A few decades ago, The Northern Miner might have jumped all over the Labrador Inuit Association for the position it has taken on the proposed development of the Voisey’s Bay nickel-copper-cobalt deposit near Nain, Labrador. In a nutshell, the LIA says there should be no mining until there is Labrador Inuit consent.
In the past, we would have argued that native Canadians have no business standing in the way of new mines and other resource development which contribute so much to our economy. But that was then, and this is now.
Our position has been tempered somewhat by reality. And that reality is that while most Canadians enjoy a decent standard of living, poverty, idleness and despair continue to plague many native communities. This is certainly the case at the Innu (Indian) community of Davis Inlet, which captured national attention a few years ago because of the grave social problems affecting many of its young people.
It is understandable, therefore, that the LIA wants to negotiate with Inco, Voisey’s Bay’s soon-to-be owner, and work out an agreement on issues such as job-training and business opportunities, as well as environmental, social and cultural protection.
Such agreements are already common in the mining industry, one example being the socio-economic arrangement worked out between Falconbridge and the Quebec Inuit organization Makivik. The Northwest Territories diamond project is another. And up in the Yukon, Cominco and local native leaders have arrived at an agreement that ensures that jobs and economic benefits from the Kudz Ze Kayah project are shared with local First Nations communities.
More difficult to understand is the LIA’s starting position that there should be no major development in their “homeland” before land claims are settled.
If companies were to comply with such stipulations, resource development would come to a standstill in most parts of Canada. Prospectors and miners have rights too, though it is politically incorrect to say so these days.
Recently, however, the LIA softened its stance by saying that if it is able to work out an agreement with Inco, it would consider allowing mineral development, even though the land claims are not settled.
This is a more sensible option, and one that is clearly in the best interests of all parties.
After all, the LIA has a responsibility for securing the future of its young people — a responsibility that goes beyond the issue of settling land claims. For the first time in decades, opportunity is knocking at their door.
The Inuit and Innu in Labrador represent a young population whose future could be made brighter by the skills-training and business opportunities that stem from mining development. Social ills are not cured by money and programs that foster dependence and the culture of complaint, but by initiative and determination.
The challenge facing native groups such as the Inuit is how to seize opportunities for economic prosperity without losing what is of genuine value from their culture and past. Perhaps Voisey’s Bay can be a catalyst in that process.
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