Nunavut Impact Review Board rejects proposed Baffinland expansion
CBC
The Nunavut Impact Review board has recommended Baffinland's Phase 2 expansion not be allowed to proceed.
In a letter to Dan Vandal, the federal northern affairs minister, Nunavut Impact Review Board chair Kaviq Kaluraq said the mine has the potential for "significant adverse ecosystemic effects" on marine mammals, fish, caribou and other wildlife, which in turn could harm Inuit culture, land use and food security.
Kaluraq's letter also pointed to the potential for "transboundary effects on marine mammals and fish and the marine environment outside of the Nunavut Settlement Area."
Lastly, she noted those effects "cannot be adequately prevented, mitigated or adaptively managed," even with the proporsed revisions to the project certificated the board has already issued to Baffinland.
The long-awaited recommendation was released on Friday, after a four-year review process that pitted economic development against environmental protections and the sustainability of traditional hunting. The full report is 441 pages.
Baffinland, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the government of Nunavut all declined interviews until they can review the report.
In a news release, Baffinland CEO Brian Penney said the company was disappointed with the decision.
"Our Phase 2 proposal is based on years of in-depth study and detailed scientific analysis, and has considerable local support based on years of consultation with Inuit and local communities," Penney said.
"We will be asking the federal government to consider all of the evidence and input and to approve the Phase 2 application with fair and reasonable conditions."
The decision ultimately rests with Vandal, who has previously said he will come to a decision within 90 days of NIRB's recommendation.
In 2016, when the same board recommended a gold mine in Nunavut's Kitikmeot region not be allowed to go ahead, then-federal minister Carolyn Bennett rejected that recommendation, asking NIRB to give the project a second chance.
That mine was given approval the following year.
The Mary River mine has been operating on north Baffin Island since 2015 and is currently allowed to extract and ship up to six million tonnes of ore per year.
Baffinland had requested to double its shipping of iron ore from its Milne Inlet port to 12 million tonnes a year, and build a 110-kilometre railway to the port.