Today, Vice President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), Paul Irngaut; Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu; Nunavut Minister of Health, John Main; and Member of Parliament for Nunavut, Lori Idlout, turned tundra on the future site of Aqqusariaq as part of a ground-breaking (“tundra turning”) ceremony. Aqqusariaq is an $83.7 million treatment and recovery centre, with $42.1 million in funding from the Government of Canada and $41.6 million from the Government of Nunavut. In addition, NTI provided $5 million towards the overall costs of the project and $11.8 million through the Makigiaqta Inuit Training Corporation to train Inuit counsellors. Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) will also provide $9.7 million per year in annual funding towards the costs of operating the centre.
Please be advised that Mr. Paul Irngaut, Vice President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, as well as the Honourable John Main, Minister of Health of Nunavut, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, will make an announcement regarding the construction of Aqqusariaq in Iqaluit.
Please be advised that the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, will visit Northwestern Ontario.
On this National Indigenous People’s Day, Ulkatcho First Nation held a ground breaking ceremony to launch the construction of the Ulkatcho Mercantile Store and Gas Station, a future business and commercial centre along Highway 20, Anahim Lake (IR 14A). The project is an Ulkatcho First Nation initiative intended to create jobs and promote revenue growth for the community. The new development will include a commercial building with a covered gas-dispensing area, a separate diesel-dispensing area for trucks, an aboveground storage tank for gas and diesel, rest areas for cars, semi-trailers, and electrical vehicle charging stations.
There is an urgent, unmet need for adequate and affordable housing for Indigenous People in urban, rural and northern areas and immediate action must be taken to address these housing gaps.
Please be advised that the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, and Jeff Loucks, Chief Executive Officer of the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Inc. (NICHI), will announce funding towards affordable urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing projects.
In 2019, the Government of Canada made a commitment to work with First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners to close infrastructure gaps by 2030. As part of this commitment, ISC worked in partnership with the Assembly of First Nations, along with input from regional First Nations, to update the School Space Accommodation Standards (SSAS) in a two-phased approach.
