ITC Joins Baker Lake Inuit In Opposing Uranium Mining On Lands Used By Local Hunters

On April 13, 1978 Eric Tagoona, president of Inuit Tapirisat Kanatami, announced that ITC would join with the Inuit of Baker Lake to begin immediate legal action to prevent further uranium exploration on a portion of the lands traditionally used by the Inuit of Baker Lake.

At the request of the Baker Lake Community Council mineral exploration permits on lands used by hunters from the area had been withheld for 11 months by a special order of federal Cabinet.

During that period an environmental study was undertaken to determine the impact of exploration activities on wildlife resources in the area. The study concluded that caribou herds in the area were susceptible to disturbance by industrial activity, particularly during calving and post-calving periods in the spring and early summer, and confirmed that local hunters traditionally used the entire area on a year-round basis.