WEBVTT 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:03.069 Welcome to Drumbeats, the must -listen -to podcast 00:00:03.069 --> 00:00:05.710 which explains why Indigenous partnerships are 00:00:05.710 --> 00:00:08.710 the key to securing successful outcomes in natural 00:00:08.710 --> 00:00:11.050 resource and infrastructure investment in Canada. 00:00:12.769 --> 00:00:15.210 I'm Mark McNack and my co -host Robert Brandt 00:00:15.210 --> 00:00:17.589 and I are joined today by Brendan Bell, Chief 00:00:17.589 --> 00:00:19.929 Executive Officer of West Kitikmiat Resources 00:00:19.929 --> 00:00:23.190 Corporation. Brendan is here to discuss one of 00:00:23.190 --> 00:00:25.489 the most strategically significant infrastructures 00:00:25.489 --> 00:00:28.390 in development in northern Canada. the Grays 00:00:28.390 --> 00:00:31.510 Bay Road and Port Project located in Nunavut. 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:37.070 This project spans 230 kilometers and includes 00:00:37.070 --> 00:00:39.750 the construction of a deepwater port on the Arctic 00:00:39.750 --> 00:00:42.969 coastline. With an estimated cost exceeding $1 00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:46.229 billion, it represents a major advancement for 00:00:46.229 --> 00:00:49.649 Arctic security, Canadian sovereignty, and regional 00:00:49.649 --> 00:00:52.950 economic resilience. Brendan highlights how this 00:00:52.950 --> 00:00:54.810 initiative is not merely about infrastructure. 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:57.719 It's about transforming the high cost of living 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:00.439 in the North, generating long -term employment, 00:01:00.579 --> 00:01:03.460 and opening up economic opportunities for remote 00:01:03.460 --> 00:01:06.859 communities. It also aligns with NATO priorities 00:01:06.859 --> 00:01:09.200 and the broader federal interest in securing 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:14.819 Canada's Arctic frontier. Brendan Bell, the CEO 00:01:14.819 --> 00:01:18.879 of West Katikmiut Resources Corp. Welcome to 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:20.640 Drumbeats. Thanks for taking the time to join 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:24.000 us. Yeah, thanks, Rob. Mark, thanks for having 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.609 me. Welcome. Pleasure to have you on, Brendan. 00:01:29.329 --> 00:01:32.870 So perhaps, Brendan, for our listeners, why don't 00:01:32.870 --> 00:01:35.150 you tell everyone where you're from, how you 00:01:35.150 --> 00:01:37.069 end up in the place you are now, and you can 00:01:37.069 --> 00:01:41.409 also share where you are. Sure. I'm a Canadian, 00:01:41.530 --> 00:01:44.650 of course. I've spent most of my life in northern 00:01:44.650 --> 00:01:47.049 Canada. And so for your listeners and viewers, 00:01:47.349 --> 00:01:49.189 a place called the Northwest Territories, the 00:01:49.189 --> 00:01:51.230 capital of the Northwest Territories is Yellowknife. 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:54.829 A little bit of notoriety and fame because diamonds 00:01:54.829 --> 00:01:57.969 were discovered, Not so long ago in the Northwest 00:01:57.969 --> 00:02:00.390 Territories, it became quite a producer on the 00:02:00.390 --> 00:02:03.689 international scene. Most of my life spent in 00:02:03.689 --> 00:02:06.930 northern Canada. I'm in British Columbia today, 00:02:07.069 --> 00:02:09.789 but our project is focused on the Arctic coast. 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:14.169 So for listeners between Alaska in the west and 00:02:14.169 --> 00:02:17.389 Greenland, which we all well know where Greenland 00:02:17.389 --> 00:02:20.189 is these days, in the east, we're almost smack 00:02:20.189 --> 00:02:23.889 dab in the middle, in the Katikmit region of 00:02:23.889 --> 00:02:26.729 Notavut. Nunavut in the Northwest Territories 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:29.789 used to be one territory. We're divided not so 00:02:29.789 --> 00:02:32.530 long ago, several decades ago. And now we've 00:02:32.530 --> 00:02:35.289 got effectively Northwest Territories in the 00:02:35.289 --> 00:02:38.969 West and Nunavut in the East. Really interesting 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:41.930 background. Imagine growing up in the North. 00:02:41.990 --> 00:02:46.830 Do you have an Indigenous background or you just 00:02:46.830 --> 00:02:49.250 had the benefit of growing up in the North? I 00:02:49.250 --> 00:02:52.270 don't. I'm non -Indigenous, but my family moved 00:02:52.270 --> 00:02:54.990 north first to the Eastern Arctic, to Iqaluit, 00:02:55.110 --> 00:02:56.849 which was in those days called Probisher Bay, 00:02:57.050 --> 00:02:59.110 and then west to Yellowknife, where I grew up. 00:02:59.169 --> 00:03:01.449 I went to university in southern Canada, but 00:03:01.449 --> 00:03:04.150 my life and my career has been in northern Canada. 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:07.409 So, you know, a northerner. For sure. What a 00:03:07.409 --> 00:03:10.330 special perspective you have that, you know, 00:03:10.349 --> 00:03:13.650 most Canadians do not. Well, look, it's a wonderful 00:03:13.650 --> 00:03:17.400 place in our country, which is, you know. Needs 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:19.939 more eyeballs, needs more attention, needs more 00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:22.300 investment. But look, the people are the best. 00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:25.659 They're hardy people. They're resilient people. 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:30.340 And look, they're proudly Canadian and want to 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:32.800 do their part to defend this nation and make 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:35.460 sure that we protect our sovereignty. So it's 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:38.560 a wonderful part of the country to be from. And 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:41.020 to try and put some of that in perspective, Brendan, 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:46.199 Nunavut is... combine the area is about the size 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:50.479 of Mexico, as I understand it, but with a population 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:56.139 of 40 ,000 or so. Yeah, that's about right. You 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:58.960 know, not a lot of infrastructure, a number of 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.520 communities, but smaller communities. A capital 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:03.680 in Iqaluit used to be called Frobisher Bay on 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:06.639 Baffin Island. I'm going to probably make a mistake, 00:04:06.699 --> 00:04:08.240 but I would say it's somewhere in the neighborhood 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:11.419 of, you know, 9 ,000 people these days. I lived 00:04:11.419 --> 00:04:14.379 there as a youngster before moving west to the 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:16.660 Northwest Territory, so I was in Iqaluit between 00:04:16.660 --> 00:04:20.279 1980 and 1983. It was much smaller in those days, 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:22.620 but after division, it became the seat of government 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:25.480 for the east, and it's grown immensely since 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:30.060 then. And the Grays Bay Road and Port Project 00:04:30.060 --> 00:04:36.500 that we'll get into discussing a bit later is 00:04:36.500 --> 00:04:39.790 on the... Tongue of the prime minister, it seems, 00:04:39.930 --> 00:04:42.170 and everybody else these days because of Arctic 00:04:42.170 --> 00:04:45.670 security issues and other issues. But to step 00:04:45.670 --> 00:04:49.949 back a bit, your own, how did you end up at West 00:04:49.949 --> 00:04:53.610 Katikmia Resources? Yeah, it's a bit of a long 00:04:53.610 --> 00:04:57.410 and winding story. I'll give you a bit the abridged 00:04:57.410 --> 00:05:00.910 version. But, you know, I got into politics as 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:03.709 a youngster after university in southern Canada. 