Nunasi Corp. sells its stake in NorTerra, Canadian North

Nunasi Corporation has sold its 50 per cent stake in NorTerra to the Inuvialuit Development Corporation.

NorTerra was jointly owned by Nunasi Corp. and IDC. With this deal, IDC gains complete ownership of the management and holding company, which owns half of Canadian North, Northern Transportation Company Ltd and three other businesses.

Wayne Gordon is the chair of the Inuvialuit Development Corporation based in Inuvik.

He said IDC had a great partnership with Nunasi, but Nunasi decided to realign its investment interests.

His corporation made an offer and it was accepted.

“The people that work for those companies that are over there [in Nunavut], they still go to work tomorrow morning and, you know, continue to work for the operating companies that they do,” Gordon said. “That's something that's not going to change at this time and I think we will be here for a while."

NorTerra's other companies include Braden Burry Expediting, Northern Industrial Sales and Weldco-Beales Manufacturing.

Nunasi is a birthright corporation wholly owned by the Inuit of Nunavut. In a news release, the company said it plans to focus on restructuring so it can be more accountable to Nunavut beneficiaries.

Nunasi and IDC will each remain shareholders of two separate companies: National Aboriginal Services Company and Pan Arctic Inuit Logistics.