Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, I rise today to applaud the second-largest contributor to Nunavut’s economy: mining. This week, hundreds gathered in my hometown of Iqaluit for the Nunavut Mining Symposium.

According to the latest numbers from the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines, mining in Nunavut has accounted for almost 5,000 person-years of Northern employment between 2009 and 2019 and contributed $4.98 billion in Northern spending over that same time frame. In 2019 alone, the Hope Bay, Meliadine, Meadowbank and Mary River Mines have spent $897.3 million in the North. Focusing on 2019 as the last normal year of activities prior to COVID, Agnico Eagle’s 2019 Socio-Economic Monitoring Program Report shows that 20% of its employees are Inuit, and Agnico Eagle Mines spent 58% of its total spend of $501 million contracting dollars on registered Inuit businesses.

These numbers are reflective of the contributions mining has made, not just in terms of salaries and contracting, but to propping up secondary and tertiary sectors. Mining operations have paid many tens of millions of dollars in royalties to regional Inuit organizations as well as Nunavut Tunngavik. These monies are then spent on important priorities to Inuit including, but not limited to, elder supports, education initiatives and scholarships, as well as hunter support programs. Nunavut News reported that:

Since the development of Baffinland Iron Mines’ Mary River project, approximately $1.1 billion worth of contracts have been awarded to Inuit-owned businesses and joint ventures.

Baffinland and other Nunavut firms have also funded a myriad of valued community projects, ranging from arenas to training centres and daycares in impacted communities.

According to Duane Wilson, Vice-President of Stakeholder Relations for Arctic Co-ops:

Honourable senators, while there is still always work to do in increasing the percentage of Inuit employment and balancing protection of the environment and traditional values with development, mining has presented a source of jobs, training and revenue generation for Nunavummiut across the territory.

Thank you, qujannamiik, taima.