Nunavut judge blocks legal move by protestors who tried to sue Baffinland

A group of Inuit who tried to get a legal injunction against Baffinland Iron Mines won't be allowed to do so. 

In 2021, Baffinland filed an injunction against a group that had temporarily blockaded the mine's airstrip. They won the injunction, banning protesters from obstructing mine operations. 

Then last summer, several individuals filed a counterclaim, arguing they had standing under the Nunavut Environment Rights Act to prevent the mine from emitting noise and dust pollution into the surrounding areas. 

The goal was to make sure the area was "environmentally protected," said lawyer Anne Crawford at the time, who filed the suit alongside three others. 

In a written ruling, Nunavut Court Justice Edward Scanlan acknowledged the claimants have an interest in the land. He recognized almost all land in Nunavut is held collectively "by and for the Inuit people." He also recognized the Environmental Rights Act gives standing to residents of Nunavut. 

However, the judge determined that didn't automatically give the claimants legal standing in the case. 

The argument appears to rest on the fact that most people who claim a legal interest in a piece of land do so because they want to own or gain title to the land. 

In making his ruling, Judge Scanlan cited a 2009 case from Saskatchewan that found even if the claimant in that case was successful in his lawsuit, he would still be no closer to gaining title of the land, and therefore the legal action should be dropped. 

Scanlan wrote that the same situation applied in this case.

"Their collective interest remains intact, but the claim before the court will provide no additional 'interest in land' sufficient to file a [claim of interest]," he wrote. 

In an email, Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman wrote that the company "has always confirmed Inuit rights under the Nunavut Agreement and the [Inuit Impacts and Benefits Agreement] to hunt and access lands in and around its project. ...

"However, there is no right to disrupt the operations of the project and those that work there, including many Nunavummiut." 

Akman wrote that he hopes to "continue the dialogue with the individuals involved with the blockade" to find an overall resolution.