Nunavut judge blocks legal move by protestors countersuing Baffinland

Editor's note: This story has been substantially corrected. An earlier version said that a group of Inuit protesters were seeking an injunction against Baffinland Iron Mines and were denied the right to do so in the courts. In fact, the courts have only ruled on whether the Nuluujaat Land Guardians can file a lis pendens, a formal notice of legal action, on lands leased to Baffinland. Other parts of the counterclaim against Baffinland may still proceed.

A group of Inuit who are counter-suing Baffinland Iron Mines lost one part of their legal argument this week. They won't be able to file a lis pendens — a formal notice of ongoing legal action — on lands leased to Baffinland.

In 2021, Baffinland filed a lawsuit in the Nunavut Court of Justice against a group of protesters who had temporarily blockaded the mine's airstrip.

Last summer, several individuals named in the lawsuit filed a counterclaim, arguing they had standing under the Nunavut Environment Rights Act to prevent the mine from emitting noise and dust pollution into the surrounding areas. The goal was to make sure the area was "environmentally protected," said lawyer Anne Crawford at the time, who filed the suit on behalf of three named counter-claimants, Tom Naqitarvik, Jonathan Pitula and Christopher Akeeagok.

They also sought to file the lis pendens, which would alert future investors or partners with Baffinland to their ongoing legal action. 

In a written ruling, Nunavut Court Justice Edward Scanlan acknowledged the claimants have an interest in the land. He recognized almost all land in Nunavut is held collectively "by and for the Inuit people." He also recognized the Environmental Rights Act, gives standing to residents of Nunavut. 

However, the judge determined that didn't automatically give the claimants the right to file a lis pendens. 

The argument appears to rest on the fact that most people who claim a legal interest in a piece of land do so because they want to own or gain title to the land. 

In making his ruling, Judge Scanlan cited a 2009 case from Saskatchewan that found even if the claimant in that case was successful in his lawsuit, he would still be no closer to gaining title of the land, and therefore the lis pendens does not apply. 

Scanlan wrote that the same situation applied in this case.

"Their collective interest remains intact, but the claim before the court will provide no additional 'interest in land' sufficient to file a [claim of interest]," he wrote. 

Crawford said in an email that "the decision demonstrates a surprisingly restrictive approach to environmental protection." She said the Nuluujaat Land Guardians, as she refers to her clients, will now have to decide whether to appeal the decision. 

In an email, Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman wrote that the company "has always confirmed Inuit rights under the Nunavut Agreement and the [Inuit Impacts and Benefits Agreement] to hunt and access lands in and around its project....

"However, there is no right to disrupt the operations of the project and those that work there, including many Nunavummiut." 

Akman wrote that he hopes to "continue the dialogue with the individuals involved with the blockade" to find an overall resolution.