Nunavut communities look to future as Meliadine mine extension hearings wrap up

After almost a week of technical meetings, communities had their turn to speak at a final public hearing that could determine the future of Nunavut's Meliadine gold mine, and therefore the entire region.

Agnico Eagle Mines is looking to expand Meliadine near Rankin Inlet, extending the mine's life by 11 years until 2043 and building 11 wind turbines, among other changes. 

At a final public hearing in Rankin Inlet before the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB), community members from several Kivalliq communities sat before the board to share their thoughts. Representatives from Indigenous communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan also spoke, along with members of the general public. 

Bernadette Dean, who is from Coral Harbour, Nunavut, and lives in Rankin Inlet, said she "used to be a very angry person" when it came to the mine and its presence on the land. 

"The babies that were born this year, they will be 20 years old in 2043. It makes me wonder what the land will look like around Meliadine," Dean said. 

Dean said she was with a local elder when she saw the proposed site of the wind farm, which is near the mine site. 

"He looked at me and said it is a real hunting ground. His words stayed with me," she told the hearing through tears. 

Krista Ulujuk Zawadski, a PhD student from Rankin Inlet, also said she had concerns with how the mine was collecting its research. 

"I have not heard anything about supporting Inuit in research," she told the hearing on Monday night. 

Ulujuk Zawadski said she wanted to see young Inuit involved in the collection and analysis of data. 

Agnico Eagle's permitting and regulatory affairs superintendent Manon Turmel said the mine had all the necessary permits to conduct its research and that Rankin Inlet's hunters and trappers organization (HTO) has been helping with a hunter-harvest study for the last two years. 

"I agree that we could always do more," Turmel said. "We're doing our part,"

She also said surveys are done and decisions are made in collaboration with the HTO and the Kivalliq Inuit Association. 

Martha Hickes, Rankin Inlet's deputy mayor, sat through the entire eight days of the hearing, which began Sept. 12. 

"We need jobs for our people in this region," Hickes said. "But the concerns that I'm hearing around the table are about the migration of the caribou and the calving.

"If it was up to me, I wouldn't have the expansion. We go fishing in that area. People hunt in that area," she added. 

Hickes also said she's not against the wind farm necessarily, but wants to hear first from Inuit in Salluit in Nunavik, where the Raglan mine uses wind turbines.

Simeonie Sammurtok, from Chesterfield Inlet, noted he hasn't been to a Nunavut Impact Review Board meeting about the mine before. 

"We need help. The smaller communities have no voice," he said in Inuktitut. "We worry about our youth and how we can support them."

Sammurtok said the mine expansion would bring jobs to his community, where employment opportunities are scarce. 

"The youth want to work. They are scared, they are intimidated. We have to communicate with each other," he said. 

Harry Aggark from Chesterfield Inlet is the chair of Agnico Eagle's elders advisory committee. Aggark said the committee has met three times in the last two years, mostly because of difficulties scheduling meetings. 

"The elders advisory committee is in favour of what they were requesting," Aggark said of the proposal. 

Percy Kabloona, the mayor of Whale Cove, echoed Sammurtok's comments, saying his community needs the jobs that the mine brings. 

"We always support business and jobs that we don't have in our community," he said. 

Kabloona also said a lack of housing is hurting his community in Whale Cove and Agnico Eagle should consider how to fight the housing crisis in the Kivalliq. 

According to the mining company, one wind turbine would measure 144 metres tall, from the bottom of the structure to the top of the blade. 

The company also said installing the 11 wind turbines would reduce the mine's use of diesel by 15 million litres per year. They also said the mine could operate without the turbines, since the company has enough diesel generators on site. 

The hearing wraps up Wednesday with closing statements from intervenors. 

The Nunavut Impact Review Board will then have to make a recommendation in a report to the federal minister of Northern Affairs, who has the final say on the company's expansion plans.