By Canadian Press

Nunavut hunters block mine road, airstrip; say their voices aren’t being heard

Feb 5, 2021 | 11:12 AM

Nunavut hunters have blocked a road and an airstrip at a mine on northern Baffin Island in protest of a proposed expansion. 

The Mary River iron ore mine, owned by Baffinland Iron Mines Corp., wants to double its output to 12 million tonnes from six million tonnes and build a 110-kilometre railway to take the ore out to sea.

Hunters and community members in the area are against the proposed expansion and worry about its effects on wildlife and the environment. 

The protest started about 10 p.m. on Thursday nigh when hunters from Pond Inlet arrived at the mine site on snowmobiles.

Naymen Inuarak, one of the protesters, says it took the hunters two days to get to the site, which is about 150 kilometres south of Pond Inlet.

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In a news release, Baffinland says it’s been in communication with the hunters and respects their right to peacefully protest. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.

The Canadian Press