Dr. Larry
Reynolds
Legal Counsel
Qikiqtani Inuit Association v. Attorney General of Canada (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Nanisivik Mines Ltd.), (1998) F.C.J. No. 1417 (F.C.T.D.).
The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) represents Inuit beneficiaries of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement residing in the Baffin region of Nunavut. In response to a decision by the Nunavut Water Board issuing a water licence to Nanisivik Mines Limited for its lead zinc mine in the Nanisivik/Arctic Bay region of Nunavut, QIA made an application in the Federal Court of Canada for judicial review of the Board’s decision. The case, which was the first judicial review to be held by the Federal Court in the Nunavut Territory, involved consideration of the jurisdiction of the Nunavut Water Board with respect to the regulation of tailings deposits and domestic sewage deposited into nearby watercourses. The case was of particular significance for its interpretation of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement with respect to process and procedures to be employed by administrative tribunals in Nunavut, giving due regard to Inuit culture, customs and knowledge.