Minister urged to reject request to overturn decision on Kiggavik
'Many Inuit from Nunavut heard these promises and elected Mr. Tootoo,' states Baker Lake organization
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, February 15, 2016
NUNAVUT
The Kiggavik uranium project should not be approved at this time, urges a letter addressed to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett released Jan. 25.
"Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit (Makita) believes that the public record demonstrates that Areva's proposal should not be approved at this time, and that Areva's request to overturn the NIRB (Nunavut Impact Review Board) decision was unfounded and inappropriate," states the letter by Makita's Eric Ukpatiku of Baker Lake.
Makita, an incorporated not-for-profit society based in Baker Lake and founded in 2009, participated in the two-week review board hearing for the proposed uranium project last year.
Hanging in the limbo of a ministerial decision since the review board recommended rejecting it last May, the proposed project would see one underground and four open-pit mines approximately 80 km west of Baker Lake in between two caribou calving grounds - the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq. The site is also near the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary, considered the largest and most remote wildlife refuge on the continent of North America.
The review board rejected the proposal because of an indefinite start date that might be 20 years into the future.
The board's chairperson, Elizabeth Copland, stated, "The board found that this adversely affected the weight and confidence which it could give to assessments of future ecosystemic and socio-economic effects."
Vince Martin, Areva Resources Canada president and chief executive officer, has a different take.
"Areva acknowledges that a possible delayed start date has been a concern during the review of the proposed Kiggavik Project and we have transparently and responsibility responded to this concern in the final written submissions, proposed terms and conditions, and throughout the final hearing," he stated in an e-mail response to Nunavut News/North Feb. 3.
"Leading up to and during the final hearing Areva responded to these concerns, not by predicting future markets and possible start dates but rather, by addressing the issue with a focus on i) transparently communicating the possibility of delay and ii) discussion of mechanisms to ensure assessment conclusions remain valid and therefore environmental integrity is protected."
Martin included in the e-mail three excerpts from the May 2015 hearing, where Areva addressed those concerns, such as in the company's closing statements:
"Areva strongly believes that sections under Article 12, Part 7, 8, 9, and 10 adequately address the concern of changing circumstances, and Section 12.8.2 provides the mechanism at any time to add, remove, or modify project certificate terms and conditions."
Following the board's recommendation, Areva interceded with then-Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (now Indigenous and Northern Affairs) Minister Bernard Valcourt, requesting an exemption and that Valcourt reject the board's decision.
A flurry of letters supporting the review board's decision then landed on Valcourt's desk. The Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO), Kivalliq Wildlife Board, Aqiggiq HTO, Hamlet of Chesterfield Inlet, Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, and Mining Watch Canada all requested the Valcourt uphold the NIRB recommendation and reject the Kiggavik proposal.
The immediate fate of the Kiggavik uranium project now rests with Bennett. A spokesperson for her department, Valerie Hache, stated in an e-mail to Nunavut News/North that Bennett "is now reviewing the NIRB's recommendation, and will consult with the other new responsible ministers (Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada and Natural Resources)."
"There is no specific timeline for the minister's decision as the file will be given necessary time for an informed decision to be made."
In his letter to Bennett, Ukpatiku reminded Bennett that Fisheries and Oceans Minister Hunter Tootoo, the Nunavut MP, ran on a platform that clearly outlined how development and industry decisions would be made by a Liberal government. "The government that grants the licences, but the communities grant permission," Tootoo stated.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used those same words with Nunavut News/North while campaigning in Nunavut a year ago.
According to Ukpatiku, Tootoo also told reporters, "the Liberal party will go along with decisions made by a regulatory body without political interference."
Meanwhile, Martin emphasized, "Areva is fully aware that in order to have a successful development we require regulatory approvals, community engagement and support and favorable economic conditions.
"Areva advanced the Kiggavik proposal through the environmental assessment because the territory communicated its openness to resource development, including uranium, as long as the individual projects strongly demonstrated they could be operated with appropriate environmental protection and with contributions to the well-being of Inuit."
In his concluding statement in his letter to Bennett, Ukpatiku reminds the minister, "Many Inuit from Nunavut heard these (Liberal) promises and elected Mr. Tootoo. I urge you to keep the promises made during the recent campaign, and reject Areva's proposed Kiggavik uranium mine."
