Nunavut communities look to future as Meliadine mine extension hearings wrap up – by Emma Tranter (CBC News North – September 20, 2023)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Participants weigh importance of jobs in small communities with concerns about caribou

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.

For the rest of this article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavut-communities-look-to-future-as-mine-looks-to-expand-1.6972823