Investment and Action with Canada in Tuktoyaktuk’s Shoreline Mitigation Project
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation is pleased to see significant work starting, with the cooperation and effort of Canada, to protect a critical portion of Tuktoyaktuk’s shoreline from erosion due to climate change.
An investment of more than $53 million in the project was announced in July 2023 under Canada’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
The project will start on a portion of shoreline in the community of Tuktoyaktuk and extend to Tuktoyaktuk Island, which is on Inuvialuit private lands 7.1(A) in the next year.
“The Inuvialuit Settlement Region is disproportionately affected by climate change; this touches everything from how our homes are built to how we maintain our traditional hunting and fishing. This funding is an important step – and along with the research being done by our Inuvialuit Science and Climate Change Department – will allow us to tackle some of the effects of climate change.”
Duane Smith, IRC Chair and CEO.
Material for the project is currently being gathered from an Inuvik quarry site. Clearing the area and shoreline in Tuktoyaktuk for the anticipated work has just started. We expect upcoming, open community meetings to be advertised by the engineers and contractors to be well attended in order to answer any questions the community will now have about this work.
Climate change is causing threat to community infrastructure and we know our lands are and have been our livelihood in this region. IRC appreciates the acknowledgement by Canada of currently felt and increasingly severe climate change impacts, and Canada’s real investment and action to support the work Inuvialuit continue to do from time immemorial in protecting our lands and communities.
IRC sees this work as a positive example of Canada’s commitment under and in signing the IFA, our shared land claim of almost 40 years.
“It is fantastic to hear of the work starting on the shoreline mitigation project, as it is an important part of Canada’s commitment to coastal protection and making it possible for Inuvialuit to stay in their homes in Tuktoyaktuk for longer. Through this initiative, we are not only preserving the regions lands, but ensuring a sustainable future for the community amid environmental challenges.”
Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories, on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
– 30 –
Photo credits: Allen Kogiak and David Obie Anikina
For media inquiries, please contact communications@inuvialuit.com or 867-777-7000.
About the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation Established in 1984 to manage the settlement outlined in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA), Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) represents the collective interests of Inuvialuit in and beyond the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR). The IRC works to continually improve the economic, social, and cultural wellbeing of the Inuvialuit through the implementation of the IFA and by all other available means.