00:05:03.769 --> 00:05:06.939 I came home. Started a business, got the political 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:09.620 bug and ran for the territorial legislature. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:13.959 Eventually became Mines and Energy Minister at 00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:16.759 a time when the McKenzie Gas Project, some listeners 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:20.620 will maybe be aware and remember the dueling 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:23.379 pipeline debate in Canada and Alaska between 00:05:23.379 --> 00:05:26.339 Enbridge and TransCanada, who both had projects 00:05:26.339 --> 00:05:29.329 to get gas to the lower 48. I was the energy 00:05:29.329 --> 00:05:32.930 minister charged with trying to work with our 00:05:32.930 --> 00:05:35.889 groups in the Northwest Territories to advance 00:05:35.889 --> 00:05:40.170 our project. Ultimately, economics ruled, as 00:05:40.170 --> 00:05:42.569 they often do, and both projects were shelved. 00:05:43.209 --> 00:05:46.610 But it was a chance for me to really get out 00:05:46.610 --> 00:05:50.629 and get some exposure, some attention, be immersed 00:05:50.629 --> 00:05:53.389 in some of these larger resource issues. Ultimately, 00:05:53.410 --> 00:05:56.110 when I left politics, I got back into or got 00:05:56.110 --> 00:05:59.920 into mining. And after a number of years, became 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:02.420 the CEO of a company called Dominion Diamonds. 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:06.259 It had been the co -discoverer of the Dyvec diamond 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:11.019 mine. We were a publicly traded company, NYSE 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:13.639 and TSX listed, a number of our shareholders 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:17.600 in London. And we were non -operating partner 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:20.620 of the Dyvec mine, which was operated by Rio 00:06:20.620 --> 00:06:23.040 Tinto. And we purchased the Acadie mine from 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.160 BHP Billiton. For several years, I was the CEO. 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:28.420 Ultimately, it was taken private by the Washington 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:31.459 family. I stayed on as an independent board director 00:06:31.459 --> 00:06:36.319 for a while, but later found was approached by 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:39.740 the Inuit of Nunavut, Western Nunavut, and some 00:06:39.740 --> 00:06:42.040 folks in the Northwest Territories about helping 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:45.139 them assemble some capital and a management team 00:06:45.139 --> 00:06:48.300 that would pick up some of their very interesting 00:06:48.300 --> 00:06:50.420 gold properties that just happened to be along 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:52.600 this future infrastructure corridor. It was an 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:55.000 opportunity I wasn't going to pass up. And so 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.660 we started life as a junior explorer looking 00:06:57.660 --> 00:07:00.019 to advance some of our gold projects, which I 00:07:00.019 --> 00:07:01.980 think your listeners will be aware don't particularly 00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:04.699 need a lot of infrastructure. And that's why 00:07:04.699 --> 00:07:06.620 gold mines and diamond mines in this part of 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:10.300 the world have been developed. Base metal mines, 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:13.120 for the most part, haven't. So we had gold projects 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:17.199 in this infrastructure corridor. But, you know, 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:20.779 within very early days, the federal government 00:07:20.779 --> 00:07:23.079 and the community had asked us if we would become. 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:26.379 the proponent for the infrastructure project, 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:28.899 take over effectively the federal funding, bring 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:31.300 some of our own and advance through permitting 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:33.920 and design this infrastructure corridor that 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.579 sees a port at Grays Bay and a road that ultimately 00:07:37.579 --> 00:07:40.480 connects to the, crosses the border into the 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:42.720 Northwest Territories and down into the national 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:45.560 highway system. A couple of things. When did 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:49.639 this Grays Bay project first start when you said 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.589 the federal government asked you to? your organization 00:07:52.589 --> 00:07:55.649 to kind of pull it all together? We're only a 00:07:55.649 --> 00:07:58.769 couple of years in into the role of proponent, 00:07:58.810 --> 00:08:02.250 but this is not a new idea, a new project. It's 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:05.050 been on the books for decades. It's had several 00:08:05.050 --> 00:08:07.889 different routings. The last proposed approach 00:08:07.889 --> 00:08:10.009 or the initial proposed approach would go to 00:08:10.009 --> 00:08:12.470 a place called Bathurst Inlet, which is more 00:08:12.470 --> 00:08:15.370 inland in Nunavut, so not on the Northwest Passage. 00:08:15.629 --> 00:08:18.230 But ultimately, that was considered for a number 00:08:18.230 --> 00:08:20.740 of years. local people were concerned about its 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:24.600 proximity to caribou calving uh grounds so that 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:27.319 the the preferred rooting was shifted to the 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:29.379 west and it is the route that we're currently 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:31.800 permitting which ends up at at gray's bay on 00:08:31.800 --> 00:08:35.779 the northwest passage so uh two years for me 00:08:35.779 --> 00:08:38.039 uh two and a half years involved in in the infrastructure 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:40.580 project but this is something that was uh was 00:08:40.580 --> 00:08:42.980 first talked about in the in the 70s and 80s 00:08:42.980 --> 00:08:44.879 and in this part of the world has had various 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:47.019 different iterations but really now finally has 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:50.120 What we feel is some wind and sails and a good 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:53.200 a good push now to get get to to completion and 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:56.700 get this thing built. So wind in the sails. What's 00:08:56.700 --> 00:08:58.980 happened? I mean, a lot's happened. But what 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:03.179 what are some of the instigators to, you know, 00:09:03.179 --> 00:09:06.700 raise Gray's Bay project back up to the priority 00:09:06.700 --> 00:09:09.620 list? Well, look, a number of not so good things. 