Arctic Infrastructure Fund (Stream 2) — Application deadline: June 5, 2026
This document outlines exactly how $31.5 million in grant funding would be deployed across five phases over 36 months — what gets built, when funds are released, what triggers each payment, and how every dollar is accounted for. Full transparency. Full compliance. Full accountability to the Canadian taxpayer.
Canadian government grants for advanced manufacturing — whether through NGen, the Strategic Innovation Fund, or PrairiesCan — operate on a reimbursement basis. This means the government does not write a cheque upfront. Instead, the company incurs eligible costs, documents them meticulously, submits claims with supporting evidence, and receives reimbursement after verification. This structure protects the taxpayer at every step.
Funds are released only after eligible costs are incurred, documented, and verified. The company pays first, then claims reimbursement with full supporting documentation.
NGen retains 15% of all approved funding until the project is fully complete, all reporting obligations are met, and all deliverables are accepted. This ensures the project finishes what it starts.
Once a claim and supporting documentation are received and verified by NGen, payment is normally issued within 45 days. Claims are submitted quarterly at minimum.
Non-repayable contribution from NGen / ISED covering 50% of eligible project costs. Released on a milestone-by-milestone basis through quarterly claims. Subject to 15% holdback until project completion.
Private sector investment from Radford Sovereign Shield and strategic partners. This includes equity investment, in-kind contributions, and partner commitments. The industry match demonstrates private sector confidence and skin in the game.
The $31.5 million is allocated across five distinct phases, each with its own budget, milestones, and accountability triggers. The largest allocation — 46.7% — goes to factory construction, which is the core capital expenditure that creates the physical manufacturing capacity.
Each phase contains three milestone gates. Funds are released only when the milestone deliverables are completed, documented, and verified. If a milestone is not met, the corresponding funds are not released. This is how we protect the investment.
The first phase establishes the engineering foundation. This includes completing the detailed factory design with a licensed Canadian engineering firm, securing all municipal and provincial permits, finalizing supply agreements with Indigenous hemp cooperatives and Manitoba limestone quarries, and completing the environmental impact assessment. No construction begins until every permit is in hand and every supply contract is signed.
Every dollar follows the same path: work is completed, costs are documented, claims are submitted, NGen verifies, and funds are released. There are no shortcuts. There are no advance payments. The system is designed to ensure that public money is only spent on verified, completed work.
Grant compliance is not optional — it is the foundation of trust between the company, the government, and the Canadian taxpayer. We commit to exceeding every compliance requirement, not merely meeting them. The Government of Canada reserves the right to audit all claims and supporting documentation for at least seven years after project completion. We welcome that scrutiny.
Detailed financial statements submitted every 3 months showing budget vs. actual spending, variance analysis, and forecast to completion.
Comprehensive annual reports documenting technical progress, milestone achievement, employment metrics, and economic impact indicators.
Annual financial audit by a licensed Canadian accounting firm. Audit reports submitted directly to NGen and available to ISED upon request.
Quarterly reports on Indigenous employment targets, supply chain participation, community consultation activities, and benefit-sharing outcomes.
Ongoing monitoring and reporting of environmental commitments including emissions, water use, waste management, and carbon sequestration metrics.
All intellectual property developed through the project remains in Canada. Regular IP disclosure reports filed with NGen to ensure Canadian knowledge sovereignty.
All supporting documents — timesheets, payroll registers, invoices, contracts, receipts, bank statements, progress reports, and correspondence — will be retained for a minimum of seven years after project completion, as required by the Government of Canada. These records will be maintained in both digital and physical formats, stored securely, and available for audit at any time. We do not destroy records. We do not lose records. Every dollar has a paper trail.
Beyond the minimum compliance requirements, we commit to a level of transparency that goes further than what any grant program requires. We believe that public money deserves public accountability, and that transparency is not a burden — it is a competitive advantage.
All grant funds flow through a dedicated, segregated bank account with dual-signature authorization. No commingling with operating funds. Every transaction traceable to a specific project activity.
A live project dashboard accessible to NGen, ISED, and project stakeholders showing construction progress, spending against budget, milestone status, and upcoming deliverables. Updated weekly.
Written monthly updates distributed to all project stakeholders including government partners, Indigenous community partners, and industry co-investors. No surprises. No information gaps.
Standing invitation for NGen monitors, ISED officials, provincial government representatives, and Indigenous community partners to visit the factory site at any time with 48 hours notice.
Good governance means independent oversight, clear roles, and accountability at every level. The project governance structure ensures that no single individual controls both the spending and the reporting. Checks and balances are built into the system from day one.
Strategic oversight, milestone approval, dispute resolution. Meets quarterly. All members have access to financial records.
Day-to-day execution, claim preparation, progress reporting, risk management. Reports to Governance Board monthly.
Independent verification of financial claims, milestone achievement, environmental compliance, and IP retention.
This is not our money. It is the Canadian taxpayer's money, entrusted to us to build something that serves the nation. We take that trust seriously. Every dollar will be spent on what it was approved for. Every milestone will be earned, not assumed. Every report will be honest, even when the news is difficult. And every record will be preserved so that anyone — today or seven years from now — can verify that we did exactly what we said we would do.
We are not asking for a handout. We are asking for a partnership — one built on transparency, accountability, and a shared commitment to building something that lasts. The Vox Block lasts 100 years. Our integrity should last longer.