Limit new mining claims until land-use plan approved: advocates
Fourth draft rejected in July; land continues to be staked across territory
Habitat for caribou will continue to be threatened if a new Nunavut Land Use Plan is not signed by signatories, says an advocacy group. (File photo)
A Nunavut-based land use advocacy group is calling for a ban of new mining claims in areas that would have been protected under the latest draft Nunavut Land Use Plan until a new plan is formalized.
Friends of Land Use Planning put forth the idea in a July 9 news release, after the draft’s latest rejection.
A land-use plan is required as part of the 1993 Nunavut Agreement. Its purpose is to partition Inuit-Owned Lands in the territory for environmental and wildlife habitat protection, as well as economic development.
Over the past 16 years, four drafts have been submitted to — and ultimately rejected by — Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the federal government and the Nunavut government. All three bodies must sign off on the plan for it to be implemented.
The latest draft includes proposals for areas that would be open to development, open to development on conditional terms, and “limited use” zones where development would be banned for environmental, cultural or archeological reasons.
The signatories released a document July 6 with several suggestions for revision, as well as calls for more consultation with Inuit.
Meanwhile, mineral exploration and other forms of development continue across the territory without a plan in place.
“The ramifications are already apparent. As of May 2025, more than half of Nunavut’s 52,000 square-kilometres of mining claims had been staked in the previous two years,” said the news release from Friends of Land Use Planning.
About 15,000 square-kilometres of these claims are in proposed limited-use zones, where industrial activities would be banned due to environmental concerns, the release said.
Lawyers for the advocacy group have warned that reversing existing claims in limited use areas “could be a costly legal process if the companies do not willingly relinquish their claims.”
“Ignoring those voices will only deepen conflict and increase distrust,” the news release said.
Representatives from Friends of Land Use Planning did not response to a request for comment.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is still working with the federal government and the Nunavut government towards a finalized plan, NTI said in an unsigned email.
“At this time, the signatories have not made any decisions regarding interim land withdrawal measures,” the email said in response to questions about the proposal to temporarily halt new mining claims in areas proposed to be protected in the draft plan.
The federal government and territorial government did not respond to a request for comment.
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