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:12.220 Maybe I'll take one step back and say that, you 00:09:12.220 --> 00:09:13.700 know, a number of us have been talking about 00:09:13.700 --> 00:09:16.570 these NATO commitments. And Canada coming up 00:09:16.570 --> 00:09:19.590 short and suggesting that really this lack of 00:09:19.590 --> 00:09:21.710 northern infrastructure was an opportunity if 00:09:21.710 --> 00:09:24.230 Canada would focus on investing in the north. 00:09:24.389 --> 00:09:27.690 Most of these projects have multi -user dual 00:09:27.690 --> 00:09:30.509 purpose at least, typically mining or energy 00:09:30.509 --> 00:09:33.990 and defense or security function. So we've been 00:09:33.990 --> 00:09:37.950 making the case and trying to convince people 00:09:37.950 --> 00:09:41.370 that this would be a good objective to invest 00:09:41.370 --> 00:09:43.370 in infrastructure in this part of the world. 00:09:44.169 --> 00:09:47.090 By the way, check that NATO 2 % box. You know, 00:09:47.110 --> 00:09:48.710 in many respects, we've been overtaken by events 00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:51.149 on that front. But I would say about a year ago, 00:09:51.289 --> 00:09:54.230 this became pretty interesting. Obviously, the 00:09:54.230 --> 00:09:57.129 attention now on Greenland and a recognition 00:09:57.129 --> 00:10:00.409 that, you know, Canadians, if we're serious about 00:10:00.409 --> 00:10:02.409 being a northern country, are certainly going 00:10:02.409 --> 00:10:05.269 to need to pull our weight and do more in this 00:10:05.269 --> 00:10:06.990 part of the world. So, you know, probably the 00:10:06.990 --> 00:10:09.769 last six months and certainly with the recent 00:10:09.769 --> 00:10:13.350 election. This was a key issue through the three 00:10:13.350 --> 00:10:16.250 main parties in Canada all had Grays Bay in their 00:10:16.250 --> 00:10:19.169 platform, recognizing that this checked a number 00:10:19.169 --> 00:10:21.330 of boxes, including, you know, Indigenous ownership 00:10:21.330 --> 00:10:25.110 and leadership, ultimately security and sovereignty 00:10:25.110 --> 00:10:26.990 function in a place that's very, very important 00:10:26.990 --> 00:10:30.789 and increasingly important with warming and climate 00:10:30.789 --> 00:10:33.830 change and the opening up of the Northwest Passage. 00:10:33.830 --> 00:10:38.009 So, yeah, we are on the move now. You know, we 00:10:38.009 --> 00:10:40.789 talked to our small employee team. You know, 00:10:40.789 --> 00:10:42.710 it's every day a new opportunity seems to pop 00:10:42.710 --> 00:10:45.210 up and we've got a bit of a tiger by the tail. 00:10:45.309 --> 00:10:47.690 But, you know, as the farmers say, you make hay 00:10:47.690 --> 00:10:50.250 when it's sunny. And so that's what we're attempting 00:10:50.250 --> 00:10:52.590 to do here, get as far down the track as we can 00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:56.629 and ultimately see this project built. Tell us 00:10:56.629 --> 00:10:59.370 a little bit about the Indigenous ownership angle 00:10:59.370 --> 00:11:03.230 to this project. And who is Wes? Take me up. 00:11:04.049 --> 00:11:06.429 Yeah. Yeah, well, maybe let's start with the 00:11:06.429 --> 00:11:08.309 philosophy. I think early days in development 00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:10.690 in Canada and certainly in northern Canada, there 00:11:10.690 --> 00:11:13.049 was a recognition that indigenous involvement 00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:17.049 would be important. But if this is on a spectrum, 00:11:17.409 --> 00:11:19.710 it was off on the one end where we were talking 00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:22.330 about maybe jobs and benefits and some cash flow 00:11:22.330 --> 00:11:26.529 streams, you know, quite far away from the notion 00:11:26.529 --> 00:11:29.269 of ownership. But in the last number of years, 00:11:29.370 --> 00:11:30.970 I think it's been recognized that if you really 00:11:30.970 --> 00:11:33.629 want to align shareholders, stakeholders, ownership 00:11:33.629 --> 00:11:36.159 is the key. And so you see this debate playing 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:39.019 out in southern Canada with respect to pipelines 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:41.500 that cross a number of different First Nations 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:43.799 traditional territories. I think everybody can 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:45.700 now understand and recognize that without ownership, 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:48.100 these projects just won't proceed. And we felt 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:50.980 the same way in the north for probably longer. 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:55.139 We tend to lead on these issues, you know, probably 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:58.379 for reasons, you know, ranging from the fact 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:01.519 that indigenous people in Nunavut are more than 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:04.830 certainly almost 80 percent. I think of the population 00:12:04.830 --> 00:12:06.450 in the Northwest Territories, it's more like 00:12:06.450 --> 00:12:09.929 50%. But certainly they have a lot of influence. 00:12:10.110 --> 00:12:12.529 They have a lot of influence politically. And 00:12:12.529 --> 00:12:14.230 it's long been recognized that they are the owners 00:12:14.230 --> 00:12:15.850 of the land and should be the owners of these 00:12:15.850 --> 00:12:18.309 and developers of these projects. So it's not 00:12:18.309 --> 00:12:21.210 as if this had to occur to us in the last several 00:12:21.210 --> 00:12:24.929 years as it's become a topic of lots of discussion. 00:12:25.389 --> 00:12:27.750 We've understood this for an awfully long time. 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:30.950 So when I was CEO of Dominion Diamonds, We had 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:33.509 a number of relationships with impacted groups 00:12:33.509 --> 00:12:36.389 in the region, one of which were the Kitikmeet 00:12:36.389 --> 00:12:38.830 Inuit, who are up north of the mine and on the 00:12:38.830 --> 00:12:42.529 coast. They provided a number of employees, saw 00:12:42.529 --> 00:12:45.529 a revenue stream, saw their businesses put to 00:12:45.529 --> 00:12:48.889 use and to work at the mine. But always I had 00:12:48.889 --> 00:12:50.789 the belief that if we were going to take this 00:12:50.789 --> 00:12:53.570 to the next step, Indigenous ownership was the 00:12:53.570 --> 00:12:55.830 requirement. And that was sort of the deal that 00:12:55.830 --> 00:12:58.909 got me back involved in mineral exploration. 00:12:59.169 --> 00:13:01.000 I wasn't sure that... that I would come back 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:03.480 to that. But the fact that the Katicma and Inuit 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:05.980 wanted to advance their own vehicle, recognized 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:07.720 that they'd missed out on a number of opportunities 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:09.980 over the years, wanted to maintain a healthy 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:12.200 ownership, recognized in raising money there 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:15.360 would be some dilution, but a healthy, chunky 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:17.460 ownership in this project is key for moving it 00:13:17.460 --> 00:13:20.919 forward. And that's what we've set out to do 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:24.860 and achieve. So back to that question, I probably 00:13:24.860 --> 00:13:27.720 should let viewers know there's a public government 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:31.190 in Nunavut. And in the legislature in Iqaluit, 00:13:31.350 --> 00:13:34.370 most of the members of the legislative assembly 00:13:34.370 --> 00:13:38.230 are Inuit. But there's also an Inuit level of 00:13:38.230 --> 00:13:40.250 governance that stems out of the land claim. 