Canadian port proposal clears environmental hurdle

NIRB also recommends that the development of two new small craft harbours in Iqaluit and Pond Inlet because the area offers “minimal wildlife habitat.”

Although it acknowledged that building the port will be disruptive, it said the impacts of construction would be moderate and “reversible and mitigable with due care.”

However, the NIRB included more than 30 recommended terms and conditions for the project to go ahead, most of them intended to minimise the effects on the environment.

Nunavut’s government wants to begin building the CAN$85-million deep water port next year with a view to beginning operations in 2021.

In addition to the deep-sea port proposal, another project seeks to improve the existing Iqaluit harbour with a new additional breakwater.

At Pond Inlet, a project seeks to build two rock breakwaters to create a 2.5 metre harbour, as well as a fixed wharf.

The proposals are now with the federal government for final approval.