Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) - 2019-20 Departmental Results Report

Departmental Result: People and Communities Participate in the Economy in the Territories

CanNor is committed to working with its partners and stakeholders to build strong and economically sustainable northern communities for residents across Canada's territories. Recognizing the unique challenges facing these communities, many of which are small and remote, CanNor works with its community partners to identify optimal areas for investment. This includes supporting their participation in and benefitting from major projects occurring in their areas, fostering capacity and skills development at both the organizational and individual levels, and making investments to improve local infrastructure. CanNor delivers several programs that help communities create the conditions necessary for economic growth and development.

CanNor worked with Indigenous communities to increase their capacity to participate in and benefit from economic opportunities. In 2019-20, through the Northern Aboriginal Economic Opportunities Program’s (NAEOP) Community Readiness and Opportunities Planning (CROP) fund, CanNor was able to provide 35 Indigenous communities with approximately $6.4M to enhance economic infrastructure, increase employment, and improve conditions for community economic development. As funds can be transferred between NAEOP streams, less funds were spent on CROP than initially forecasted; the difference was allocated toward NAEOP business development funding as CanNor increased its support for Indigenous businesses.

For example, in the Northwest Territories, CanNor provided $240,000 to the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation for a business planning study as well as geotechnical, architectural, and engineering design work to develop a business, cultural, and tourism centre. The new centre is intended to support artisan craft sales, tourism product development, and training opportunities in an area that will function as a gateway to the Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve. In Nunavut, CanNor provided over $50,000 to the Nunavut Economic Developers Association to deliver a three-day training conference on community economic development. The conference allowed the Association’s officers to strengthen their core competencies and receive instruction that will assist them with economic development activities in their home communities. In the Yukon, CanNor invested over $600,000 to Yukon First Nation Wildland Fire Limited Partnership (YFNWF), composed of eight First Nations partners that provides training, employment, and contracting of fire-related support services. This funding will go towards the cost of purchasing equipment and materials to undertake new contracts in fire suppression-related support services , as well as improved YFNWF’s business and project management capacity so that it can grow into a more robust and sustainable business.

In 2019-20, CanNor continued to deliver the Northern Adult Basic Education Program (NABEP), an education support program designed to help Northerners receive targeted training so they can participate more fully in the labour market. NABEP is delivered through the three tertiary educational institutions in the territories: Aurora College, Nunavut Arctic College, and Yukon University. CanNor provided $4.5M to these institutions in 2019-20 to deliver an enhanced and culturally appropriate curriculum that responds to the needs of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Northerners, increasing the availability of skilled labour across the territories.

In 2019-20, CanNor launched the Northern Isolated Communities Initiative (NICI) to support food security in territorial communities. This program is strengthening regional food systems in the North, reducing food insecurity and seeking out creative solutions to nutritional challenges. This initiative supports investments in northern small- and medium-sized enterprises, territorial governments, and community organizations pursuing food security-related projects.

In Nunavut, CanNor worked to increase the supply and safety of country food by providing over $405,000, in 2019-20, to the territorial government in order to develop and implement a web-based country food trade system. The project will support and facilitate grassroots trade in country food in five Inuit communities, while also addressing concerns related to harvesting and trade such as the conservation of food stocks, monitoring, accountability, food handling and packaging safety.

Announced in Budget 2019, the Canadian Experiences Fund (CEF) supports communities across Canada as they create, improve or enhance tourism products, facilities and experiences. CEF focuses on growing tourism in priority areas such as Indigenous, rural and remote communities, and expanding tourism offerings in both winter and summer. CEF is one component of the Government of Canada's commitment to support the tourism sector through the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy. In 2019-20, CanNor's CEF allocation was $1.7 million across the territories. In the NWT, CanNor provided $300,000 of this funding towards the construction of a campground in the Hamlet of Fort McPherson. This project is intended to capitalise on the increased traffic created by the completion of the all-season highway from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk.

Under a multi-year funding agreement, CanNor is investing in the construction of a Regional Training Centre in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, which is expected to be operational in fiscal year 2023-24. This project is aligned with the Government of Canada’s commitments under an Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, which was signed in support of the establishment of the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area. In 2019-20, CanNor invested $500,000 for the completion of feasibility studies and pre-construction readiness activities (e.g. user needs assessment, plans, options, technical drawings, efficiencies and alignment with other infrastructure initiatives in Pond Inlet) and a business plan (i.e. financial sustainability options to cover ongoing maintenance, operation and recapitalization costs) for the Regional Training Centre. Funding in 2020-2023 will support the construction of the facility.

Departmental Result: Businesses are Developing in the Territories

CanNor supported the growth and expansion of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the North. The Agency achieved this objective by providing training, advisory services, and dynamic and flexible contribution programs for businesses and communities. These programs support capacity building and ultimately encourage a competitive and diverse northern business sector with a strengthened capacity for innovation.