00:13:40.330 --> 00:13:43.309 There are regional Inuit authorities, three of 00:13:43.309 --> 00:13:45.950 them in Nunavut, and we belong to the westernmost 00:13:45.950 --> 00:13:50.009 group, the Kitikmiit. So, west -east, it goes 00:13:50.009 --> 00:13:53.049 Kitikmiit, Kivalik, and then into the Baffin 00:13:53.049 --> 00:13:55.970 for the easternmost people in the territory. 00:13:57.019 --> 00:13:59.299 The Katikmead Inuit are effectively our largest 00:13:59.299 --> 00:14:01.820 shareholder through a vehicle that they've created. 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:04.899 So the regional Inuit authority or the people 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:08.279 of the Katikmead region own the largest chunk 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:12.820 of West Katikmead resources. What sort of investment 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:18.700 to bring Grays Bay Road and Port Project to fruition 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:22.820 are you looking at? Yeah, so that's a great question 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:25.759 with probably still more questions than answers 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:27.830 at this point. As you know, we're in the middle 00:14:27.830 --> 00:14:30.990 of permitting and design, doing a lot of scoping 00:14:30.990 --> 00:14:34.110 work. And so I can tell you that in the past, 00:14:34.129 --> 00:14:36.149 there has been a scope and a budget put to this 00:14:36.149 --> 00:14:41.210 project with probably at that point $2018. If 00:14:41.210 --> 00:14:44.049 we take our project, which again is just a port 00:14:44.049 --> 00:14:47.629 on the Northwest Passage and a road 230 kilometers 00:14:47.629 --> 00:14:50.470 to a place called Jericho Station, it would then 00:14:50.470 --> 00:14:52.350 be connected into the Northwest Territory. So 00:14:52.350 --> 00:14:55.120 let's call this the Northern Phase. We believe 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:58.159 that's north of a billion dollars Canadian. And 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.840 depending on the scope and the requirements that 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:03.700 the military or the Coast Guard might have, could 00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:05.980 be more than that. But at a minimum, we're talking 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:08.399 about a billion dollar Canadian investment for 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.159 the northern portion and several billion to get 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:14.039 all the way to the national highway system down 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:17.000 connecting to the capital of the Northwest Territories 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:20.419 in Yellowknife. This is an awfully long and large 00:15:20.419 --> 00:15:21.879 part of the world, as you pointed out at the 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:24.360 outset. hundreds of kilometers to get from grays 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:27.580 bay to uh to the national highway system and 00:15:27.580 --> 00:15:30.539 uh you know the cost to build in terms of a kilometer 00:15:30.539 --> 00:15:33.519 of construction for an all an all -season road 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:36.220 uh you know with with the kind of grade where 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:38.860 caribou are able to cross effortlessly you know 00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:40.639 it's probably these days three million dollars 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:44.100 canadian a kilometer um on fairly flat terrain 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:45.840 but it's an expensive part of the world a remote 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.899 part of the world to to construct and build so 00:15:47.899 --> 00:15:51.549 the numbers get get uh you know a little striking 00:15:51.549 --> 00:15:53.009 and incredible, really, when you think about 00:15:53.009 --> 00:15:56.230 it. But that's the cost of doing business in 00:15:56.230 --> 00:15:59.549 this part of the world. The engineering challenges 00:15:59.549 --> 00:16:02.730 of building in that part of the world, Brendan, 00:16:02.870 --> 00:16:07.450 are those... Yeah. I mean, for your listeners 00:16:07.450 --> 00:16:09.110 and viewers who are familiar with seeing the 00:16:09.110 --> 00:16:11.490 footage of pipelines going west in Canada through 00:16:11.490 --> 00:16:14.830 the Rockies or through these mountain ranges 00:16:14.830 --> 00:16:16.830 out to the West Coast, we don't have those same 00:16:16.830 --> 00:16:20.149 sorts of challenges. going north to south. We're 00:16:20.149 --> 00:16:21.929 not crossing mountain ranges, but we certainly 00:16:21.929 --> 00:16:27.190 deal with a shifting permafrost regime and sensitivity 00:16:27.190 --> 00:16:30.070 around caribou migration. And so the roads need 00:16:30.070 --> 00:16:33.110 to be built relatively flat without steep embankments. 00:16:33.230 --> 00:16:36.830 We need to use relatively small crush so that 00:16:36.830 --> 00:16:38.590 the caribou are able to cross without injuring 00:16:38.590 --> 00:16:40.629 themselves. And so there are a number of design 00:16:40.629 --> 00:16:42.809 considerations that raise the cost, but this 00:16:42.809 --> 00:16:48.450 is just absolutely a must do for us. So I would 00:16:48.450 --> 00:16:51.710 say that the larger consideration is permafrost. 00:16:52.370 --> 00:16:57.049 Lots of water crossings as well to get on the 00:16:57.049 --> 00:17:00.429 most direct route to the Arctic coast. And then 00:17:00.429 --> 00:17:02.889 at the port, different considerations, but it 00:17:02.889 --> 00:17:05.809 is naturally a deepwater harbour, which is why 00:17:05.809 --> 00:17:07.809 Grays Bay was chosen. There are very few of them, 00:17:07.809 --> 00:17:10.809 ironically, on the Arctic coast in this part 00:17:10.809 --> 00:17:13.430 of the world. Some are attached and on islands 00:17:13.430 --> 00:17:15.109 that don't attach to the mainland, so they're 00:17:15.109 --> 00:17:19.240 not as desirable. So, you know, it's one of a 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:22.920 few naturally endowed deepwater harbors would 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:26.019 not really require dredging to be able to accommodate 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:28.920 the wharf design that we proposed that would 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.960 be able to receive the largest ships in the Canadian 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:35.059 Navy, for instance, and, you know, large size 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:38.819 post Panamax bulkers that would move or concentrate. 00:17:39.019 --> 00:17:41.619 So the natural endowment is really the key in 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:43.680 terms of deepwater and the ability to put ports 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:46.259 here. But it doesn't mean that it's not expensive. 