William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News
Hunters and trappers organizations from Naujaat, Sanirajak and Iglulik, along with the World Wildlife Fund Canada and Ecojustice, said they oppose Mary River iron mine expansion over concerns about caribou and narwhal populations.
At a press conference held on Apex Beach in Iqaluit on May 15, the groups contended that some wildlife populations have already declined due to iron ore mining, while arguing that a future railway and increased shipping would further damage wildlife.
“This railroad that’s contemplated will cut through the migratory path of some of the herds on the island, as well as the habitat of the few caribou that we have left,” said Paul Okalik, a legal specialist with World Wildlife Canada and the first premier of Nunavut.
The concerned groups met earlier this month with federal agencies Canadian Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Northern Projects Management Office, according to James Gunvaldsen Klaassen, the managing lawyer for Ecojustice. Legal action is on the table, he added.
The Mary River mine, 160 km south of Pond Inlet, has all key regulatory authorizations required to begin its expansion, according to owners Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation. Construction on the expansion is expected to begin this year and be completed within three years.
Baffinland’s Steensby component mine expansion would include Nunavut’s first railway — stretching 149 km — increasing the company’s annual production of iron ore by five times its current amount.
Baffinland responds
Impacts on caribou and narwhal were taken into account during the permitting and consultation process for the expansion, according to Peter Akman, Baffinland’s head of stakeholder relations and communications.
“Baffinland takes those concerns seriously. However, in May 2025, we responded through the Canadian Transportation Agency consultation process and addressed their issues raised regarding consultation, marine effects, caribou and hunting,” Akman said.
The company committed to create deterrents to prevent caribou from migrating across the railway’s path, a May 2025 filing on the Canadian Transportation Agency shows. Traffic controls are also promised if caribou are killed along the rail route.
Studies on how many caribou are living in North Baffin will be conducted involving hunters and trappers organizations from Iglulik and Sanirajak, their hamlets, and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Baffinland promised.
At the May 15 press conference, Arviq Hunters and Trappers Association chair John Ell-Tinashlu, of Naujaat, held up a glass bottle of liquid he said was picked up within the past week in a caribou grazing ground to illustrate impacts he attributed to the mine.
He believes iron transported along the mine’s road is making its way onto the land.
“That’s terrible for my animals, for my children and their food,” Ell-Tinashlu said.
Narwhal in the shipping lanes
Impacts on narwhal are also a concern for the group.
Lloyd Idlout, of the Iglulik Hunters and Trappers Association, predicted that additional ships carrying iron ore will impact the narwhal harvest.
“These ships will create noise pollution in the ocean, and with the much larger ships, they will be dumping more ballast waters in our ocean, chlorinated waters,” Idlout said.
Baffinland is required to change its operations if noise from the mine negatively affects wildlife, according to the Canadian Transportation Agency filing.
Okalik said increased shipments of iron ore will disrupt migration of narwhal.
“The shipping route that will transit over 200 times a year will go through the migratory path of the narwhals that the community depends upon. It will block their their migration,” he said.
Baffinland maintained that traffic will not increase along the waterways due to its mine expansion, and that those ships would be there anyway. The Steensby port and its shipping route were specifically chosen to avoid known or proposed marine protected areas, the mining company stated in its filing.
The route was selected by the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, according to Baffinland’s filing.
Consultation with Naujaat
Ell-Tinashlu said Naujaat hunters and residents were not consulted on the Mary River mine expansion.
That’s the threshold for possible legal action, according to Gunvaldsen Klaassen.
“It’s the law of this country, and the law of treaty rights of the people of Naujaat, that they must be consulted before major projects and decisions affect their their rights, their harvesting rights. And in this case, that didn’t happen,” said Gunvaldsen Klaassen.
But Baffinland said Naujaat chose not to participate in the public review and was not integrated into stakeholder negotiations because of that.
The Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) allowed anyone from the public to participate in the process, Akman noted.
“The Kivalliq Inuit Association took part in the NIRB process of that review and the Arviq HTO and Naujaat hamlet would have been represented by them,” he said. “That said, both groups could have participated separately as well.”
On April 16, 2025, the Arviq Hunters and Trappers Association said its concerns were not heard and asked the Canadian Transportation Agency to deny Baffinland’s permitting.
The groups said they want to find a way forward with Baffinland to resolve environmental concerns related to the mine expansion.
“There should be a better way forward. It just doesn’t need to go through Steensby — look at other options that may be more worthy of consideration for this project,” Okalik urged.
He added, however, that they stand with their fellow Inuit who work at the mine and don’t want to see it shut down.
