Impact of Resource Extraction on Inuit Women and Families
The Canadian Women's Foundation has released a report on the impact resource extraction is having on Inuit women and their families in the Qamani'tuaq region of Nunavut.
The report was prepared in collaboration with Pauktuutit association of Inuit Women and the University of British Columbia, School of Social Work, and based on research conducted in 2013 in Baker Lake where the Meadowbank gold mine, owned by Agnico-Eagle Mines, operates 110kms north of the community.
The report examines many of the issues related to mining in the Canadian Arctic including cultural understanding, training, family strains, environmental concerns and substance abuse.
In response, the authors make several recommendations regarding child care, support for families, mental health services, lifeskills training and education as well as cross-cultural understanding and historical awareness for both southern and Inuit mine employees.
In fact, the report stresses that "Mine management should receive a thorough orientation to Inuit culture and social history' and that "Agnico-Eagle should go ‘out of its way’ to ensure that the Inuktitut language is given prominence at every reasonable opportunity.".
The report suggests that a collaboration with Isuma could provide potential resources in achieving this by organising, for example, Inuit film screenings for the mine's southern employees.
Download the full report to learn more.
