Nunavut Tunngavik to review 2007 uranium policy

Keith Morrison, a senior advisor within NTI’s land and resources department, speaking at a public forum on uranium mining held March 17 in Iqaluit. He said no ban on uranium development has ever existed in Nunavut, and that NTI’s 2007 uranium mining policy is intended to ensure that uranium mining takes place in a way that protects Inuit interests and the environment. This means the organization examines uranium development proposals on a case-by-case basis, Morrison said. (PHOTO BY JIM BELL)

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. announced March 18 that they will do a review of the organization’s uranium policy after the Government of Nunavut finishes its own uranium policy consultations.

“The policy provides for periodic review. NTI will review the policy to ensure it continues to meet the needs of Inuit in Nunavut,” the organization said in a news release issued March 18.

NTI also said the policy review will “take into account existing legal obligations,” which is likely a reference to agreements that NTI and other Inuit associations have already signed with uranium firms.

NTI’s board adopted its current uranium policy in September 2007, after a lengthy process that stretches back to 1996 but didn’t start in earnest until about 2004, when increasing numbers of exploration firms begin searching for uranium in Nunavut. (See document embedded at bottom of page.)

Known uranium deposits exist on lands where NTI owns and controls sub-surface mineral rights. The organization says it needed a policy to guide its actions when handling applications from uranium exploration firms interesting those lands.

Meanwhile, in 2006, Areva Resources Canada Inc. reactivated work on the Kiggavik project near Baker Lake, and now proposes the investment of $1.5 billion on a uranium mine there, with construction planned to start in 2017.

That proposal now sits before the Nunavut Impact Review Board, which is still developing guidelines for an environmental review.

Before 2007, NTI had no specific policy on uranium mining, and no ban on uranium exploration or mining has ever existed.

But the Kivalliq region’s land use plan states that “uranium development” shall not take place until after the Nunavut Planning Commission,
Nunavut Water Board, Nunavut Impact Review Board, and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board each review the relevant issues.

In June of 2007, the four regulatory organizations did that in a three-day workshop in Baker Lake that brought together representatives from anti-nuclear groups, the uranium industry, Inuit organizations, governments and groups in the community.

Later that year, NTI released its policy, which gives conditional support for uranium mining in Nunavut.

Those conditions are:

• that nuclear energy should be used for peaceful and environmentally purposes;

• that Inuit get “significant” economic benefits;

• that human health, including the health of workers and all Nunavummiut, be protected;

• that uranium mining and exploration not be done in a way that damages people, wildlife, or the environment; and

• that Inuit in affected communities get a chance to participate in environmental assessments and in the operations of uranium mines.

“NTI fully understands that uranium development must have the full support of Inuit, especially in communities close to uranium development,” the press release said.

As for the Government of Nunavut, its separate policy consultation effort will wrap up May 15.

After holding open houses and public forums in Iqaluit March 16 and March 17, the GN will host similar events in Baker Lake on March 30 and March 31, and in Cambridge Bay on April 12 and April 13.

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., uranium policy, September 2007