Carney's Arctic ambitions are caught between Inuit self-determination and the mining sector

National Observer

4 days ago

A land use plan that stakes out conservation and economic boundaries in Nunavut is inching closer to reality as Prime Minister Mark Carney's major projects agenda gathers steam.
The recommended Nunavut Land Use Plan, decades in the making, proposes how the vast Arctic region should be managed. Nunavut covers one-fifth of Canada's land mass, a whopping portion of the planet's Arctic and will be the single largest Indigenous land claim in the country if finalized.
As Carney stickhandles his nation-building agenda, accepting the Nunavut Land Use Plan offers Ottawa an opportunity to build — but to do so requires rejecting long-standing mining sector objections.
The mining industry wields tremendous influence in Nunavut. Last year, mining and quarrying contributed $1.2 billion to the territory's GDP — about one-third of the total — and helped Nunavut outpace every other region of the country significantly.
The powerful industry sees a land use plan that constrains its ability to expand as a serious threat.
On the other hand, increasing the amount of land and water under conservation to protect nature while promoting Inuit-self determination are long-standing priorities of the federal government, and the recommended land use plan would be a giant leap forward on those files.
These competing priorities are now coming to a head, as Carney seeks to advance his major projects agenda that propelled him to government, while threading the needle between building fast and respecting Indigenous rights and environmental concerns.
As Carney stickhandles his nation-building agenda, accepting the Nunavut Land Use Plan offers Ottawa an opportunity to build — but to do so requires rejecting long-standing mining sector objections.
A plan for self-determination
A plan of this size and scale is complex, time consuming and politically challenging. It involves conservation goals like protecting caribou calving grounds and polar bear denning areas, designating resource extraction zones for mining and oil and gas development, as well as deciding where military installations, commercial fisheries and renewable electricity generation should go.
At its core, it is also a key missing piece of Inuit self-determination.
The plan has been sitting with the federal government since June 2023, and is the last major outstanding element of the Nunavut Agreement signed in 1993 — the monumental deal that six years later formally carved Nunavut out of the Northwest Territories as a distinct territory to be managed by Inuit.
This latest draft is the result of over 100 community consultations and over 15 years of work to reconcile what are often colliding goals from conservationists, resource companies, political leaders and Inuit who call the region home.
Last year, a federal briefing note prepared for the Department of Indigenous Services ahead of an appearance before the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, described different stakeholder positions on the proposed Nunavut Land Use Plan.
'Reactions to the Plan have been mixed, with some key parties (e.g., mining industry) indicating they have serious concerns and urging rejection, and others (e.g., environmental non-governmental organizations) expressing that the Plan represents a solid foundation for land management in Nunavut and urging its approval,' the briefing note reads.
Major projects on the line
Carney is hoping to develop several major projects in the North, many of which will depend on Inuit participation and consent. The land use plan specifically describes two major projects — the Grays Bay Port and Road project and the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link — that Canada's National Observer has recently reported are top contenders to make Carney's list of projects in the national interest. Three other major infrastructure projects are also noted in the plan (the Iqaluit Hydroelectric Project, the Qikiqtarjuaq Deep Sea Port, and the Baffinland Mines access corridor to Steensby Inlet).
In late July, Carney met with Inuit leaders from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Pauktuutit and the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee in Inuvik, NWT to discuss his major projects agenda that has proven controversial among many Indigenous nations. He was presented with a list of nearly 80 Inuit-specific infrastructure projects, and Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (the biggest Inuit organization, representing 51 communities), left the meeting 'optimistic' about Canada respecting modern treaties signed with Inuit as the federal government pursues its megaprojects priorities.
Experts told Canada's National Observer that as Ottawa plots its next major projects move, it should accept Nunavut's recommended land use plan, effectively closing a chapter decades in the making and setting the stage for a new era of Inuit-led resource management over Nunavut.
For the land use plan to be accepted, it needs to be agreed to by the federal government, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) — the body representing Inuit in Nunavut in treaty negotiations.
Jacinthe Goulet, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, said the federal government is 'ready for the North to lead in project development,' but further study is still required. Ottawa is examining the plan's legal compliance and consistency with federal policies, whether it 'can be easily implemented' and contributes to regulatory efficiency, and whether the planning process was appropriate, Goulet said.
'Prior to making a decision, the Government of Canada must also determine whether the Crown's duty to consult Indigenous people has been effectively carried out,' she said. 'The decision-making process is taking time, given that the plan is complex and has weighed many interests and objectives, some of which are competing.'
Key among those competing objectives are the interests of the mining industry.