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:48.819 It will certainly be. Right. And just coming 00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:51.859 back to the description of the deep water port, 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:54.700 you talked about the Canadian Navy, which at 00:17:54.700 --> 00:17:57.240 the end of World War II was third or fourth largest 00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:01.039 in the world. Today, obviously not so much. What 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:04.700 other type of, you know, can it become a significant 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:09.519 defense outpost in terms of, you know, the North 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:13.829 American defense? NATO, would it be seen as an 00:18:13.829 --> 00:18:17.630 important deep water port for that or not so 00:18:17.630 --> 00:18:20.349 much? Well, no, certainly it could be. I mean, 00:18:20.390 --> 00:18:24.130 as I say, there really aren't, you know, naval 00:18:24.130 --> 00:18:25.769 installations in this part of the world, for 00:18:25.769 --> 00:18:27.410 one thing. There certainly aren't any that connect 00:18:27.410 --> 00:18:30.910 to the national highway system. So it's got all 00:18:30.910 --> 00:18:33.049 kinds of potential. It will really depend on 00:18:33.049 --> 00:18:36.750 D &D, on the prime minister, on security users 00:18:36.750 --> 00:18:39.829 to design exactly what they think the functionality 00:18:39.829 --> 00:18:42.289 should be. We're anticipating, you know, look, 00:18:42.369 --> 00:18:44.589 it's well known that Canada intends to purchase 00:18:44.589 --> 00:18:47.890 12 submarines, diesel electric subs, which would 00:18:47.890 --> 00:18:50.369 need to be able to tuck in here, one would presume. 00:18:50.390 --> 00:18:52.170 There's nowhere else on the Arctic coast that 00:18:52.170 --> 00:18:54.769 they would visit. So it's an awfully long way 00:18:54.769 --> 00:18:57.490 in Canada from Esquimalt on the west coast all 00:18:57.490 --> 00:19:00.690 the way up around Alaska down to Halifax. Somewhere 00:19:00.690 --> 00:19:03.809 in the middle seems like a logical place to tuck 00:19:03.809 --> 00:19:07.529 into. And we think that's Gray's Bay. But the 00:19:07.529 --> 00:19:09.789 only thing that you might not be able to bring 00:19:09.789 --> 00:19:13.390 in for ice reasons, even without the ice, for 00:19:13.390 --> 00:19:15.430 reasons of being able to park because they're 00:19:15.430 --> 00:19:17.589 too big, would be large aircraft carriers. Everything 00:19:17.589 --> 00:19:20.250 else could be accommodated. So I think it'd be 00:19:20.250 --> 00:19:21.990 an awfully long time before there's enough of 00:19:21.990 --> 00:19:24.230 an ice -free season that you'd bring aircraft 00:19:24.230 --> 00:19:26.390 carriers into this part of the world. But everything 00:19:26.390 --> 00:19:28.710 short of that can dock here. And then you talk 00:19:28.710 --> 00:19:32.069 about security. What are other Arctic countries 00:19:32.069 --> 00:19:38.099 doing? in this area? Are others building ports, 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:41.599 whether friends or foes? Yeah, well, look, that's 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:44.660 a great question. The people who've really driven 00:19:44.660 --> 00:19:48.519 this bulking up of infrastructure are, of course, 00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:50.940 the Russians. And to look at a circumpolar map 00:19:50.940 --> 00:19:54.240 and to see the dots of assets, a number of these 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:56.900 assets are being dusted off and refurbished post 00:19:56.900 --> 00:20:00.000 -Cold War here where they were closed down. So 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.920 the real activity... And, you know, the development 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:06.099 of things like ice breaking LNG ships, that's 00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:08.099 all been on the Russian side. We're seeing it 00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:10.400 now in Scandinavia. There's a bit of a scramble. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:12.759 Expect more activity, I believe, in Greenland. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:15.299 And so, you know, there's a bit of a race going 00:20:15.299 --> 00:20:17.019 on here. But certainly the Russians have been 00:20:17.019 --> 00:20:19.680 in the lead. And these these near Arctic states 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:23.480 are so so -called or, you know, aspirational 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:26.559 near near Arctic states like like China certainly 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:28.220 have developed ships that can make it through 00:20:28.220 --> 00:20:30.619 the Northwest Passage. And they're keen to. to 00:20:30.619 --> 00:20:34.119 get them out on tests. So yeah. Nuclear icebreakers. 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:38.480 Have we seen those? That's right. Yeah. And look, 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:40.039 I think the other thing that's coming that nobody's 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:41.819 really, you know, we're starting to think about, 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:44.279 but the Paul Martin government in Canada a number 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:47.339 of years ago made the decision that we were not 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:51.519 going to house ICBM interception sites on Canadian 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:53.900 soil. I think that, you know, that was the Canadian 00:20:53.900 --> 00:20:55.660 mood at the time, despite all the other NATO 00:20:55.660 --> 00:20:58.670 countries accommodating that functionality. I 00:20:58.670 --> 00:21:00.089 think probably we're going to have to revisit 00:21:00.089 --> 00:21:02.710 that. I imagine that that will be revisited. 00:21:02.789 --> 00:21:05.089 And these are the kinds of places that might 00:21:05.089 --> 00:21:07.410 be able to accommodate some of those interception 00:21:07.410 --> 00:21:10.289 sites in future. Again, look, impossible for 00:21:10.289 --> 00:21:11.809 me to know what the government will decide makes 00:21:11.809 --> 00:21:14.750 sense for some of these sites. But if I was in 00:21:14.750 --> 00:21:17.349 government, I would not be looking to build greenfield 00:21:17.349 --> 00:21:20.549 sites for that functionality if I had effectively 00:21:20.549 --> 00:21:23.289 mines that were closing down and could be taken 00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:27.000 over if I had ports. like Grays Bay, that were 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:28.759 being stood up. You'd think you would want to 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:33.140 make the best use of money and build some of 00:21:33.140 --> 00:21:35.119 that functionality in, but nobody has had that 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:37.319 conversation with us. We don't have a crystal 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:39.359 ball. We're just imagining where this might go 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:42.819 in future. How long do you think we'll have to 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:46.660 wait before we get some direction from the federal 00:21:46.660 --> 00:21:48.880 government? The new government have said they 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:52.380 want to identify nation -building projects to 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:55.640 prioritize. And we've all been waiting to see 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:58.960 which projects they identify. How long do you 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:02.019 think we'll be waiting for that? Well, there's 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:05.019 what we can see going on publicly with the narrative 00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:06.960 that there's a list and it's an ever -evolving 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:08.880 list and projects will come on and come off. