http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/
Feds said no to Areva’s Kiggavik uranium mine, backing Nunavut Impact Review Board
The Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization says it’s pleased but not surprised by the minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs’s decision to back the Nunavut Impact Review Board and reject Areva’s Kiggavik uranium mine. “We are pleased with the minister’s decision but not surprised,” said Joan Scottie, the HTO’s manager on behalf of chair Jamie Seekeenak.
The review board’s final report on the proposed mine near Baker Lake in the spring of 2015 rejected Areva Resources proposed Kiggavik mine on grounds that it lacks a definite start date and a development schedule. The board concluded that without this information it was impossible to assess the environmental and social impacts of the mine.
In her July 14 letter, Carolyn Bennett, the minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, echoed the decision made by the review board.
“There were serious problems with what Areva was proposing, we recognized it, the Nunavut Impact Review Board recognized it, it only makes sense for the government to recognize it as well,” said Scottie.
The hunters and trappers group had participated in the review for the uranium project since it began in 2009 and said that Areva did not convince them or the community representatives from Baker Lake that the mine would benefit them.
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