MAKIVIK CORPORATION RECEIVES ‘CIBC SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP’ COMMUNITY AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SPIRIT AND CORPORATE GIVING EXCELLENCE

19 February 2006
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$5,000 Award Donation to Cruise North Expedition’s Arctic Clean-Up Mission

Makivik, a not-for-profit organization representing the Inuit of Northern Quebec, earlier this year received a $5,000 CIBC ‘Spirit of Leadership’ Community Award in recognition of their Arctic Clean-Up Mission recently completed by their subsidiary Cruise North Expeditions, ATTA Member.

Makivik’s mandate includes the relief of poverty, promotion of education, and assisting in the preservation and advancement of Inuit culture. Since its inception in 1978, Makivik has set out to create subsidiary companies to initiate opportunities for growth of economic development in Nunavik, Quebec. The subsidiary companies have been successfully connecting people and places and facilitating further development and investment in the economy, while supporting Inuit activities in their communities.

A subsidiary company launched in January 2005, Cruise North Expeditions is a passenger expedition-ship operating tourist cruises in Nunavik and south Baffin region with young Inuit aboard acting as naturalists and guides to Inuit culture. At the conclusion of the inaugural season, Cruise North Expeditions embarked on a project to protect and preserve the fragile northern environment - the Arctic Clean-Up Mission. Cruise North canvassed corporations in an effort to compile 50 corporately sponsored volunteers to help the crew on a weeklong mission to clean-up abandoned waste sites. The mission successfully leveraged the capabilities and facilities of Cruise North Expedition’s ship as well as the skills and manpower of the crew.

As part of the CIBC ‘Spirit of Leadership’ Community Award, CIBC Commercial Banking will donate $5,000 in support of Cruise North Expedition’s 2006 Arctic Clean-Up Mission.

“The Arctic Clean-Up Mission was carried out because of our concern for the environment, a very important part of our daily lives in the north.  We will continue in our efforts to help the Arctic environment become free of contamination,” said Pita Aatami, President, Makivik Corporation.

"We were extremely impressed with Makivik’s innovative approach and the way in which they leveraged their existing capabilities and canvassed for support of corporate volunteers,” said James McSherry, Managing Director and Executive Vice-President, CIBC Commercial Banking.  “It is clear that this program is not only benefiting the communities in which they do business, but it is having an incredible impact on the volunteers as well.”

About Cruise North Expedition’s Arctic Clean-Up Mission

Cruise North initiated the clean-up mission as a way to contribute to the health of the community and the environment on which its tourism activities depend.  The abandoned mining exploration site, near Aupaluk, is classified by the Government as a “Major” waste site and contains a variety of pollutants including contaminated soil and hazardous waste.  The 2005 mission was a pilot project that successfully removed more than 100 rusting fuel drums, some partly full, as well as numerous propane tanks, truck batteries etc. in various stages of deterioration that threatened to pollute the environment with heavy metals and toxic materials.  Cruise North is currently developing a three-year plan involving annual visits that would see the site completely cleaned and restored.

About the CIBC ‘Spirit of Leadership’ Community Awards

CIBC ‘Spirit of Leadership’ Community Awards are awarded each year to CIBC Commercial Banking clients from across the country that demonstrate unique corporate giving and community spirit initiatives. At CIBC, giving back to the communities in which the Bank does business is an important part of the corporate culture. The CIBC ‘Spirit of Leadership’ Community Award program goes even further by recognizing and celebrating their Commercial Banking clients’ efforts to give back to the communities in which they serve.

About Makivik Corporation

Makivik Corporation is the Inuit owned economic development company created following the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) in 1975. It has the mandate to represent the 9,800 Inuit of Nunavik at the political level, and to administer the funds of the Agreement accorded to the Inuit ($90-million has been received over a 20 year period).

Makivik owns subsidiary companies such as Air Inuit, First Air, Nunavik Arctic Foods, Nunavik Creations, Halutik Fuels, Cruise North, and jointly owns with other Inuit regional corporations Pan Arctic Inuit Logistics (PAIL).

About CIBC Commercial Banking

CIBC Commercial Banking is committed to Partnering with Canada’s Best™ organizations. Our comprehensive approach provides industry expertise, innovative ideas and strategic solutions designed to create, protect and realize stakeholder value.

Partnering with clients with annual sales of between C$5 million to C$250 million, and with larger companies with specific needs, our Relationship Teams are strategically aligned to leverage CIBC’s full capital solutions to address virtually every business requirement at every stage of a company’s development and operation.

Responsible for approximately C$20 billion in funds managed in over 75 industry sectors, our Relationship Managers are located in regionally based centres, which extend from the Atlantic Provinces to British Columbia.

http://www.cibc.com/ca/commercial/index.html

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Lisa Koperqualuk

Makivik Corporation
(514) 745-8880 ext.215

Jessica Clark-Barrow
CIBC Commercial Banking
416-980-4485

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