On April 20, the Inuit of Clyde River, Nunavut were in a Toronto courtroom seeking to overturn a plan approved by the National Energy Board (NEB) to search for petroleum offshore near their Baffin Island community. Several dozen demonstrators rallied outside, signing a banner in support of the community and sampling raw beluga whale. The court has reserved judgement.
The proposal to conduct seismic surveys was submitted to the NEB in 2011 by a consortium of companies: TGS-NOPEC, Petroleum Geophysical Services, and MultiKlient Invest. The plan was approved in the summer of 2014. By that time, opposition to the project – and indignation that Inuit concerns about lack of consultation an possible affects on wildlife did not appear to have been taken seriously – had spread across Baffin Island.
Clyde River mayor Jerry Natanine says the seismic surveys, which overlap important whale habitat and fishing grounds, pose an unnecessary risk to commercial fishing activities and the wildlife Inuit depend upon for subsistence hunting.
Many Inuit on Baffin Island still rely on marine mammals, including seals and whales, as a source of food. The sale of seal skins and narwhal ivory provides important income to hunters, while the commercial fishery provides seasonal employment. Hunting and fishing are also an integral part of the culture and identity of many Inuit.
“The detrimental effects that seismic testing can have have not been properly researched,” says Natanine. At community consultations Natanine says the companies pushing the proposal “couldn’t even answer our most basic questions. How can we expect them to communicate with us and work with our community if they can’t even talk to us openly about their plans and the possible impacts?”
Offshore seismic testing involves the use of air guns to emit bursts of sound underwater, loud enough to permeate the ocean floor and return data on the possible locations of oil and gas deposits. In this case, blasts are scheduled to begin this summer and continue every 13 to 15 seconds, 24 hours a day, for five months of the year over the next five years.
Throughout the NEB’s review of the consortium’s proposal, opposition was both clear and widespread. Residents of Nunavut submitted petitions to the NEB and spoke out at public meetings. Clyde River’s local government bodies passed motions opposing the surveys, as did a council of all the mayors from Baffin Island.
Inuit organizations urged the NEB to withhold approval until responsible wildlife protection measures could be designed. The Nunavut Marine Council, an advisory body for resource management in waters adjacent to Nunavut, joined the chorus calling for further studies. When the NEB approved the project, residents of Clyde River held a local protest.
In August 2014, Clyde River, the local Hunters and Trappers Organization, and mayor Natanine launched a judicial review of the NEB’ decision in the Federal Court of Appeals. Clyde River’s legal challenge attempts to overturn the NEB decision, and halt seismic work scheduled for this summer.
At the Toronto hearing last week, Nader Hasan, legal counsel for the Clyde River, argued that the Government of Canada did not properly consult with Inuit communities, even though under Canadian law, the Crown is obligated to consult meaningfully with Aboriginal peoples on decisions that may affect their constitutionally-protected Aboriginal and Treaty Rights.
Hasan argued that seismic surveys will impact the Inuit right to hunt marine mammals, which is enshrined in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, a “modern treaty” between the Crown and the Inuit of Nunavut that was signed in 1993.
Lawyers representing the consortium attempted to have the case dismissed arguing that the community of Clyde River does not have legal standing to bring a challenge based on Aboriginal rights to the courts. According to the consortium’s lawyers, only the representative Inuit organizations – the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) or Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) – could do so.
However, in an April 7 media release, QIA president PJ Akeeagok said that his organization supports Clyde River’s court challenge.
“QIA continues to be opposed to the proposed seismic survey until Inuit concerns have been met and we support the Hamlet of Clyde River in their efforts to stop the seismic survey,” reads the statement.
QIA issued another statement in response to the consortium’s argument two days after the Toronto hearing. “QIA wishes to emphatically confirm that it whole-heartedly supports the application made by the Hamlet and HTO. Both before and after the NEB decision, QIA has provided written notice to the proponent, NEB, and the Government of Canada, that in QIA’s opinion there has been inadequate consultation with Inuit, whether represented by QIA or by any other organizations.”
Natanine tells NOW that people in Clyde River are not opposed to “development” in general in the region. “We have a great need in the Arctic region for infrastructure and jobs,” he says.
But according to Natanine, the consultations held by the companies and the NEB were ineffective.
Numerous seismic surveys were carried out off the coast of Baffin Island in the 1970s and 1980s. During the NEB review, Inuit spoke at length about their experience from that period, and the dead and deaf mammals, and disrupted migration patterns left in their wake.
For Natanine, the level of risk is especially high because of the lack of information on marine wildlife habitats in Baffin Bay. “The detrimental effect that seismic testing can have are not even properly researched.” He also believes further research on the migration routes of marine mammals through the bay is necessary before responsible oil and gas development is feasible.
Clyde River’s court challenge has been accompanied by a growing movement of support. A series of public events were hosted by the Clyde River Solidarity Network – which includes Idle No More, Amnesty International, Greenpeace Canada, and the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network – in advance of the court challenge in Toronto.
The groups have circulated a statement arguing that the approval of seismic surveys without the consent of Inuit amounts to a human rights violation. Signatories include the David Suzuki Foundation, Sierra Club of Canada, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Council of Canadians, OXFAM Canada, KAIROS, as well as, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Sheila Copps, journalist Naomi Klein, and actress Lucy Lawless.
Warren Bernauer and Ava Lightbody are members of the Clyde River Solidarity Network.
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