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Inuvik conference ready to discuss Arctic energy

The third annual Arctic Energy and Emerging Technologies Conference and Trade Show will take place at Inuvik's Midnight Sun Recreation Complex June 11 to 13.

Inuvik's director of tourism and economic development Jackie Challis said the event focuses on bringing industry, government and communities together to talk about where our energy comes from, different energy sources and how energy issues affect the Arctic.

Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment representatives Mike Byrne, single window pathfinder, and Angela Norris, manager, launched the REDI program at the Arctic Energy and Emerging Technologies conference and tradeshow last year.
NNSL file photo

"At the end of the day it's about how to make energy more efficient and cost effective for businesses and people in the North," said Challis. "The emerging technologies part of the conference is looking at those technologies that are affecting energy use, how we source energy, and also different kinds of energy."

The trade show and conference will feature tours of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, a keynote address from Minister Wally Schumann, panel discussions, networking sessions, a gala and more.

According to Challis, the goal of the event is to move the conversation about Arctic energy forward in order to affect policy change, and that it is important to do this in an Arctic community.

"A lot of the time you hear these discussions on Arctic energy that take place in Edmonton or Yellowknife or Montreal, but if we're going to talk about Arctic energy, that conversation should be held in the Arctic," she said. "When we bring in … decision makers and policy makers and industry people and they actually have their feet on the ground, in the Arctic, I think that conversation becomes more real and more authentic as opposed to sitting in Vancouver talking about what it could be like. It's very different to have your feet on the ground in the Arctic with the actual communities and people that live and work everyday here."

NNSL file photo
The tradeshow area at the Arctic Energy and Emerging Technologies conference last year.

One of the panel discussions will highlight the work that is being done locally to use cleaner energy sources – solar panels – at Stanton's and Children First Society.

Another aim of the conference is to discuss how energy issues and solutions affect people across the circumpolar world.

"We don't work in silos, especially in the circumpolar and Arctic world," she said. "We want to reduce the cost of energy for people and business in the North, but what affects that in the long term is looking at energy policies, the planning that needs to go into place, and how are we affected by other jurisdictions."

Since the event's inception more than a decade ago, it has evolved significantly.

"For over a decade, Inuvik hosted the Petroleum Show. Three years ago, the town realized that things were shifting," she said. "So in addition to resource development, we also wanted to look at other ways of looking at energy, whether that's the use of energy, the transference of energy, the sourcing of energy, the monitoring and reduction of our energy use."