Impact and benefit agreement not enough for us, Baker Lake says

The Hamlet of Baker Lake says their community needs more than what’s offered in an Inuit impact and benefit agreement between Cumberland Resources Ltd. and the Kivalliq Inuit Association.

“Cumberland Resources needs to negotiate specifically with the hamlet for individual projects, rather than just the Kivalliq Inuit Association,” Baker Lake Mayor David Aksawnee says in a submission to the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

Cumberland plans to a build the $350 million Meadowbank gold mine just 70 km north of Baker Lake, and connect it to the community with an all-weather road.

Under the Nunavut land claim agreement, each major developer must negotiate an Inuit impact and benefit agreement, or “IIBA,” with a regional Inuit association. Cumberland and the KIA have already started talks on an IIBA for the Meadowbank mine.

But the Hamlet of Baker Lake says that to get the greatest possible benefit from the Meadowbank gold mine for their residents, they also need specific deals with Cumberland on jobs, contracting, youth programs and a long list of infrastructure projects.

“IIBAs are beneficial and important, but do not cover all the issues related to socio-economics. Additional agreements must be negotiated and signed to mitigate and resolve all the issues the Hamlet of Baker Lake faces,” the hamlet submission says.

The NIRB is leading a review of an environmental impact statement that Cumberland filed this past January. They’ve already received numerous submissions on the project, conducted a round of community visits and consultations in April, and held technical hearings at the beginning of June.

In its own submission, Baker Lake’s hamlet council made numerous comments, including:

* Meadowbank should have a 50 per cent Inuit employment rate, and give preference to Baker Lake residents;
* Cumberland should work out specific jobs and training initiatives with the Hamlet of Baker Lake;
* Cumberland should work with the hamlet to set up a business service centre in the community to help Baker Lake businesses get service contracts;
* The hamlet is happy that Cumberland is proposing on-the-job training programs, but also want courses in personal financial management, mining programs in local schools, stay-in-school programs and scholarships;
* The hamlet is “disappointed” that a detailed education and training strategy has yet to be worked out, and they say that mine training programs must be developed as soon as possible.
* Since the majority of residents do not have bank accounts, the hamlet wants assistance in setting up a credit union or co-op;
* The hamlet says it’s important for Cumberland to negotiate specific community wellness programs with the hamlet, and not just with the KIA;
* After the mine closes, the hamlet wants ownership of two roads that Cumberland will build: a road to the company’s docking area near Baker Lake, and the 70 km road from Baker Lake to the mine site;
* The hamlet does not like Cumberland’s proposed location for its tank farm – they want it located beside the community’s existing tank farm;
* The hamlet wants a dynamite shack to be located on the other side of Blueberry Hill, rather than east of the community;
* The hamlet wants the community’s runway extended, and for Cumberland to use it for their fly-in, fly-out operations;
* The hamlet says that development of the mine will put a strain on hamlet services, such as water and sewage, and wants an improved sewage lagoon and a water treatment plan;
* The hamlet wants ownership of all mine buildings after the mine closes.

The proposed Meadowbank mine site contains at least 3.5 million ounces of gold, which Cumberland proposes to mine using three open pits.

After the review process is finished, perhaps later this year, the NIRB will make a recommendation to the DIAND minister on whether the Meadowbank mine should be permitted to operate, and under what conditions.

Cumberland hopes to get all necessary permits, licences and approvals by the end of this year, so that construction can start next year.