Extractive Resource Development in Canada’s North: What Are People Worried about?

Following the Berger Inquiry of the 1970s, communities in the Canadian North have been able to increase their ability to control development in their regions in a number of ways including the signing of modern comprehensive land claims, self-government arrangements, and the empowering of territorial governments. As such, the situation is different from that of the 1970s when people seemed most concerned about their ability to control unsustainable industrial development. It can now be stated that, in many respects, communities now have a veto over proposed new developments. Yet concerns over extractive industry activities remain. This paper will examine what communities in Canada’s North are most worried about in terms of new mining projects through a content analysis of documents associated with new mining projects in the region since 2000. Documents will include submissions to Impact Assessment processes, data gathered in research projects, and articles in the news media.