Photo: Reassuring words from Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak to mining symposium

Nunavut will deliver transparency, consistency and certainty to mining companies that want to develop projects in the territory, Premier Eva Aariak told delegates April 16 the Nunavut Mining Symposium in Iqaluit, backing it up with the oft-repeated assurance that “Nunavut is open for business.” To make doing business easier, Nunavut wants to see a “one-window assessment” process for projects to reduce “costly duplication,” she said. Along with that, Aariak said she wants to see the devolution of power over Crown lands to Nunavut, noting that “Prime Minister Harper has recently assured me of his personal interest in seeing devolution move forward.” But the territorial government won’t forget about making sure people in Nunavut benefit from resource development, promising more educational partnerships between mining companies like Baffinland and Agnico-Eagle, which plans to sign a memorandum of understanding this week on preparing students for mining jobs. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)