The Inclusive Diversification and Economic Advancement in the North (IDEANorth) program is CanNor’s largest funding program and the Agency’s primary tool for delivery on its northern economic development mandate. It replaces the Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development (SINED) program named in the Departmental Plan to better align, advance, encourage and support broader economic opportunities as well as the specific economic and business needs of each territory. IDEANorth aims to help foster the conditions for long-term sustainable economic development in the North by strengthening territorial economic diversification and innovation, as well as Northerners’ ability to take advantage of economic opportunities. Through this program, in 2019-20, CanNor provided $22.6M to 64 projects, including six infrastructure projects. These projects supported a variety of northern industries and businesses, and ranged from knowledge products to multipurpose infrastructure and clean energy projects.

In 2019-20, CanNor provided over $1M through IDEANorth to the Kivalliq Inuit Association to conduct a technical and feasibility study to develop a hydroelectric and fibre-optic link between the province of Manitoba and the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. This project has the potential to improve the economic viability of current and future mining projects, encourage further mineral exploration in the Kivalliq region, and create new opportunities through the introduction of reliable clean power and broadband.

CanNor also provided approximately $850,000 to the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium to expand and enhance its training facility in Hay River, NWT. This project is expected to lead the training of 200 students within the first two years after its implementation, helping to meet demand for qualified crew within the fishing industry. In the Yukon, CanNor provided over $500,000 in 2019-20 to the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, as part of a two year $1M contribution, to be used toward the construction of a solar farm in Old Crow. Old Crow does not have road access, and consequently, diesel fuel to power the community’s three generators must be flown in regularly. The solar farm will reduce local reliance on diesel fuel, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide economic benefits including job creation over the life of the project.

Through NAEOP's Entrepreneurship and Business Development (EBD) fund, CanNor provided over $4.3M to four Alternate Service Delivery partners, which in turn supported Indigenous businesses across the territories. These Alternative Service Delivery partners are third party Indigenous service providers with direct linkages in northern communities. CanNor’s financial support afforded these Indigenous service providers with greater capacity to assist Indigenous entrepreneurs, businesses and commercial entities to continue to cultivate a culture of entrepreneurship and increase the number of sustainable Indigenous businesses.

In 2019-20, for example, CanNor provided $1.1M in EBD funding, over $300,000 in service delivery and $750,000 to increase their ability to provide equity capital, to the Kakivak Association, an Alternate Service Delivery partner in the Qikiqtani Region of Nunavut. In recent years, including 2019-20, the Kakivak Association has overseen an unprecedented demand for economic development funding within the Qikiqtani Region. The firm has capitalized on its understanding of the North’s unique challenges and opportunities to foster economic opportunity, and many of the Kakivak Association’s clients are Indigenous-owned small businesses.

This Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan was introduced as a vehicle to foster new partnerships to leverage Canada's innovation strengths to bridge the gaps from science, to commercialization, to investment and scale up. Under this plan, the ISED Portfolio fosters Canadian businesses’ capacities to respond to today’s challenges and opportunities, strengthens their competitiveness on the global stage, and creates a culture of innovation. The Portfolio is implementing inclusive growth policies to ensure that all Canadians can access the jobs, skills and learning necessary to participate in the innovation economy.

Since 2018-19, ISED, in partnership with the regional development agencies (RDAs) across Canada, has operated the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program. This program supports business growth and innovation, and helps regions to diversify, with the purpose of building stronger and more innovative communities across Canada. Regional Development Agencies deliver this program through two mutually-reinforcing streams: the "business scale-up and productivity" stream that supports businesses at various development stages to accelerate their growth, help them scale-up, and enhance their productivity and competitiveness in both domestic and global markets; and the "regional innovation ecosystems" stream, which helps communities build inclusive regional ecosystems conducive to innovation, growth, and competitiveness.

In 2019-20, CanNor provided $4.6M to 19 projects through REGI: $4.2M to 11 projects through the business scale-up and productivity stream, and $422,000 to 8 projects through the Regional Innovation Ecosystem stream. In Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, CanNor provided over $67,000 through REGI to the Kitikmeot Chamber of Commerce in order to fund a pop-up business resource centre. This centre is expected to increase the number of trained and mentored first-time business owners, facilitate business expansion and job creation, and improve access to resources and networking in the region. In the Yukon, CanNor provided $70,000 to the non-profit Yukonstruct Society to develop a market validation program to support new and growing Yukon companies and entrepreneurs. In this program, Yukonstruct will take cohorts of businesses and entrepreneurs through a series of in-person and online workshops and courses to give them focused skills that will move their business idea from conception through to development and commercialization.

