IQALUIT - Nunavut's first civil society dedicated to monitoring uranium mining held its first public meeting in Iqaluit on Nov. 28.

Spokesperson for Nunavut's first uranium information group Sandra Inutiq stands with Jamie Kneen from Mining Watch Canada at St. Jude's Parish Hall in Iqaluit on Nov. 28. - Kassina Ryder/NNSL photo

Sandra Inutiq is the spokesperson for Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit, Inuktitut for "Nunavummiut can rise up."

The group has started a petition calling on members of the legislative assembly to hold a public inquiry into uranium mining in the territory, Inutiq said.

In an inquiry, she said, "you look into the issue and get different points of view, not just from residents but medical experts and other experts in the area. When there is so much risk involved, you need to really have an inquiry before we start digging for uranium."

Inutiq said Nunavut lacks clear information on uranium mining and the group was formed to help provide that information.

"It's really hard to find any information on any development projects," Inutiq said. "We wanted more transparency in the process for important events that are going in Nunavut."

Inutiq was accompanied by Jamie Kneen from Mining Watch Canada, a non-profit organization that monitors the mining industry. Joan Scottie with the Baker Lake Concerned Citizens Committee was also scheduled to attend, but could not make it due to illness.

Kneen said Canada lags behind international science when it comes to uranium mining.

"Uranium is also special; it's radioactive and it's poisonous in ways regular mining wastes are not," he said.

NTI approved uranium mining in Nunavut in 2007 as long as companies follow NTI's uranium policy.

The guiding principle of the policy, according to an ITI press release, "is that uranium exploration and mining must be carried out in an environmentally and socially responsible way, and the uranium that results from the mining shall be used only for peaceful and environmentally friendly purposes."

But environmental regulations aren't adequate, Kneen said. Also, there is no way to control how uranium mined in Nunavut will be used because Canada exports more than 85 per cent of its mined uranium, according to the group.

NTI president Paul Kaludjak said Nunavut's policy, including Inuit Impact Benefit Agreements and other protocol, serve as filters before development takes place in the territory.

"We don't go in blindly; we assess it as best we can," Kaludjak said at the meeting.

Kaludjak also said decision and policy makers should attend future meetings to answer questions from the public.

The meeting consisted of about 40 community members, including Kaludjak.

Inutiq said the group invited members of the legislative assembly, but none of them attended.

"We did invite all the MLAs and unfortunately not one of them showed up," she said.

Invitations to the meeting and information packages were also e-mailed to all regional Inuit organizations, she added. The Nov. 28 meeting will be reported to decision makers such as MLAs and regional Inuit organizations in the hope that some can attend future meetings.

"What we plan to do is to report to the decision makers a summary of what happened on Saturday and if there's any interest out there to have the public forum then we'll organize that kind of a forum," Inutiq said.

Kaludjak's point, she added, was that decision-makers "should be at the table as well so that's the event that we would like to plan next," Inutiq said.

The group expected to launch a website, www.makik.ca, last week.