Mixed feelings in nearby community about proposed Grays Bay road and port project

There are mixed feelings about the proposed Grays Bay road and port project, among people who live in nearby communities.

Leah Kadlun of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, says the project "doesn’t make sense at all." She's afraid the project will tear up the land and harm wildlife. She also believes the money could be better spent addressing other concerns in the community.

“All that time and effort to get it up and running and for what?” Kadlun asked.

“You know that money could be spent on bettering housing, bettering education, bettering our medevac service." 

The Grays Bay road and port project would see the construction of a port at Grays Bay in Nunavut, to handle navy vessels as well as large cargo ships capable of loading and transporting materials from future critical mineral mines, both in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. A 230-kilometre all-weather road would connect the port to Jericho Station, home to a defunct diamond mine, and from there to a winter road to Yellowknife.

It’s a part of the larger Arctic economic and security corridor project that has previously been cited as a potential project to be fast-tracked by the federal government.

Kugluktuk is about only 200 kilometres away from Grays Bay, where the port would be built. And while some residents in that community are concerned about the potential impacts, others see economic benefits.

Helen Klengenberg, who lives in Kugluktuk, said the road and port could be used with a barging service to bring supplies to communities. “We can take those supplies put them on the barge, and take them to Kugluktuk or Cambridge Bay or Gjoa Haven — those are opportunities that we can take advantage of,” Klengenberg said.

Klengenberg also acknowledged the concerns among some in the community about potential harm to wildlife, when people might use the road to harvest more caribou.

However, she believes there are ways to mitigate those risks, by closely monitoring the road and using tags to limit the amount of caribou that can be hunted around the region. “I think every issue can be dealt with and managed,” she said.

But Amanda Dumond, the manager of the Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO), believes the project poses as a real risk. She said it could threaten the Dolphin and Union caribou herd, which has seen a dramatic decline in its population.

She said the proposed road would be built right in the middle of the herd's migration route. “I’m speaking for my son, and his future generations. Because I honestly believe that [if] this goes ahead, we’ll see our caribou either continue to decline further, or change their migration and we won’t see them,” said Dumond “That’s what I worry about.”

Dumond said she’s also worried about marine wildlife being negatively affected by ships coming to the port, and that ice-breakers could make it difficult for people and caribou to travel on ice in the area.

She's also encouraging others in her community to voice any concerns they have.