Environmental Impact Assessment of Uranium Mining on Indigenous Land in Labrador (Canada): Biases and Manipulations

Abstract

Abstract

Studies in Canada reveal the entrenched nature of the nation's mining paradigm that fundamentally undermines the interests of Indigenous peoples. However, very few research studies have explored the hidden biases and manipulations in the process of framing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of mines, particularly if developed on Indigenous land. The objectives of the study were to explore what biases and manipulations played roles in framing the EIA of uranium mining on Indigenous (Inuit) land in Labrador (Canada). The study analyzed all the archived documents (print and audio/video) related to the EIA process of the Kitts–Michelin project in Labrador (Canada). The EIA of the Kitts–Michelin project was poorly designed, with ill-planned public dissemination. The study demonstrates how hidden biases and manipulation in the entire process of EIA have served the purposes of certain interest groups and willfully neglected community concerns. The analysis of EIA reveals the institutionalization of biases and exclusionary processes and also exposes institutional racism that is running much deeper than merely prejudice. Although Inuit representatives attended the environmental review panel hearings, the decision makers were predominantly non-Indigenous (external consultants and members of the EIA review panel) and the final decision makers were always non-Inuit (and not local). The study shows that in-depth analysis of existing EIA along with the unpublished documents and audio and video records of panel hearings can provide a comprehensive understanding of racial, social, and environmental inequities associated with historical mining activities in Canada's Indigenous territories.