The Nihtat Gwich’in Council is receiving federal funding worth $1.5 million over three years to help its members prepare to make the most of coming military spending.
Economic development agency CanNor announced the funding this week.
Inuvik, where the council is based, is expected to benefit from some $5 billion in defence procurement over the next decade or two, though how much of that spending will be local is an open question.
CanNor said its grant to the Nihtat Gwich’in would create a Nihtat Operations, Readiness and Training Hub – conveniently abbreviated to “North” – that “prepares local Gwich’in suppliers and workers for procurement and employment associated with anticipated defence activity.”
North will provide “practical supplier and bid readiness, procurement and document management processes, cybersecurity readiness, and targeted skills training in Inuvik,” a CanNor news release continued.
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The announcement comes as the Department of National Defence prepares to hold a public meeting in Inuvik on Tuesday, April 21 about its plans for major investment in the region.
Nihtat Gwich’in President Kelly McLeod said the North program will “ensure that Nihtat businesses and Nihtat participants are well positioned to engage in, support, and benefit from ongoing and future economic activity in the North.”
The Nihtat Gwich’in Council is investing $375,000 in the program.
