Baffinland donates $50K to reopen only daycare in Arctic Bay, Nunavut

After being without a daycare centre for years, the community of Arctic Bay, Nunavut, is on track to get its daycare back thanks to a donation from Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation.

Baffinland operates the Mary River iron ore mine on Baffin Island.Mayor Frank May had earlier approached the company for support.

On Tuesday, the company presented a $50,000 cheque to May along withRuth Oyukuluk, Julian Oyukuluk, Lena Qaunaq and Baffinland employee Natsiq Kango, who May sayshave been instrumental in bringing back Tununirusiq Daycare.

May said parents in Arctic Bay parents sometimes have a difficult time working because there isn't a daycare or preschool. The daycare closed about eight years ago.

"This donation from Baffinland will go a long way towards changing all of that," said May.

But it's not clear exactly when the daycare will reopen.

The money from Baffinland will go toward securing the building andother capital expenses, but according to May, it will still be a couple more years before it opens and only after more funding is secured to run its operations.

May said there are other sources of money for operational expenses.

"Kakivak[Association] has money for training, and then QIA [Qikiqtani Inuit Association]has a subsidy, the Department of Education has funds, that I haven't really checked into yet but, that's more for on-going operations, equipment and things like that," May said.

Money will also help child resource centre

"Tununirusiq Daycare represents an important investment in Arctic Bay residents, including our very own Baffinland employees," said Brian Penney, president and CEO of Baffinland.

"It embodies Baffinland's ongoing support and development to the communities we operate in."

May also said the donation from Baffinland will help establish a foundation for an early childhood resource centre, which would be a service forchildren at the daycare as well as students from the Aboriginal Head Start Program.