International Trade committee  It's definitely a part of the conversation. I know we've been working with several companies that are looking to scale up in modular housing. The current sealift system is not really set up to handle modular in that way. It's really exciting. I think the opportunity for us to leverage what's already been committed—what's already in the plan—and get things built faster and get things built is probably less money and more coordination.

International Trade committee  We've been working a lot with the territorial partners who have a lot of the infrastructure responsibilities to handle food inspection and to make sure that meat plants are export-capable. We've been working behind the scenes to support their work in that area.

International Trade committee  It's a resource-based project with a community proponent. The regional Inuit association was previously trying to bring this project to fruition; they've now partnered with an exploration company. I think the goal is this: The closer you get road or rail to northern communities, the better it is for everybody.

International Trade committee  The season is growing. I think it was last year when we saw a Woodward tanker in Iqaluit in December. That was a first. I think the real opportunity with the Churchill option is with the mine construction going on and the Government of Nunavut's plan to increase the amount of housing constructed.

International Trade committee  No. We have a very structured environment. The Nunavut Impact Review Board, for example, within Nunavut, is able to apply a broader socio-economic lens. There is the opportunity. The role that CanNor plays is convening the federal family to take part in these assessment processes, and it's definitely a lens that we want to find ways to bring to the table.

International Trade committee  My previous hat was as secretary to cabinet in the Government of Nunavut. I have a bit of trauma from that experience. We were the target of two major cyber-attacks. We worked really closely with the CSE and the RCMP. It's one area where highlighting the vulnerabilities and ensuring that people have literacy around cybersecurity are incredibly important.

International Trade committee  Qujannamiik. CanNor is in the proponent development business, and so many of these projects need to have a capable, strong proponent. To lead very complex infrastructure in the north is incredibly hard to do, so we see ourselves as being there to equip often smaller indigenous organizations to do that early engineering and early scoping work to be able to get to a point where we have a viable proposal to look at.

International Trade committee  Qujannamiik. I would agree that it's a major consideration that a few years ago you might not have had to consider. One of the strengths of the resource development environment in the north is local control and local autonomy over a lot of decision-making. The point we were trying to make is that these are considerations that small communities need to consider as they make decisions about adjacent projects.

International Trade committee  I've been incredibly thankful. Before my role in my current position in the federal government, we've seen a dramatically increased presence of the RCMP, CSIS and other organizations meeting with communities and individuals to raise the issue. I think that's been a healthy dialogue there, for sure.

International Trade committee  I think that through the broader controls put in place by ISED and others, there are some safeguards there. My real worry is the advancement of projects that may or may not have economic reality to them and are raising expectations in communities and wasting time in a lot of ways.

International Trade committee  The mining industry plays a huge role in security in the north. We had a recent example of hunters lost on the land a week ago. It is mining company helicopters that are out there and mining employees who are there. The work that's under way right now to ensure that mining companies have a way to receive increased threat assessments from the Government of Canada and then have a place to respond to individual concerns is important.

International Trade committee  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.