Feds said 'use it or lose it' with Nunavut harbour funding: premier

Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak responded Monday to Iqaluit city councillors who are upset about millions of federal dollars going toward building a harbour in Pangnirtung, with no similar cash for a port in the capital city.

The latest federal budget earmarks $17 million to speed up construction of a small-craft harbour in Pangnirtung, a hamlet of 1,325 located 300 kilometres north of Iqaluit on Baffin Island. That is on top of $8 million in federal cash announced for the harbour last year, bringing the total at $25 million.

The government's decision leaves councillors in Iqaluit, a city of about 6,200, expressing dismay at being ignored in the budget. The city has long wanted funding to build a deep-sea port there.

Aariak told CBC News that the federal government decided which Nunavut communities would receive infrastructure funding in the budget, adding that officials were seeking projects that would benefit from a quick cash infusion.

"When I was lobbying for money, of course, we were made to understand that it was only for one to two years," Aariak said Monday.

"They said, 'Use it or lose it,' you know? And they are still sticking with that. A deep-sea port would require a longer term than that."

Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq, who is also federal minister, said the government consulted Canadians about spending priorities before Finance Minister Jim Flaherty handed down his budget on Jan. 27.

"In terms of the port project in Pangnirtung, that has been in the works for some time, and the funding has been allocated to kick-start that program," Aglukkaq told reporters Friday in Iqaluit.

City council plans to write letters to both Aariak and Aglukkaq, asking what criteria were used in the government's decision to award the $17 million to Pangnirtung.

Aariak said she plans to discuss the port issue with the city, adding that she supports Iqaluit's efforts to get a deep-sea port built.