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:10.799 I think that's probably right. But I've got to 00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:13.559 believe that there's a list already that's been 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:16.420 approved. I think in terms of when that information 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:20.079 becomes public, expect, I think, this summer. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:23.000 Anticipate that it probably happens before August. 00:22:23.450 --> 00:22:25.170 We've got a bit of a 30 -day clock, as you're 00:22:25.170 --> 00:22:28.509 well aware, between Canada and the U .S. here 00:22:28.509 --> 00:22:31.750 in terms of a discussion and an agreement, at 00:22:31.750 --> 00:22:35.430 least the construct for an agreement, I believe, 00:22:35.529 --> 00:22:38.230 between Canada and the U .S. on trade and security 00:22:38.230 --> 00:22:40.750 issues. I would not be surprised to see some 00:22:40.750 --> 00:22:45.269 of these Arctic projects and even border projects 00:22:45.269 --> 00:22:47.910 identified specifically in an agreement. Now, 00:22:47.930 --> 00:22:50.569 maybe that's too ambitious or too soon. Let's 00:22:50.569 --> 00:22:52.150 see. But I really don't think we're going to 00:22:52.150 --> 00:22:53.990 be waiting here months. I think we're talking 00:22:53.990 --> 00:22:55.789 weeks before we get some sort of an indication. 00:22:56.710 --> 00:22:58.970 Wow. Wouldn't that be great? That's the way to 00:22:58.970 --> 00:23:01.309 do infrastructure projects. Yeah. Look, and, 00:23:01.309 --> 00:23:04.089 you know, the political intention and the designation 00:23:04.089 --> 00:23:06.730 and the acknowledgement is one thing. You know, 00:23:06.730 --> 00:23:08.390 moving through the permitting and the design 00:23:08.390 --> 00:23:10.730 and in the way that it needs to be done in a 00:23:10.730 --> 00:23:13.589 respectful manner. You know, I think that that 00:23:13.589 --> 00:23:16.710 takes a little longer. Obviously, there's an 00:23:16.710 --> 00:23:18.710 effort to try to streamline projects and something 00:23:18.710 --> 00:23:21.569 that we're keenly aware of. It's not been attempted 00:23:21.569 --> 00:23:24.769 in the north. But truly, when we talk about two 00:23:24.769 --> 00:23:27.650 years or less to permit a project, effectively, 00:23:27.650 --> 00:23:30.349 we really started this a year ago and we probably 00:23:30.349 --> 00:23:33.990 have less or maybe two years left to permit this 00:23:33.990 --> 00:23:36.710 project in any event. So then it becomes about 00:23:36.710 --> 00:23:39.569 the financial commitments, what we refer to as 00:23:39.569 --> 00:23:42.869 offtake. So you can imagine the security users 00:23:42.869 --> 00:23:46.839 like D &D, or the Coast Guard providing a lease 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:49.640 commitment effectively to use the port. We can 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:53.039 take that to equity owners. We could take that 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:57.380 to debt providers and finance the project. So 00:23:57.380 --> 00:23:59.779 those are the key steps for us. I'm more focused, 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:01.940 quite honestly, on those financial steps than 00:24:01.940 --> 00:24:03.960 we are on the permitting, given that we've got 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.140 Indigenous ownership and this was a project conceived 00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:08.920 of and designed by the Inuit people of the region. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:11.619 We think ultimately it gets through that hurdle. 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:15.039 But it's the finance that is more of an issue 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:19.900 for us in the immediate term. Today, how far 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:24.200 out are you fully funded? We raised $21 million 00:24:24.200 --> 00:24:26.819 in grant from the federal government and had 00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:30.220 to match that. I had to provide a 25 % match. 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:32.859 So effectively, we've got $30 million we're working 00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:35.339 with that will get us through this initial stage 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:38.220 of permitting. But we're currently applying for 00:24:38.220 --> 00:24:41.200 additional funding to get us really effectively. 00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:44.539 almost up to pre -construction activities. So 00:24:44.539 --> 00:24:48.500 that would be on the current path, construction 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:52.839 in 2030. So there may be some things that can 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:55.740 be trimmed from that in terms of timeline, but 00:24:55.740 --> 00:24:57.980 we are funded for the next year and a half at 00:24:57.980 --> 00:24:59.960 this point and are currently applying for more 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:01.599 federal government to take us to the next step. 00:25:02.460 --> 00:25:04.940 I think you've got some experience with international 00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:08.970 finance, but can you see in... in your future 00:25:08.970 --> 00:25:13.130 a need to reach out beyond Canada for funding 00:25:13.130 --> 00:25:16.869 and for partners? Well, look, I absolutely believe 00:25:16.869 --> 00:25:21.130 that we will. Certainly, you know, and these 00:25:21.130 --> 00:25:24.029 days it feels very safe to be in Europe, to be 00:25:24.029 --> 00:25:25.890 in the UK, having those sorts of conversations. 00:25:26.650 --> 00:25:29.269 Maybe it's a little trickier, you know, south 00:25:29.269 --> 00:25:30.769 of the border at the moment, and we certainly 00:25:30.769 --> 00:25:34.569 are not looking to Asia. So, you know, it will 00:25:34.569 --> 00:25:37.240 be Canada and a European focus. With respect 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:40.559 to finance on this project anyway, at this moment 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:44.200 in time. It's really interesting, just the change 00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:48.640 in focus and you're from the north, right? And 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:51.119 most Canadians don't talk about north and south 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:55.339 Canada, sadly. But now all these conversations 00:25:55.339 --> 00:25:57.240 when you're talking about, you know, in the north 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:00.180 versus, you know, in the south of Canada, it 00:26:00.180 --> 00:26:02.299 reminds me a bit of being here in the UK when 00:26:02.299 --> 00:26:06.710 they have the road M1 going north. up to Scotland. 