Launched in 2018 and led by ISED, the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) is a comprehensive, whole-of-government plan totalling nearly $5 billion in federal investments to help women grow their businesses through access to financing, talent, networks, and expertise. As part of WES, the Government of Canada created the $30 million Women Entrepreneurship Fund (WE Fund) which provided 32 women-owned and led businesses with federal contributions of up to $100,000. The WE Fund helps these businesses invest in activities which focus on scaling up, growing or expanding their businesses, and/or expanding to new markets. In addition, the Government of Canada created the $85 million WES Ecosystem Fund to help non-profit third-party organizations deliver support for women entrepreneurs and address gaps in the ecosystem, based on collaborative program design and a regionally-focused delivery model that leverages the Regional Development Agencies. Priority areas for this investment include, but are not limited to, initiatives to support women in traditionally underrepresented sectors; supplier diversity programming that targets women entrepreneurs; incubator and accelerator programs; networking, matchmaking, and mentorship opportunities; and initiatives to support the participation of diverse and underrepresented women in entrepreneurship. In 2019-2020, there were 52 total recipients under the WES Ecosystem Fund, with seven national projects and 45 regional projects.

As an ISED portfolio organization, CanNor worked alongside the other RDAs to deliver WES. In 2019-20, CanNor contributed $757,000 toward seven projects through WES. This included over $338,000 to the Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada to facilitate a consultation and engagement process to identify the economic needs and priorities of Inuit women. This initiative is expected to promote economic opportunity and development through the Inuit Women in Business Network. In addition, in Carmacks, Yukon, CanNor supported female entrepreneurship through $100,000 in non-repayable funding to the Carmacks Hotel. This funding is being used to expand the hotel’s product offerings, facilitate office renovations, and train management and staff.

Departmental Result: Efficient and Predictable Environmental Review Process in the Territories

The resource development sector in the North is a major driver of economic growth in the territories, and fosters growth in other sectors including communications, energy and transportation infrastructure, and commercial services. In 2019, the value of mineral production in the North was $3.3 billion: $1,818 million in the Northwest Territories, $1,316 million in Nunavut, and $170 million in the Yukon . At CanNor, the Northern Projects Management Office (NPMO) works with industry, northern governments, communities, Indigenous groups and other partners to promote resource development across the territories, supporting economic growth and long-term prosperity for northerners and all Canadians.

The NPMO works to facilitate the environmental review process for proposed major resource development and infrastructure projects in the territories. NPMO has a mandate to improve the timeliness, predictability and transparency of northern regulatory processes to foster a more stable and attractive investment climate. In 2019-20, through NPMO, CanNor coordinated the Government of Canada's participation in six territorial environmental assessments: three in the Yukon, one in the Northwest Territories, and two in Nunavut. CanNor coordinated these assessments and, in doing so, contributed to their successful completion within the legislated timelines. The Agency also maintained the crown consultation record for these assessments. NPMO facilitated approximately 100 interactions within the three territories between Indigenous governments and groups, project proponents, foreign investors, chambers of commerce, industry stakeholders, territorial departments, and federal departments.

In the Northwest Territories, for example, NPMO provided guidance to the Giant Mine Remediation Project Team on the Crown’s duty to consult with Indigenous rights holders. In the Yukon, NPMO undertook a number of coordination activities for the Faro Mine Remediation Project, and in Nunavut, NPMO coordinated federal participation in a series of hearings/sessions regarding Baffinland Iron Mines’ proposal to expand production.

Pilimmaksaivik

CanNor hosts Pilimmaksaivik, the Federal Centre of Excellence for Inuit Employment in Nunavut. Pilimmaksaivik is responsible for coordinating a whole-of-government approach to building a representative public service in Nunavut, including meeting its obligations under Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement. Pilimmaksaivik does this by reducing barriers for recruitment, designing and delivering cultural competency training, and coordinating workplace wellness activities.

Pilimmaksaivik operates the Inuit Learning and Development Program (ILDP), a pre-employment and job training initiative aimed at helping Nunavut Inuit develop skills for potential jobs in the federal public service in Nunavut. In 2019-20, Pilimmaksaivik trained its third cohort of ILDP students, including the first cohort of students in the program’s new Science Stream.

Throughout the year, Pilimmaksaivik also continued to provide cultural and wellness support to Inuit employees across the Government of Canada via one-on-one counselling sessions.

Pilimmaksaivik oversees the Education Support Fund which provides financial support to Inuit employees pursuing educational attainment in post-secondary studies that correlate with Government of Canada positions in Nunavut as well as the Sivuliqtiurnmut Ilinniarniq: a Leadership training initiative that provides Inuit with competency development to prepare them to take on Supervisory or Manager level employment, a key area for which Inuit are underrepresented.

In 2019-20, Pilimmaksaivik undertook outreach activities in eleven Nunavut communities and aided in the placement of six Inuit students in federal Departments and Agencies across Nunavut. In March 2020, for example, Pilimmaksaivik hosted the Ikajukqatigilauqta Career Fair in Iqaluit, through which it reached out to over 800 community members, including 350 high school students, and built connections between 30 exhibitors, 6 post-secondary institutions, and the local community.