Northern Projects Management Office in Nunavut

Nunavut Mining Symposium

April 2012

*Conference Board of Canada – Striking a Balance; Impacts of Major Natural Resource Development Projects in the North November 2011

“Major Projects can provide significant benefits to

Northerners in the form of employment, infrastructure

development and training opportunities, but also pose

social and environmental risks that must be managed

carefully.”*

2

Mining in Nunavut• Almost $400 million in

exploration activity in Nunavut in 2011 - $585 million projected for 2012

• Potential for up to 10 new mineso Capital investment –

approximately $12Bo Jobs at peak – about 5,000o Total person years employment

– more than 88,000o Total expenditures – more than

$30B

3

Advanced mining projects in Nunavut

Mary River(iron)

Hope Bay(gold)

High Lake(base metals)

Meliadine(gold)

Roche Bay(iron)

Hackett River (base metals)

Kiggavik(uranium)

Ulu(gold)

Back River(gold)

Izok (base metals)

Lupin(gold)

Jericho(diamonds) Chidliak

(diamonds)

Source: NWT & Nunavut Chamber of mines

4

Key Challenges: • Infrastructure• Human Resources• Environmental Assessment • Regulatory Permitting• Community engagement and

Crown consultation

Mining in Nunavut

5

• Limited transportation infrastructure contributes to higher costs

• Need for a long term view • Strategic possibilities:

– Use of built infrastructure after mines close– Taking a regional perspective

• Seek partnership opportunities

Infrastructure

6

• Projects invariably blend local and fly-in workforce• Can take a long-term view to employment – mining offers a

10 to 20 year horizon• Jobs and the local workforce need to be aligned –

retention and skills development• Training core to any approach

– From adult basic education to vocational training to on-site skills development

– Need to align partners efforts and funding options

Human Resources

7

• Amendments to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement to avoid unnecessary duplication in the EA process

• Multi-party discussions on the proposed NuPPAA legislation

• Developing Nunavut water regulations• Support programs to monitor cumulative impacts of

development projects on the environment• Updating land use guidelines for Crown land in Nunavut

(and the NWT)

Regulatory Improvements to Date

8

Further changes contemplated

9

• Introduction of the NuPPAA in the Parliament• Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) to provide

one-window approach to enter the regulatory process

• Fixed timeline for NPC to review project conformity and legislated timelines for all stages of the EA

• Enforceable Land Use Plans once approved• Enforceable Project Certificates issued by NIRB at

the conclusion of the EA

• Oversees overall federal approach to economic development in the North, including the role of major projects

• $30M in annual program funding to foster business development and economic growth

• Northern Projects Management Office

Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

10

NPMO – Service to Industry

• Single window “path finding” service for each proponent to assist in all stages of regulatory review from exploration to production

• Identify project specific issues and barriers and advance solutions

• Advice on proponent engagement with Aboriginal groups

• Access to parts of NPMO governance and coordination tools

• Link to other economic development partners, including CanNor’s suite of programs (e.g. to provide support for IBA negotiations)

• Access to “project tracker” web-site to monitor project progress

11

NPMO – Federal Coordination

12

• Coordinate federal regulatory departments in the EA process

• Draft and oversee project agreements outlining roles and responsibilities and project specific timelines

Milestones/timelines are tracked, roles of regulators are defined, potential issues identified and addressed.

• Manage Territorial Project Committees which meet bi-monthly to assess the overall status of projects and regulatory process issues.

Committees are open to territorial government officials and include representatives of regulatory approval boards as necessary

• Coordinate Aboriginal consultations and maintain Crown record

• Identify and resolve overarching policy issues that impact effective, timely, transparent and predictable regulatory processes in the territories

Questions?

13