00:26:07.049 --> 00:26:10.430 And I think that will start to change in Canada 00:26:10.430 --> 00:26:13.609 and just people's perspective of Canada. Because 00:26:13.609 --> 00:26:15.809 for too long, it's been about, you know, the 00:26:15.809 --> 00:26:19.329 90 % of the population within 100 miles of the 00:26:19.329 --> 00:26:23.470 US border. And now there's this whole undiscovered, 00:26:23.470 --> 00:26:27.069 unknown to outsiders opportunity that Canada 00:26:27.069 --> 00:26:31.130 presents. And for the nature of Nunavut and Northwest 00:26:31.130 --> 00:26:32.650 Territories and the agreements that have been 00:26:32.650 --> 00:26:34.789 set there. It will be driven by the indigenous 00:26:34.789 --> 00:26:38.309 people. Yeah, that's absolutely right. I think 00:26:38.309 --> 00:26:40.809 most Canadians, if you ask them, would identify 00:26:40.809 --> 00:26:44.329 as a polar nation. And yet most Canadians live, 00:26:44.450 --> 00:26:46.430 as you say, within 100 miles of the U .S. border 00:26:46.430 --> 00:26:48.289 and have probably never visited northern Canada. 00:26:48.450 --> 00:26:49.890 Now, there are a number of very good reasons 00:26:49.890 --> 00:26:51.430 for that. I mean, it's incredibly expensive. 00:26:51.890 --> 00:26:54.029 I come back to the lack of infrastructure, but 00:26:54.029 --> 00:26:56.950 flights, even from Edmonton to Yellowknife or 00:26:56.950 --> 00:26:59.549 flights from Ottawa to the capital of Nunavut, 00:26:59.549 --> 00:27:02.450 Iqaluit, or even out west in the Yukon. When 00:27:02.450 --> 00:27:03.930 you talk about Vancouver to Whitehorse, these 00:27:03.930 --> 00:27:06.150 are incredibly expensive. So if you want to take 00:27:06.150 --> 00:27:09.529 your summer vacation, it's impossible to drive 00:27:09.529 --> 00:27:12.109 to Nunavut. So you're talking about packing up 00:27:12.109 --> 00:27:14.609 your family of four and spending a couple of 00:27:14.609 --> 00:27:17.269 thousand dollars each on airfares. Look, you 00:27:17.269 --> 00:27:21.569 can get to the UK for cheaper oftentimes from 00:27:21.569 --> 00:27:23.390 Toronto or Vancouver than you can to the north. 00:27:23.490 --> 00:27:25.529 And so I think that keeps a lot of Canadians 00:27:25.529 --> 00:27:28.509 from visiting. Hopefully that's changing. And 00:27:28.509 --> 00:27:31.369 I think Canadians now that certainly recognize 00:27:31.369 --> 00:27:36.549 that given the discussion around NATO, the focus 00:27:36.549 --> 00:27:38.369 has been put on Greenland, that we need to do 00:27:38.369 --> 00:27:41.609 our share. We need to collectively as a country 00:27:41.609 --> 00:27:43.769 put our shoulder to the wheel and get serious 00:27:43.769 --> 00:27:45.609 about sovereignty and security in the Arctic. 00:27:45.769 --> 00:27:48.490 And so I think that this is a genie that's out 00:27:48.490 --> 00:27:49.769 of the bottle now. I don't think there's any 00:27:49.769 --> 00:27:52.569 putting it back in. If we get a shift in the 00:27:52.569 --> 00:27:56.529 South, in the U .S. in terms of tone. You know, 00:27:56.529 --> 00:27:58.710 even after future elections, I think Canadians 00:27:58.710 --> 00:28:01.390 now, the light has gone on. We need to do more. 00:28:01.450 --> 00:28:03.769 We need to invest in infrastructure for the people 00:28:03.769 --> 00:28:06.230 who live in the North, but for our Canadian sovereignty 00:28:06.230 --> 00:28:11.130 as well. Yeah, and beyond just Arctic security 00:28:11.130 --> 00:28:13.690 issues, Brendan, talk a little bit about what 00:28:13.690 --> 00:28:17.710 infrastructure, what kind of change would that 00:28:17.710 --> 00:28:24.049 mean for Inui, Hina, Nunavut and Northwest Territories? 00:28:24.809 --> 00:28:27.210 Well, I think there are several things that people 00:28:27.210 --> 00:28:29.789 in communities throughout the North are focused 00:28:29.789 --> 00:28:32.549 on. Cost of living is always top of mind. It's 00:28:32.549 --> 00:28:34.569 incredibly expensive. Again, this is about the 00:28:34.569 --> 00:28:37.029 infrastructure gap. And so to the extent that 00:28:37.029 --> 00:28:39.690 we develop ports that allow large ocean -going 00:28:39.690 --> 00:28:42.430 vessels to come in, even if barges need to be 00:28:42.430 --> 00:28:45.990 broken down from there, rather than flying some 00:28:45.990 --> 00:28:47.970 of these things in annually, which will still 00:28:47.970 --> 00:28:51.569 be required, you think about the ability to change 00:28:51.569 --> 00:28:54.970 the... You know, the cost structure of just carrying 00:28:54.970 --> 00:28:56.869 out your daily life in the north, that's very 00:28:56.869 --> 00:28:59.849 important. This will also open up and make real, 00:28:59.990 --> 00:29:02.769 I think, some of these base metal, critical minerals, 00:29:02.950 --> 00:29:05.609 mines in this part of the world. There are some 00:29:05.609 --> 00:29:09.970 world -class assets that just have no hope of 00:29:09.970 --> 00:29:12.789 being developed until they have access to tidewater. 00:29:13.109 --> 00:29:15.430 And so for these small communities, that's employment. 00:29:15.630 --> 00:29:18.109 I mean, that's economic development. So I would 00:29:18.109 --> 00:29:21.130 say cost of living, job opportunities. Those 00:29:21.130 --> 00:29:24.289 are really the key drivers for northern people 00:29:24.289 --> 00:29:27.529 in terms of their interests. They historically 00:29:27.529 --> 00:29:31.369 lived traditional lifestyles on the land, were 00:29:31.369 --> 00:29:34.230 able to provide for themselves, hunting and fishing. 00:29:34.789 --> 00:29:36.789 They're still interested in doing that and they 00:29:36.789 --> 00:29:38.509 still do that. But there's a recognition that 00:29:38.509 --> 00:29:40.950 younger people are also going to want to be employed 00:29:40.950 --> 00:29:43.849 in future and need economic and employment opportunities 00:29:43.849 --> 00:29:47.430 closer to home. So projects like this are not 00:29:47.430 --> 00:29:50.960 the silver bullet necessarily. check a number 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:53.319 of boxes and help to provide solutions for local 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:56.240 communities. So they are, you know, they're eagerly 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:59.700 awaited, I would say. Well, that is a really 00:29:59.700 --> 00:30:03.579 upbeat assessment of everything that's going 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:06.799 on in the north. And I think that just demonstrates 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:10.519 gain the transformative opportunity that it's 00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:14.480 in front of Canada, Canadians and foreign investors 00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:19.779 who are looking at investing in a country that 00:30:20.109 --> 00:30:23.930 It doesn't have political risk, right? But these 00:30:23.930 --> 00:30:26.049 emerging marketing opportunities, some of our 00:30:26.049 --> 00:30:30.349 past guests have talked about. Yeah. Look, I 00:30:30.349 --> 00:30:32.609 think it's an incredible opportunity. We don't 00:30:32.609 --> 00:30:35.509 have the same sort of risks that you would find 00:30:35.509 --> 00:30:38.450 in other emerging markets. Now, that's not to 00:30:38.450 --> 00:30:40.970 suggest that there aren't issues that we need 00:30:40.970 --> 00:30:45.190 to handle very, very carefully. Principally, 00:30:45.190 --> 00:30:48.650 environment. We spoke about that. Certainly, 00:30:48.690 --> 00:30:51.079 when you're building a port, In a sensitive part 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:53.259 of the Arctic, there are marine mammals to be 00:30:53.259 --> 00:30:55.900 considered. We are designing, there will be operational 00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:59.900 requirements to mitigate against any impacts 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:03.839 on marine mammals. The same goes for, you know, 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:06.140 if mines are developed, copper zinc mines in 00:31:06.140 --> 00:31:07.940 the neighborhood are developed, they will certainly 00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:11.920 need to shut down if there are caribou migrating 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:14.319 through the area. So these are the kinds of challenges 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:16.299 that we're dealing with. Design is all important. 