IQALUIT, Nunavut (July 06, 2005) -
Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Member of Parliament for Nunavut, on behalf of the Honourable Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Minister of State (Northern Development), today announced the awarding of four contracts totalling $31.8 million to remediate two Nunavut contaminated sites under the responsibility of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Contracts were awarded for camp construction and remediation of former DEW Line Sites, CAM-F and FOX-C. Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, an Inuit owned firm, was awarded both the camp construction and remediation contracts for FOX-C worth over $16 million. The $4.5 million camp construction contract for CAM-F was awarded to another Inuit firm, Mikim Contracting Ltd, while Biogénie S.R.D.C. Inc. of Quebec was awarded the $10.4 million remediation contract for CAM-F.
"This is good news for Nunavut," said Nancy Karetak-Lindell. "It means that Inuit firms will play a large role in these projects and Nunavummiut will benefit through job creation and, ultimately, a stronger economy."
Minister Blondin-Andrew agreed. "The awarding of these three-year contracts shows the Government of Canada's commitment to take action on federal contaminated sites. Projects like these will go a long way towards furthering our commitment to the North and improving the quality of life of Nunavummiut."
The contracts for the camp construction were nationally and publicly advertised under the Procurement Set-Aside for Aboriginal Business (PSAB) program. The PSAB program aims to increase the number of Aboriginal firms participating in the federal procurement process and makes it easier for the Government of Canada and Aboriginal firms to do business with each other. Competitions set aside for Aboriginal businesses also promote subcontracting to Aboriginal firms and encourage joint venture opportunities.
The firms bidding on the remediation contracts were evaluated on the amount of Inuit employment guaranteed. Qikiqtaaluk Corporation will maintain an 88 per cent level of Inuit employment and Biogénie S.R.D.C. Inc. will maintain 63 per cent during the life of the contract.
Both CAM-F and FOX-C were DEW Line Sites that closed in the late 1960's. The primary contaminant of concern at both sites is polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) materials. The PCBs are in the building paints, and the buildings at both sites contain litter and soils contaminated with hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada completed the last phase of an environmental assessment program at the sites in 2004, which included a review of all previous assessment and clean up activities, field investigations, barrel collection, computer modelling of the results and development of an engineering plan for clean-up. Several community consultations were undertaken with nearby communities to incorporate local knowledge into the clean up plans.
FOX-C is located on the east coast of Baffin Island, approximately 240 kilometres
northwest of Qikiqtarjuaq and 260 kilometres south of Clyde River. CAM-F
is located on the Melville Peninsula between Foxe Basin and Committee
Bay in Nunavut. Both FOX-C and CAM-F were identified as priority sites
for remediation in 2003 under the Federal Contaminated Sites Accelerated
Action Plan.
The contracts were awarded by Public Works and Government Services Canada,
Western Region, on behalf of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Background information on both CAM-F and FOX-C are available online at
www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nu/nuv
For more information, please contact:
Maria O'Hearn
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Nunavut
(867) 979-7954
ohearnm@inac.gc.ca
Brian McLeod
Qikiqtaaluk Corporation
(867) 979-8400
Yvan Pouliot
Biogenie, General Manager for Northern Projects
1 800 267-4422
Thomas Webster
Mikim Contracting Ltd
(867) 979-5544
