The moratorium on uranium mining is being lifted in Labrador Inuit lands by the Nunatsiavut Assembly. This moratorium has been in effect since April 2008 when the government felt that the environmental effect of uranium mining was uncertain.
Nunatsiavut’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Glen Sheppard said that they had imposed the moratorium to gain enough time to make an informed decision about the process. Mr Sheppard said that since 2008 they had established a lands administration system, developed environmental protection legislation and had made tremendous progress on a land use plan for the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area.
The initial moratorium on uranium mining had also been passed by a slim margin of 8-7 in the Assembly. Mr Sheppard added that as part of the review process they had held public consultations throughout Nunatsiavut, Upper Lake Melville and St. John’s. The general consensus from beneficiaries and other stakeholders was that the moratorium should be lifted to allow any proposed development to proceed to environmental assessment.
The decision to lift the moratorium on uranium mining was passed unanimously in the Assembly. In March 2012 the Nunatsiavut Environmental Protection Act will come into effect and the moratorium will be lifted after this environment protecting legislation is in place.