Nunavut Mine? Inuit want none of it

According to a CBC report, Inuit in northern Quebec are requesting another review into how Baffinland’s Nunavut-based iron ore project will effect the surrounding area.

In a statement to the CBC, Jobie Tukkiapik, president of the Makivik Corproation, said that Baffinland’s intentions to ship ore non-stop throughout the year would have direct and dire impact on the marine life in the Hudson Strait area.

Worries over damaging the region’s ecosystem are also a major concern to people in Nunavik who rely on the Hudson Strait for hunting.

In March the company had to scale back work on another iron ore project after a decision by the Nunavut Impact Review Board denied Baffinland’s request to leave a 10-million litre fuel barge floating in the Steensby Inlet.

As it stands, the Baffinland Iron Mines corporation is projected to move 18 million tonnes of ore for the next twenty years.

Final hearings to the Pond Inlet project are scheduled for next week.