Backgrounder - Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Cultural Centre

The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations cultural centre is a major infrastructure project in the territory and is expected to enhance the quality of tourism and cultural industries in Haines Junction. The new cultural centre will provide space for visitor information, cultural gatherings, local arts retail and display, and meetings/conferences.

Together Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and Yukon will design and construct the new centre, which will include space for the Parks Canada Kluane National Park visitor centre and the Yukon Government visitor information centre. Construction of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations cultural centre is expected to be completed by March 2011.

Parks Canada has recently announced an investment of up to $5 million from Canada's Economic Action Plan for the Kluane National Park and Reserve Visitor Center within the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Cultural Centre. Funds will be used towards Kluane National Park's pre-paid lease with Champagne and Aishihik First Nation and to develop the Parks Canada Visitor Center.

Canada-Yukon Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund:

This project is funded under the cultural and tourism investment categories for the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. The design of the cultural centre and materials used to construct it will ensure that this activity will meet the program's green infrastructure targets.

The Canada-Yukon Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) is a federal-territorial funding program created to help address the infrastructure needs of urban and rural areas. The program began in 2004-05 and will run until 2011-12. It provides Yukon First Nations and municipalities with access to the same quality of public infrastructure as communities in the rest of Canada.

Over the life of the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund agreement, the governments of Canada and Yukon will each invest over $19 million in various community infrastructure projects. To date, $34.6 million of Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund has been committed in Yukon.