Mayor Ben Hendriksen and Inuvik Mayor Peter Clarkson said a new formal partnership signed today will allow for a “unified northern voice” on Arctic sovereignty and security for the two Northern hubs. The two leaders said that the collaboration seeks to advocate for their respective communities but also for people across the territory, in anticipation of a national agenda looking north.
The signing of an MOU between the city of Yellowknife and the town of Inuvik took place this afternoon in council chambers with members of the press in attendance.
Stephen Van Dine, Yellowknife’s city manager, said the agreement marks a “shared commitment” towards “advocacy” on behalf of Northerners.
“This MOU that will be signed today, creates a partnership for a joint advocacy on Arctic sovereignty and security, defence, infrastructure investments and economic development, making sure that both communities benefit from growth and strategic investments in the North. It’s a forward looking agreement that positions our municipalities as partners in shaping the future of the North,” said Van Dine.
With both cities functioning as military hubs of the North, the signing of the agreement represents a formal cooperation between Yellowknife and Inuvik to jointly coordinate planning for dual-location defense operations.
“By creating a memorandum of understanding agreement, to be able to share information, especially the fact that we’re both Northern operational Support Hubs for the Department of National Defence and the fact that we also represent a lot of the citizens of the Northwest Territories. So, whenever we can work together, we benefit the people of the Northwest Territories,” said Mayor Clarkson.
Mayor Hendriksen reflected that with the federal government turning its focus northward towards economic and Arctic sovereignty, the work of partnerships across municipalities and across levels of government becomes increasingly critical for Northern communities.
“This MOU says that the government of Canada investment in Arctic security infrastructure sovereignty in Northern communities must include partnerships of the municipalities. Investments announced in the federal budget such as the creation of the Arctic infrastructure Fund, recognise the importance of strong Northern communities.”
Mayor Henriksen and Inuvik Mayor Clarkson emphasized their partnership will focus on advocating for strategic military and defense investments.
The leaders said the partnership will help to co-ordinate infrastructure planning, knowledge sharing, and “defence readiness.“
Another priority named is aimed at economic benefits, within Yellowknife and Inuvik but also broadly across the territory, said Mayor Hendriksen.
“We’ll ensure Northern Communities benefit economically while managing growth responsibly.”
The agreement also pledged to “ align” development projects with “community values, the environment and traditional land use.”
While it’s unclear how the city would “ensure” economic benefits to the community, Mayor Clarkson says any infrastructure projects coming to the territory would add to each respective community’s tax base through the granting lieu of taxes which would be paid by the feds for additional infrastructure projects.
The federal budget includes a number of funding allocations related to Arctic security spending, which could be used to build infrastructure.
“There’s definitely some infrastructure for potential highways, future highways in in or roads to the Arctic Coast and the Mackenzie Valley within the federal budget, but there’s also lots of other money in the DND (Department of National Defence) pot for example and that’s a lot of the development that we’re going to see at the Northern Operational Support Hubs or the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) modernisation, will come from those pots and those pots are even bigger,” said Mayor Clarkson.
“And then there’s other pots of funding that are with other departments within the federal government that will also help support some of these infrastructure development and Arctic security, Arctic sovereignty efforts,” he added.
Mayor Hendriksen said the agreement with Inuvik allows for them to be “active partners” with other levels of government in “shaping the future of the Arctic.”
“By aligning our planning, advocacy, and development priorities, we can turn strategic investments into tangible benefits for residents and strengthen the North for generations to come.”
Earlier this week, territorial leadership noted the federal budget had allocated funding opportunities for research related to Arctic security.
On Tuesday, following the federal announcement, Premier RJ Simpson said that the North will see “Arctic research, cold weather testing,” opportunities “come to fruition in the coming years, as the creation of the BOREALIS – a research national defence agency moves forward.
The premier said the budget extends funding for creating research centres in the North.
The partnership between Yellowknife and Inuvik will allow for more knowledge sharing and communication between communities across the N.W.T, said Mayor Clarkson.
“We can be a lot stronger by working together. We’ll understand what DND is planning on doing in Yellowknife. They’ll understand what DND and NORAD is doing Inuvik – because of its location which is on the Arctic Coast and also as far west as it is, with anything that may be going on in the Baltic Sea. So I think just sharing that information keeps us both informed and keeps the rest of the territories informed also.”
Mayor Clarkson said the MOU conveys their commitment to “strengthening the North” by bringing communities together, giving them a “strong voice” to be part of guiding the future of the North.
Mayor Hendriksen said this partnership could lead to more partnerships across the North and beyond.
“There’s always opportunities for relationships like this. I think it’s important to recognise this is the first time we’re doing something like this,” he said.
“Speaking from the city of Yellowknife’s perspective as the capital city of the Northwest Territories, I think we can always do more to connect with other communities and other territories and other provinces across the country,” added the mayor.