The Nunavut government and NTI did not return requests for comment. But in recent months, Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok has made clear that growing the mining industry is a priority for his government.
Speaking at the Nunavut Mining Symposium in April, Akeeagok said Nunavut's critical mineral mining potential could help assert sovereignty over the Arctic as geopolitical tensions rise.
Lori Idlout, the NDP MP for Nunavut, said in an interview that it was high time the federal government approve the plan so that Inuit can begin determining their own priorities over how Nunavut is managed and protected.
'If there was real Inuit self-determination then Inuit would've been able to approve its own land use plan, and not have to wait for the minister responsible for the North to have to approve it,' she said, noting the 'heavy influence of mining companies' have had in recommending Ottawa delay its approval.
'From my perspective it's the voice of the mining companies that seems to be heard more strongly than Inuit.'
In a letter to Inuit leaders ahead of their meeting with Carney, Idlout warned profits from mining will go to shareholders, not Inuit, and urged them to defend Inuit rights as Ottawa pursues its major projects priorities.
Protected areas on mining claims
Tara Shea, vice-president of regulatory affairs for the Mining Association of Canada, said her organization has concerns with the recommended land use plan.
'I take the point that this has been a long time in the making, but I don't think we should accept the plan with these material issues just because it's been a long time,' she said. 'We feel there will be some consequences for our sector unless the plan is amended.'
Shea said the mining industry's concern is that the land use plan sets protected areas, but within some of those areas are existing mineral claims. The plan offers exemptions to existing mineral claims, but does not explicitly allow for related infrastructure to be built, effectively hamstringing mining to occur without roads in and out of the site, for example.
'So you could proceed within that footprint, but you've almost created islands within these limited use areas for mineral development with no access,' she said, adding that undermines the certainty mines could develop that companies are looking for.
However, the recommended Nunavut land use plan does take this concern into consideration — companies could apply for infrastructure projects like roads and rails in limited use zones where they would otherwise not be permitted. It would take submitting a request for an amendment, and a potential public review of the proposal over whether it should be accepted or not.
That process isn't enough for the mining association.
'Relying on the amendment process is not sufficient,' she said, adding that it's concerning to have a layer of uncertainty 'through an undefined process with no regulatory timelines before proceeding to an extremely robust assessment system.'
She said the mining association doesn't believe the plan should be thrown out entirely, but 'very targeted changes' are required, that would mean sending the plan back to the Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) to address.
That sounds familiar to Paul Crowley, former head of WWF Canada's Arctic program and a lawyer based in Iqualuit. He said the mining industry has consistently resisted the Nunavut Land Use Plan, using similar terms.
'What I've observed, since I've been involved, is you'll rarely get a representative of the mining sector saying 'we don't want a land use plan,'' he said. 'They'll all agree we need a land use plan, but not 'this one.''
Crowley said it's not unlikely mining companies would be able to build what they need to build, using the process in the plan.
'A reasonable project proposal, with community backing, would, in my opinion, likely be successful at the NPC stage of the regulatory review,' he said.
The ability to delay the land use plan from being finalized has meant over a decade of consultation, which in his experience attending public hearings, often resulted in Inuit asking 'why are you guys back here … why isn't this already done?' he said.
Plan could speed up projects
Nunavut is the largest jurisdiction in the country by geographic area, while also having the smallest population at around 40,000 residents. That population is also Canada's youngest and fastest-growing, which the Nunavut Land Use Plan argues makes responsible economic development an essential part of its future wellbeing.
Monte Hummel, president emeritus of WWF Canada who now works with Friends of Land Use Planning — a group advocating for Indigenous-led land use planning in Canada — said given the extensive consultation behind the plan, if the Carney government were to accept it, he could move faster on the Nunavut related major projects his government is considering.
'The feds would have a pre-negotiated social license for those two projects on their list … which I believe the prime minister needs at this moment,' he said.
Finalizing the plan would also support a conservation commitment Carney made on the campaign trail and repeated during the throne speech: that his government will protect more nature than ever before, Hummel said.
Approving the plan 'would be the largest amount of nature protected with one stroke of a pen, ever,' he said, adding that if Canada is going to meet its international conservation targets to protect 30 per cent of land and water by 2030, as promised under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Nunavut Land Use Plan is essential.
'The Nunavut Land Use Plan is probably one of the biggest economic and conservation sleepers in the country today,' he said. 'It applies to a huge amount of Canada, it has international significance in terms of its size and delivering on international commitments, and would facilitate, I would argue, commitments that the PM has made in his mandate letters, during the campaign and in the throne speech.'