor explains the projects being funded

$54,000 was spent determining “how to transform an unused wellness centre in the Beaufort Delta into a Gwich’in Indigenous Cultural Experience Retreat,” and just over $100,000 – in partnership with Tides Canada – on “feasibility and planning work for the Northern Centre for Sustainability, which will be the first carbon-neutral building in Canada’s North.”

CKLB, the territory’s Indigenous-language radio station, receives more than $250,000 in federal support to upgrade its broadcast infrastructure and stay on the air in northern communities.

Programs in Yellowknife to support female entrepreneurs will receive $125,000.