The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) is investing over $300,000 to support development of the Base for the Beaufort Strategic Plan Phase II – Offshore Support Services Strategy. The Strategy will identify the activities and investments necessary in local infrastructure to support offshore oil and gas exploration in the region. This plan will identify how to align businesses, infrastructure, human resources and equipment to position Tuktoyaktuk and the region to meet the needs of anticipated offshore oil and gas exploration projects.
Building upon Base for the Beaufort Phase I, which examined infrastructure requirements, Phase II will examine marine support capacity at Tuktoyaktuk and expanded research activities for Inuvik's Aurora Research Institute.
The Strategy will examine:
- the region's physical environment (harbour capacity, erosion concerns, geology);
- Tuktoyaktuk and regional infrastructure (energy supply, waste management capacity, structural development options);
- economic opportunities (business development, training, potential government revenues); and
- oil containment capacity, staff training and development.
In addition, the project will analyze data from Phase I, including comparing existing infrastructure assets to the needs of industry, specify how to fill the gaps and develop a "Base for the Beaufort" management structure. The final Strategy is expected to be complete in 2014.
This investment is made possible through CanNor's Community Economic Opportunities program (CEOP) and the Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development (SINED) program . CEOP and SINED are two of several economic development programs within CanNor. CanNor is responsible for coordinating and delivering Canada's economic development across the North, and for related policy development, research and advocacy.
