Federal decision expected today on Baffinland mine expansion
CBC
A decision that will determine the future of Baffinland Iron Mines' Mary River project in Nunavut is expected on Wednesday.
Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal is set to issue his verdict on the company's proposed Phase 2 expansion project that would see the mine's annual output doubled to 12 million tonnes of ore. The project would also involve the construction of a new 110-kilometre railway to the Milne Inlet port.
Vandal's decision has been a long time coming. It's been six months since the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) concluded its review of the project with a recommendation that it not be allowed to proceed.
The NIRB's review was a four-year process — the longest review in the board's history — that pitted economic development against environmental protections and the sustainability of traditional hunting. The full report, released in May, is 441 pages.
The NIRB concluded that the mine has the potential for "significant adverse ecosystemic effects" on marine mammals, fish, caribou and other wildlife, which in turn could harm Inuit culture, land use and food security.
The project should therefore "not be allowed to proceed at this time," wrote NIRB chairperson Kaviq Kaluraq to Vandal in May.
Normal procedures give the federal minister 90 days to accept, vary or reject the board's recommendation. That would have meant a decision from Vandal by mid-August.
The minister instead said in July that he would need more time, and pushed his decision back another 90 days, to November.
In the meantime, Vandal gave the go-ahead last month to another temporary production increase at the mine for this year.
A spokesperson for Northern Affairs Canada confirmed in an email to CBC News this week that Vandal's decision about the Phase 2 expansion project would be delivered to the NIRB on Wednesday, and then posted on the board's public registry.
In a statement last spring, Baffinland CEO Brian Penney said the company was disappointed by NIRB's recommendation, and would ask the federal government "to consider all of the evidence and input and to approve the Phase 2 application with fair and reasonable conditions."
In 2016, when the NIRB recommended a gold mine in Nunavut's Kitikmeot region not be allowed to go ahead, then-federal minister Carolyn Bennett rejected that recommendation, asking NIRB to give the project a second chance.
That mine was given approval the following year.
For two-time Olympian Tamara Tatham, Malvern is more than just the place she grew up — it's also where her love of basketball took off.
Tyler Rankin has gone to great lengths in his quest for better sleep. Tired of tossing and turning for years, he's tried nearly every sleep gadget and remedy on the market — spending close to $1,000 in the process.
Gerard Comeau thought nothing of his 2012 trip from New Brunswick to Quebec and back again to pick up a carload of beer. He lived close to the border in Tracadie, N.B., and the prices were cheaper in Quebec. It seemed like a no-brainer.
Nova Scotia's police watchdog is investigating after the death of a second person who was Tasered by Halifax police in less than a week.
As of March 1, you'll be charged 10 cents on all your plastic bottles ranging from 100 millilitres to two litres.
A Winnipeg woman says while Muslims will be fasting for the next 30 days to mark Ramadan, the holy month isn't only about abstaining from eating and drinking — it's also about bonding with others through prayer and being mindful of those experiencing oppression or suffering.
A Ukrainian in Saskatoon says she's angry and disgusted by what happened at a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday morning.
New rules requiring Alberta municipalities to form or join policing committees that oversee RCMP operations are now in effect, but some communities have yet to form them and still have questions about how they will work.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a new trade investigation that could heap more tariffs on imported lumber, adding to existing duties on Canadian softwood lumber and 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican goods due next week.
As the B.C. Conservatives settle into their role as the Official Oppositon after decades in the political wilderness, more than 750 party members gathered this weekend to decide on the direction of the party.
UPDATE, March 1 — B.C. Conservative members grapple with the future direction of the big tent party
Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney says he's written to the British and Irish governments to begin the process of renouncing his citizenship in both countries, leaving him solely with Canadian citizenship if the process is completed.