Strengthening the assets available in their own community took a giant leap forward on Wednesday.
A pair of projects, one a social enterprise and the second an economic development initiative will receive funding of $900,000 for their respective work from the governments of Newfoundland Labrador, the Federal Government and Nunatsiavut for two projects, including a youth-led social enterprise and an economic development conference to promote products and services in Labrador.
Torngat Mountains MHA Randy Edmonds kicked off the announcement at the Expo Labrador conference by pledging $235,572 from the provincial government for the SmartICE Sea Ice Monitoring & Information Inc. project.
The federal money, coming from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) announced $660,000 by Labrador MP Yvonne Jones, from ACOA’s Innovative Communities Fund for SmartICE.
An additional $20,000 came from the Labrador North Chamber of Commerce and Government of Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe pledged $50,000.
“In creating a technology production centre in Nunatsiavut — a first for Inuit Nunangat—SmartICE is demonstrating that social enterprise and innovation will succeed in Canada’s North,” Dr. Trevor Bell, founder/director of SmartICE said Wednesday following the announcement.
“SmartICE technology not only benefits Inuit youth who will assemble it, but also the safety and well-being of communities across Inuit Nunangat who rely on safe ice travel in a changing Arctic,” he added.
SmartICE is an award-winning social enterprise that works in partnership with communities, academia, industry and government to provide a near real-time sea ice monitoring and information service that blends Inuit traditional knowledge with state-of-the-art technology.
“The Inuit of Nunatsiavut and northern Labrador are closely connected to the land, sea and ice, and have observed the environmental changes in the north for many decades,” Edmonds said.
“By combining state-of-the art technology with the knowledge and experiences of the people who live in the north, the SmartICE project will help us better predict the conditions of sea ice and make it safer for people to travel on,” he added.
Learn more online:
SmartICE - www.smartice.org
Social Enterprise Action Plan - www.tcii.gov.nl.ca/innovation/pdf/TWFSocialEntActionPlan.pdf
The Way Forward – thewayforward.gov.nl.ca
Through this investment, it will commercialize its SmartBUOY prototype instrumentation for measuring sea-ice thickness and establish a technology production centre in Nain to be operated by trained Inuit youth.
“Sea ice has helped define us as a people. It’s a part of our cultural identity, which is why we often refer to ourselves as Sikumuit, or people of the sea ice,” Lampe said.
“SmartICE, which combines traditional Inuit knowledge with new and emerging technologies, will ensure Inuit are better equipped to adapt to impacts of climate change on our traditional way of life. The initiative is also having a social and economic impact in our region, by engaging youth and creating employment opportunities,” he added.
ACOA funding for the Labrador North Chamber of Commerce helped it to market and host the 2018 Expo Labrador Conference and Trade Exhibition which will wrap up Thursday (June 28) in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
This annual event provides a venue for knowledge transfer for delegates and raises local, national and international awareness about the products and services available within Labrador.
“These are smart investments in Labrador which recognize the potential in this region’s business community and in our traditional Indigenous culture. SmartICE Sea Ice Monitoring and Information Inc. is creating positive community change and a sustainable entrepreneurial approach to the delivery of sea ice information services,” Jones said.
“Inuit youth will learn to use new technology to complement the Inuit knowledge of sea ice acquired over thousands of years of observation and use. Expo Labrador is the preeminent conference in central Labrador and benefits all Labradoreans,” she added.
These investments will support the region by helping ensure everyone has the jobs, skills and learning to seize new opportunities and succeed in a growing innovation economy.
“As the region’s leading resource development event, Expo Labrador has long been a catalyst for economic growth in such sectors as energy, mining, tourism, and many others through a program of information exchange, networking opportunities and unique Labrador hospitality,” Sterling Payton, president of the Labrador North Chamber of Commerce said.
“We appreciate ACOA’s continued support, which has been key to Expo Labrador’s success since inception,” he added.
