Thank you. Merci. Qujannamiik.
[Witness spoke in Inuktitut and provided the following translation:]
My name is Jimi Onalik. I'm the president of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, or CanNor.
I would like to thank you for inviting me. I have recently completed my six-month anniversary in the federal system, and this is my first opportunity to appear before the committee. I'm incredibly honoured to be here.
I'll start by giving a brief introduction on the mandate of CanNor and its role in the north, on this, our really important 15th anniversary as an organization.
Like other regional development agencies, CanNor is responsible for promoting economic development within a distinct region of Canada—in this case, Canada's three beautiful territories. Through the delivery of targeted funding, CanNor is working to enhance the resiliency of the territorial supply chain and create conditions for growth and job creation.
The north represents 40% of Canada's land mass and is significantly distanced from the normal supply chains that support businesses and trade in southern Canada. Northern communities and remote resource projects are serviced principally by long-haul air transportation year-round and a short ship-based sealift season during the open water months. While the Yukon and the Northwest Territories do have a road network, it is limited and costly to haul goods long distances, especially in regard to resource sector products such as mineral ore.
Economic development in the north is further challenged by a sparse and widely distributed population, significant infrastructure deficits and high operational and energy costs. Headquartered in Iqaluit, Nunavut, CanNor's core responsibility is to support the conditions for a sustainable, diversified and innovative economy in collaboration with northern and indigenous partners.
With a portfolio in 2023-24 of over $77 million, CanNor has a strong suite of funding programs, such as inclusive diversification and economic advancement in the north, or, as we call it, IDEANorth, which will distribute over $29 million this year to projects that bring strategic support to small-scale infrastructure as well as sector development and business scale-up.
Much like the broader economic contributors in our respective regions, the projects supported by IDEANorth can vary dramatically in scope and size, such as CanNor's investment of close to $500,000 for the Town of Hay River in the Northwest Territories to plan and design a new business park to provide needed space for business. This project is leveraging Hay River as a transportation hub for critical minerals and freshwater fish available from the nearby Great Slave Lake fisheries.
Targeted CanNor investments helped northern businesses weather the pandemic impacts on our supply chains while maintaining or increasing our export potential. For example, CanNor provided funding to the Yukon free shipping initiative alongside the Yukon Chamber of Commerce, which offered free shipping for Yukon products to make their way to markets within Canada and overseas.
CanNor can also play a role as a ground-level investor for generational infrastructure projects. We have contributed over $4.5 million since 2019 to support feasibility studies of the Kivalliq hydro-fibre link.
CanNor's northern project management office, or NPMO, is similarly unique among our colleagues in the RDAs, the regional development agencies, in its role of supporting efficient environmental review processes for proposed resource development and infrastructure projects in the territories. Much of Canada's mineral resource potential lies in the territories, including critical minerals essential to Canada's economic and Arctic security and the transition to a low-carbon economy. This is primarily driven by the mining sector, which is the largest private sector contributor to the territories' economies, accounting for 23% of GDP in 2020 and increasing to well over 28% this year.
The north has a lot to offer our Canadian economy. The north is open for business and eager to break into new markets, both domestically and abroad.
I'm very happy to address any questions you have.
Thank you. Qujannamiik. Merci.