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Inquiry wanted into uranium mining plan for caribou country

Last spring, the regulatory process began for the $1.5-billion Kiggavik project, a uranium mine proposed for just west of Baker Lake by French uranium giant Areva. It is the first such mine to come before the Nunavut Impact Review Board and the first proposed for the wildlife-rich Thelon Basin, home to major caribou herds.

(Canada) Nunavut residents want inquiry into uranium mine – CTV News, 14 Sept 10, The tiny, remote community of Grise Fiord on the frozen shores of Ellesmere Island is nearly as far as it gets from the giant uranium mine proposed for the southern tundra near Baker Lake.

But that didn’t stop 46 people in the community from signing a petition tabled in the legislature last summer demanding a public inquiry over the project. Five other Nunavut communities tabled similar petitions.

They didn’t get their inquiry. Premier Eva Aariak has announced a unique series of public forums across the territory for later this year to discuss whether uranium mining is something Nunavut really wants.”This is a very good reason why we’re doing these public forums — to find out how big of an issue it is,” said Aariak. “From there, we can engage in a policy decision after we hear from the public.”
Last spring, the regulatory process began for the $1.5-billion Kiggavik project, a uranium mine proposed for just west of Baker Lake by French uranium giant Areva. It is the first such mine to come before the Nunavut Impact Review Board and the first proposed for the wildlife-rich Thelon Basin, home to major caribou herds.

With at least a dozen other major uranium projects in the pipeline for the area, how the board balances Kiggavik’s effects on hunting and the environment with the need for jobs will define the so-called barren lands for a generation. The debate has engaged the entire territory.

“What’s at stake is who we are,” said Sandra Inutiq of the Iqaluit-based anti-uranium group Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit, which sponsored the petitions.

Nunavut residents want inquiry into uranium mine – CTV News

September 14, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, opposition to nuclear | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, uranium