News Release
Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway Project – Release of a Final Agreement and Availability of Participant Funding

OTTAWA, March 4, 2011 – The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) and the Inuvialuit Environmental Impact Review Board (the Board) today released an agreement to establish a substituted review panel process for the environmental assessment of the proposed Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway project located in the Northwest Territories.

The agreement outlines the full terms and conditions of this environmental assessment which will be conducted by the Board under the substitution provisions of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

The Agency also announced the availability of $300,000 in participant funding, which is being made available to assist groups and individuals to participate in this environmental assessment. Applications received by the Agency by April 8, 2011 will be considered.

The Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, the Town of Inuvik, and the Government of the Northwest Territories are proposing to construct, operate and maintain a 140 kilometer all-weather highway from the Town of Inuvik to the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk.

On September 27, 2010, the Agency announced that the project had been referred to an environmental assessment by a review panel and that the federal review panel process will be substituted by the Board's process.

The agreement (Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry's reference number 10-08-58081) and information on participant funding, including the Participant Funding Program Guide, is available at www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca. Information on the project is available on the Board's registry site at www.eirb.ca .

For Broadcasters

The Government of Canada released an agreement to establish a substituted review panel for the proposed Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway project located in the Northwest Territories. $300,000 is also available to assist groups and individuals to participate in this environmental assessment. For more information, please visit ceaa.gc.ca or eirb.ca.

About the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency administers the federal environmental assessment process, which identifies the environmental effects of proposed projects and measures to address those effects, in support of sustainable development.

About the Inuvialuit Environmental Impact Review Board

On behalf of the Inuvialuit, other residents of the North, and ultimately all Canadians, the Board carries out detailed assessments and conducts public reviews of development projects referred by the Environmental Impact Screening Committee. The Board fulfills this role in consultation with affected communities, developers, governments, and non government organizations.

Media may contact

• Isabelle Perrault
  Senior Communications Advisor
  Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
  Tel.: 613-960-0290
  Isabelle.Perrault@ceaa-acee.gc.ca
• Eli Nasogaluak
  Environmental Assessment Coordinator
  Environmental Impact Review Board
  Tel.: 867-777-2828
  eirb@jointsec.nt.ca