A Nunavut iron ore mine’s expansion faces backlash from the Inuit community
Hundreds of Mary River Mine employees were unable to return home as Inuit hunters fought for wildlife protection
The proposed expansion of the Mary River Mine in Nunavut was interrupted by a week-long Inuit protest earlier this month. A group of seven hunters barricaded its main road and airstrip, which left 700 mine employees stranded at the facility.
Inuit land defenders were outraged by the planned construction of a 110-kilometre railway, which would connect Mary River Mine to the nearest port in Milne Inlet. While the expansion allows the mine to double its output and ship 12 million tonnes of iron ore annually, it also raises serious environmental concerns.
Nunavut hunters end blockades, mine pushes ahead with injunction against them
by The Canadian Press
Last Updated Feb 13, 2021 at 1:58 pm EDT
Baffinland Irons Mine Corp. has pushed ahead with an injunction against a group of Nunavut hunters who blocked the road and airstrip at its Mary River mine in protest of a plan to expand the project.
A group of seven Inuit hunters, who call themselves the Nuluujat Land Guardians, protested at the mine for a week.
Lori Idlout, lawyer for the hunters, says the hunters ended the blockades on Feb. 10 and have returned to their home communities.
Baffinland asked for a temporary injunction against the hunters last week, which was in place until today’s hearing on the injunction application.
Seven hunters from Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet, who call themselves the Nuluujaat Land Guardians, set up the blockade last week at the company s Mary River mine on Baffin Island. They travelled for two days and more than 150 kilometres by snowmobile to get to the site.
Other hunters have since joined the protest.
Baffinland is in the middle of environmental hearings on its proposal to double the mine s output of iron ore and build a 110-kilometre railway from the mine to the ocean for shipping. The railway would be the only one in Nunavut and the most northern one in Canada.
Mary River mine protesters announce end to blockade
Nuluujaat Land Guardians accept proposal for meetings with community leaders and Inuit organizations
Protesters who have been blockading Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s mine at Mary River announced Wednesday night they will decamp and prepare for face-to-face meetings with community leaders and Inuit organizations. This photo submitted in court by Baffinland shows the protest site last week. (Photo from Nunavut Court of Justice)
Updated at 1:15 p.m.
After a week of blockading an airstrip and road to an iron mine on north Baffin Island, a small group of protesters are packing up their tents.