Nunavik’s Co-op store is more than doubling its warehouse space in Montreal with help from the federal government.

Representatives from FCNQ-Ilagiisaq announced the move Tuesday at a news conference in Montreal.

“We always say that this building is an extension of Nunavik, a 15th community with all the services that are given here,” said FCNQ-Ilagiisaq general manager Mark Blair, referring to the co-operative federation’s Montreal office, where a lot of Inuit art is stored.

The co-operative federation offers a number of essential services like stocking the shelves of Co-op grocery stores across Nunavik, delivering car parts for its mechanic shops, and delivering diesel fuel. Most of the items it delivers up North are stored in the Montreal warehouse.

The project’s budget was around $26.5 million; around $1 million was provided by Indigenous Services Canada. 

“We want to commit ourselves in the spirit of reconciliation, and of respect going forward,” said Ginette Lavack, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, at the news conference, in French.

“We will continue to collaborate with FCNQ and Indigenous partners to support economic development in the North and the province, and to improve the quality of life for all people who live there.”

The expansion adds 9,750 square metres of storage and office space to the 9,000 square-metre space.

This will improve FCNQ’s capacity to supply Nunavik’s 14 communities by better storing essential goods and food items, increasing its capacity to purchase in bulk and reducing the risk of stock shortages in communities where deliveries can be disrupted by weather conditions, Blair said.

Bulk purchasing also enables FCNQ to hunt for discounts, which eventually will cut down grocery costs for Nunavimmiut, he added.

The co-operative federation is currently working on the final touches of the expansion.

It intends on using part of the expanded warehouse for this sealift season in the fall, mainly to store goods that would eventually be transported in more than 600 sea cans. On top of that, an additional 350 sea cans are loaded for the construction division of FCNQ.

The expanded warehouse is expected to be ready for full-capacity use in September.