Upcoming budget can advance nation-building green infrastructure and connectivity project in partnership with Inuit
Rankin Inlet, Nunavut – Nukik Corporation (Nukik) is pleased that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (Standing Committee) has included a strong recommendation in its pre-budget submission report that the Government of Canada ensure Budget 2023 allocates funding to the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link (KHFL).
The KHFL is the only infrastructure project mentioned as a stand-alone recommendation in the report, further reaffirming that this green intertie project, as Nunavut’s first infrastructure link to Southern Canada, is collectively viewed as a crucial undertaking for our nation.
The Standing Committee’s report, titled Responding to the Challenges of Our Time, specifically noted that Budget 2023 should “demonstrate support for the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link (KHFL), a nation-building green infrastructure and connectivity project, by allocating the required funds to the project’s development and construction.”
“We are pleased to see that the Standing Committee captured the critical importance of the KHFL, specifically as an Inuit-led project that will play a key role in meeting Canada’s climate action and Arctic sovereignty priorities,” comments Kono Tattuinee, President of the Kivalliq Inuit Association. “We are hopeful that the Government of Canada will show their commitment to the KHFL by acting on this important recommendation.”
The KHFL will provide clean, renewable power and fibre-optic internet capacity for the Kivalliq region for generations to come. As such, the project directly supports and addresses several recommendations in the Standing Committee’s report, including:
- advancing a zero-emission electricity grid,
- supporting net-zero projects,
- taking political action required for the fight against climate change,
- removing inter-provincial barriers for low-cost solutions that will drive economic growth, supporting workers’ skill transfer to participate in the national energy transition, and
- increasing investments in broadband and energy infrastructure in Canada’s remote and northern communities.
“A strong signal by the federal government in support of the KHFL in Budget 2023 is essential if Canada wants to capitalize on the immense opportunity ahead of us as a nation,” remarked Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin, Chief Executive Officer of Nukik. “Through the KHFL, the government can showcase that it is serious about creating the same social and economic opportunities to Inuit and Nunavummiut as the rest of Canada.”
Inuit leadership, with the support of the Government of Canada, have worked hard to advance the project to where it is today. A strong commitment from the federal government in Budget 2023 is needed to advance the project’s development and ensure the project remains on track to exceed Canada’s 2030 climate targets for the Territory.
About the Standing Committee on Finance
The mandate of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, which is established under Standing Order 108 of the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, is to examine and enquire into all matters referred to it by the House of Commons, to report from time to time and, except when the House otherwise orders, to send for persons, papers and records, as it operates in accordance with its mandate.
Certain standing committees, including the Standing Committee on Finance, are empowered to study and report on all matters relating to the mandate, management and operation of the department or departments of government that are assigned to them from time to time by the House. For the Standing Committee on Finance, these departments include the Department of Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency.
Finally, the Standing Committee on Finance also has the responsibility to consider budgetary policy, as outlined in Standing Order 83.1. In particular, commencing on the first sitting day in September of each year, the Committee is authorized to consider and report on proposals regarding the budgetary policy of the government. The Committee normally presents its pre-budget report no later than the third sitting day before the last normal sitting day in December, as outlined in Standing Order 28(2).
In each parliamentary session, the Committee’s work may include:
- pre-budget consultations;
- briefing sessions by departmental officials on federal programs;
- examination of planned expenditures of the Department of Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency;
- a review of Order in Council appointments;
- a review of Monetary Policy Reports of the Governor of the Bank of Canada;
- a review of the Minister of Finance’s economic and fiscal updates;
- consideration of proposed legislation;
- special studies on topics within the Committee’s mandate; and
- consideration of reports of subcommittees.
For more information, please contact:
Nukik Corporation