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:19.660 How you operate is important. But again, we take 00:31:19.660 --> 00:31:22.640 our direction from our board of directors, our 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:25.220 largest shareholder, the Caticmate Inuit. We 00:31:25.220 --> 00:31:29.680 don't have to ask to understand that how we design 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:31.660 and dealing with caribou and dealing with marine 00:31:31.660 --> 00:31:34.140 mammals is absolutely the most important and 00:31:34.140 --> 00:31:36.400 fundamental consideration. So as long as we get 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:38.819 it right on that front, I think it's an incredible 00:31:38.819 --> 00:31:42.880 opportunity. And we are across that, aware of 00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:46.180 that, and seized with that. So, you know, the 00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:48.279 kinds of challenges that you have in other parts 00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:49.859 of the world we don't have, but we have our own 00:31:49.859 --> 00:31:53.900 challenges. And I think, Brendan, when international 00:31:53.900 --> 00:31:57.480 investors in particular look at investment opportunities 00:31:57.480 --> 00:31:59.259 and they think about Canada and they think about 00:31:59.259 --> 00:32:03.240 what types of risks or challenges and question 00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:06.339 whether there's local support or not, a project 00:32:06.339 --> 00:32:08.579 like the one you're talking about in the north 00:32:08.579 --> 00:32:12.500 doesn't get off the ground without local support. 00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:15.180 You wouldn't be sitting here talking about a 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:18.539 project like this without the entire community 00:32:18.539 --> 00:32:24.799 supportive and your organization owned and operated 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:29.519 by. Yeah. Rob, I think on a number of levels, 00:32:29.619 --> 00:32:33.539 right? Right from the design and the aspirational 00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:36.359 discussions decades ago about a road and port 00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:38.680 through the Arctic, the fact that the Inuit people 00:32:38.680 --> 00:32:41.160 of the region determined that the initial chosen 00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:43.359 route, which was better for industry, was not 00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:46.079 their preferred route. So it was moved. You know, 00:32:46.099 --> 00:32:49.480 our ownership is Inuit. And I think politically, 00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:52.059 you've had the, you know, the premier of the 00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:55.220 Northwest, of Nunavut, working with the regional 00:32:55.220 --> 00:32:59.279 leaders, with the president of NTI, to get the 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:02.099 ear of the prime minister. His first visit after 00:33:02.099 --> 00:33:05.680 the election, as you know, was to Europe, but 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:07.799 then immediately after he landed in Iqaluit. 00:33:08.170 --> 00:33:10.769 had discussion with these leaders about their 00:33:10.769 --> 00:33:12.869 priorities, their infrastructure priorities. 00:33:13.349 --> 00:33:16.690 And I've said before, there's very little daylight 00:33:16.690 --> 00:33:19.390 between these leaders on their priorities, and 00:33:19.390 --> 00:33:22.569 this is certainly top. And so that makes it a 00:33:22.569 --> 00:33:25.230 lot easier, not easy, I won't suggest, but a 00:33:25.230 --> 00:33:26.869 lot easier for the prime minister to advance 00:33:26.869 --> 00:33:29.470 projects where there is that sort of unanimous 00:33:29.470 --> 00:33:33.910 support and consensus. It really is a game changer 00:33:33.910 --> 00:33:35.690 in terms of being able to advance these projects. 00:33:39.049 --> 00:33:42.410 Well, I know that you're a man in demand these 00:33:42.410 --> 00:33:45.029 days. And as I mentioned earlier, the Prime Minister, 00:33:45.049 --> 00:33:49.890 when asked about likely or possible projects 00:33:49.890 --> 00:33:52.869 or the types of projects that might get prioritized, 00:33:52.910 --> 00:33:57.990 he seems to always mention Grays Bay. So we really 00:33:57.990 --> 00:34:00.650 appreciate you taking time out to talk about 00:34:00.650 --> 00:34:06.410 West Katikmiat and the Grays Bay project. And 00:34:06.410 --> 00:34:08.389 we wish you all the best. And we'll be watching 00:34:08.389 --> 00:34:13.010 closely in the coming months. Rob Mark, thanks 00:34:13.010 --> 00:34:15.110 for giving me the time to speak to your audience. 00:34:15.269 --> 00:34:18.329 And look, I extend the invitation. I think it's 00:34:18.329 --> 00:34:21.530 a wonderful place to visit. Lots of daily flights, 00:34:21.570 --> 00:34:24.429 as you know, and I think your listeners will 00:34:24.429 --> 00:34:28.250 know, from London to Toronto and to Vancouver. 00:34:28.289 --> 00:34:31.130 And then from there on, flights up to the northern 00:34:31.130 --> 00:34:33.739 part of Canada. We'd love to see you. I'd love 00:34:33.739 --> 00:34:35.880 to have you come and visit. I think there are 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:38.360 incredible investment opportunities around infrastructure, 00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:41.280 around mining, around energy. And certainly, 00:34:41.519 --> 00:34:43.219 I'd love to come back and talk about some of 00:34:43.219 --> 00:34:45.199 those other things that are on the horizon, because 00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:46.960 I think this is just going to be an area that's 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:49.860 going to really take off here in the next number 00:34:49.860 --> 00:34:51.800 of years and provide great opportunity for investment. 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:56.400 Well, thank you. Can't wait to get there and 00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:59.039 can't wait to speak with you again. Hopefully, 00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:02.360 you'll be at next year's summit next April back 00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:05.179 at the London Stock Exchange. It's been absolutely 00:35:05.179 --> 00:35:09.840 wonderful to hear from a northern Canadian about 00:35:09.840 --> 00:35:12.900 how we truly become a polar nation. So thank 00:35:12.900 --> 00:35:15.360 you very much for your time, Brandon. My pleasure. 00:35:15.480 --> 00:35:17.639 I hear nothing but great things about your event 00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:20.159 in London. It sounds like it's a must attend. 00:35:20.380 --> 00:35:22.659 And so I'll certainly be there. Thank you for 00:35:22.659 --> 00:35:25.659 the invitation. Great. Thank you. Thanks, Brandon. 00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:29.420 Thank you to Brendan Bell for sharing his insights 00:35:29.420 --> 00:35:32.019 with us, and thank you for viewing and listening. 00:35:32.579 --> 00:35:35.199 Be sure to share, subscribe, and leave a review 00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:38.059 on your favorite podcast channel. Thanks for 00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:40.219 listening to Drum Beats. Until next time.