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Canadian actor and producer Ryan Reynolds is teaming up with luxury brand Canada Goose to help Inuit communities in Northern Canada.

The partnership, announced Tuesday, will provide more than 300 parkas for the students of Inuujaq School in Arctic Bay, Nunavut. 

In an effort to expand its Resource Centre Program, the brand also committed to donating thousands of additional parkas to Inuit communities across the territory starting in November.

Reynolds said he was prompted to take action upon learning that many school students in Nunavut lacked proper winter clothing for Arctic weather conditions.

“It highlights a larger issue of basic needs going unmet in Canada’s northern communities,” he said. “I reached out to Canada Goose to match me in providing these students with essential winter gear. They not only said yes in under 30 seconds, but went so far above and beyond matching me. I’m deeply inspired and grateful.”

While Nunavut has remained free of COVID-19 cases, the pandemic has significantly limited northern communities’ access to essential goods and shipments, Inuujaq School Principal Gregg Durant mentioned. 

Last month, a tweet highlighting the cost of school supplies in Nunavut went viral, prompting people across Canada to donate money to children in need, Nunatsiaq News reported

In April, the Canadian government also pledged to tackle food insecurity by helping the province get access to nutritious food amid the pandemic, but many communities still lack basic necessities.

Aside from providing coats to those in need, the newly-announced partnership will amp up efforts in sustainability, the statement underscored. In collaboration with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami — an organization that represents Inuit people in Canada — and as part of its Sustainable Impact Strategy, the brand said it would work towards a “more circular business model” to reduce waste by upcycling existing parkas. 

This commitment follows a previous pledge made by Canada Goose, which promised to go carbon neutral by 2025. The brand — which had also come under fire for its use of fur — has also said that, starting in 2022, it will no longer buy new fur from trappers, the New York Times reported.

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Ryan Reynolds Just Teamed Up With Canada Goose to Provide Inuit Students With Parkas This Winter

By Sarah El Gharib