News Releases
Nasittuq Awarded North Warning System Contract
Friday, March 15, 2002
Nasittuq Corporation, a joint venture corporation owned by ATCO Frontec Corp. and Pan Arctic Inuit Logistics Corporation (PAIL), announced today it has been awarded a renewal contract for up to 10 years to operate and maintain Canada's North Warning System.
The Government of Canada contract, effective December 1, 2001 is for an initial five-year fixed term valued at nearly $300 million. The contract also has two option periods of three and two years respectively, valued at approximately $306 million. The landmark agreement includes an enhanced aboriginal career development training program geared to more than doubling the number of Inuit employees.
The North Warning System contract, originally awarded in 1988 to ATCO Frontec, and further renewed in 1994 to ATCO Frontec and PAIL, includes the management, operation and maintenance of 47 radar sites and five logistics support sites across Canada's North. Also included are a system support centre and a system control centre in North Bay, Ontario as well as a Contract Management Office in Ottawa, Ontario.
The enhanced training program is designed to benefit the Inuit from Labrador, Nunavik, Nunavut and the Inuvialuit Settlement Regions. The innovative program features a development/apprenticeship focus that will provide skills and formal credentials to aboriginal people enabling them to participate more fully in the economic development of their respective communities.
"Our ultimate goal is to have 50 percent of the 225 positions filled by Inuit employees," said Ivan Wawryk, President of Nasittuq Corporation. "Additionally, this contract renewal offers increased economic potential to the Inuit and their communities."
An existing training program has 83 graduates, many of whom currently work in the North Warning System workforce in a variety of technical, engineering and administrative support positions.
"We are pleased to have this opportunity to work with the Government of Canada on the next phase of the ongoing evolution of the North Warning System," said Michael Shaw, President, ATCO Frontec. "The operation and maintenance of this project in Canada and our training programs have been very successful to date and we are confident Nasittuq will bring even further value."
"The milestone that has been reached in the successful formation of Nasittuq and the subsequent award of this contract is unprecedented," said Fred Hunt, Chairman, Nasittuq Corporation. "I am proud to be a part of this joint venture and confident in our abilities to perform our duties in a responsible manner."
ATCO Frontec, part of the Logistics and Energy Services Group of the ATCO Group of Companies, is a North American leader in technical services for the resource, telecommunications, transportation, utility and defence industries. The ATCO Group is a worldwide organization of companies engaged in power generation, utilities, logistics and energy services, industrials and technologies.
PAIL is jointly owned by the Inuit of four settlement regions of Canada and is committed to initiating, expanding and developing economic opportunities to promote financial self-sufficiency of Inuit individuals and communities.