Shipping increase approved; Baffinland won’t terminate workers
Northern affairs minister approved company’s shipping increase Tuesday afternoon
Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal speaks at a press event at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., in June 2022. In a letter Tuesday, Vandal approved Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s application to increase its shipping limit to six million tonnes in 2022. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Baffinland Iron Mines will “immediately … be rescinding all termination notices” issued to 1,100 employees after federal Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal approved its request to increase its shipping limit this year, a company spokesperson said Tuesday.
Vandal’s decision sided with the Nunavut Impact Review Board’s recommendation, made Sept. 22, that the company should be allowed to increase its iron ore shipments to six million tonnes from 4.2 million this year at the Mary River mine.
“Given the timing constraints inherent to the project proposal … I urge the Board to issue the amended Project Certificate as soon as possible,” Vandal wrote in his letter Tuesday to NIRB chairperson Marjorie Kaviq Kaluraq.
Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman said Vandal’s decision recognizes the company’s importance in the territory, where it is the largest private-sector employer.
“Baffinland is committed to responsible operation and believes we can operate in a manner that protects the environment while creating economic prosperity and building stronger communities,” he wrote in a statement.
Over the summer, Baffinland began the process to fire more than 1,100 employees from the mine, saying there wouldn’t be enough work to keep them employed if Vandal didn’t direct NIRB to give the company the permit for a shipping limit increase.
Those terminations were originally scheduled to begin Sept. 25, but with the positive NIRB recommendation Baffinland pushed it back to Oct. 20.
On Tuesday, Akman told Nunatsiaq News those plans are now off.
Baffinland had been shipping six million tonnes of iron ore per year since 2018. That permit expired in December 2021, and since then it has been limited to 4.2 million tonnes annually.
The company tried two different avenues in May to work around requiring a review to increase its shipping, but Vandal denied both.
Vandal instead told the company to go through the NIRB process, which Baffinland did, and told NIRB to treat the company’s application as a priority.
In his letter, Vandal said the Qikiqtani Inuit Association reached out to Vandal on Sept. 26 — four days after NIRB gave its recommendation — to inform him the association and Baffinland had met and agreed on more commitments.
Vandal asked the board to create an appendix that would serve as a list of all project commitments under the Mary River mine.
Baffinland and the QIA have agreed to hiring a third party to ensure the commitments are met, Vandal said.
These include making the environmental monitoring groups work better, recognizing trails that hunters use, and auditing dust impact reports, Vandal said.
The company still awaits a decision on its Phase 2 proposal to ship 12 million tonnes of iron ore per year through the Tallurutiup Imanga marine conservation area, which would involve building an additional dock at the Milne Inlet port and constructing a 110-km railway line.
That application received a negative recommendation from NIRB and is currently sitting with Vandal, with a decision expected by late fall.
“Through extensive consultation with our stakeholders, we believe we have put forward a strong application that addresses Inuit concerns,” Akman wrote.
Thank you. My family will have Xmas presents this fiscal year.
I am honestly amazed that the comments are open on this story. What bravery on your part. Contrasting that against the closed comments on Aluki’s recent letter / opinion piece that was closed for discussion. Was that the deal, Corey, she would write you a fabulous engaging piece, but you would shield her from any kind of criticism?
How cowardly.
between this and leaving comments off on justice matters i don’t understand why the morality police do this. turn off all comments like cbc and i’ll stop reading this paper
This is really great news before the holiday season.
A victory for working class Nunavumiut.
Just approve the phase 2 already, enough of this pissing contest and just expand the mine
This is really good news and hope it never goes away ever in the near future, because it is our children’s future.
Name Withheld please
Yes! Continue with phase 2! Build the rail to iqaluit. Would have the least foot print. Oh yeah!
A break for the working People,
The long-term future of Baffinland is still uncertain if they don’t get approval for the proposed expansion. With high energy costs in Europe, where the ore goes, and with an economic downturn looming, there’s no certainty the company can cover costs over the next couple of years. The key is productivity and productivity clearly requires the increased volume. A mine that can’t cover costs closes down so there has to be cooperation on both sides.
A lot of Inuit living in communities many young adults never got a chance to work at any mines. Really no use for whole community members. Only hand picked individuals.