Grays Bay project puts recovery of barren-ground caribou in jeopardy

IQALUIT, August 28, 2017 – Statement from Paul Crowley, WWF-Canada’s vice-president of Arctic conservation, on the announcement made by the Government of Nunavut and Kitikmeot Inuit Association that the Grays Bay Road and Port project has been submitted to Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) for approval: 
 
“The Government of Nunavut and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association are trying to make the case for a substantial investment from Canadian taxpayers into a road through the core calving grounds of the Bathurst caribou herd. This herd has been in steep decline in recent years and its rebound is not guaranteed. This project will only serve to hinder the herd’s recovery.
 
The perils of ongoing delays associated with the implementation of the Nunavut Land Use Plan are highlighted by the submission of the Grays Bay Road and Port project to the Nunavut Impact Review Board without adequate screening at the landscape level by the Nunavut Planning Commission, an organization better suited to consider the cumulative effects of this project. The uncertainty of how future projects in this region will be dealt with once a land use plan is in place does no favours to communities or industry.
 
Finally, with its recent history of making decisions behind closed doors, I am very concerned that the Government of Nunavut, a proponent of this project, will not allow their own department of environment expert biologists to speak openly about the impacts the project will have on the land and in the ocean. This is a massive project. Canadians, as well as citizens of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut need to fully understand the impacts, as well as the benefits, before public money is invested.”
 
 
 
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For further information
Megan Nesseth, Arctic communications specialist, [email protected], +1 416-904-2482