Nunavut court to rule on seismic tests

A Nunavut court judge will decide Sunday whether to stop federal scientists from conducting seismic tests in Lancaster Sound, an area that an Inuit group wants to protect.

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association has asked the court to suspend or quash the Geological Survey of Canada's research licence to conduct the seismic testing in the sound, located at the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage.

Lawyers for the association, which represents Inuit in Nunavut's Baffin region, have argued that the federal government did not adequately consult Inuit on the project.

However, federal government lawyers argued Friday that community consultations were meaningful and met all requirements.

Judge Sue Cooper is expected to issue a decision Sunday on whether the Inuit association's submissions warrant a temporary injunction.

Mapping potential resources

The seismic tests are a collaboration between the Geological Survey of Canada, which is part of Natural Resources Canada, and the German Federal Institute of Geoscience. The project was granted a research licence from the Nunavut government last month.

A German icebreaker is en route to Canada for the tests and is scheduled to arrive soon in Lancaster Sound.

Project scientists want to map the area for potential oil and gas resources, using seismic blasts that would transmit sound waves underwater.

The federal government has also been studying the idea of designating Lancaster Sound, home to whales and other aquatic species, as a national marine conservation area. Inuit who live in communities near the sound have expressed concerns about the possible impacts of the seismic blasts on marine wildlife.

Consultation a key issue

Peter Jervis, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association's lead lawyer, told the court Thursday that Natural Resources Canada's consultation tour of five communities consisted of nothing more than 45-minute presentations with a question and answer period afterward.

Jervis also argued that the federal department has not met the requirement to consult Inuit under Nunavut's land claim agreement, nor has it met the Nunavut Impact Review Board's conditions regarding consultation.

On Friday, federal lawyers Duncan Fraser and Kenneth Landa argued that community consultations on the seismic testing project were meaningful and met the requirements of the Nunavut land claim and the review board.

Moreover, the federal lawyers argued, the government did make some changes to its plan, such as adding a second marine mammal observer aboard the project ship.

Natural Resources Canada is not required to make every change that the Qikiqtani Inuit Association wants, as long as the project does enough to minimize the potential harm to wildlife, according to the federal lawyers.

Tests never scaled back

Jervis noted that project scientists had said in June that the seismic tests would be scaled back, and new options would be drafted to meet Inuit concerns about the tests' potential harm to wildlife.

Those changes were never made, and Jervis suggested that the scientists' statements may have been overruled by the federal department.

But the government lawyers argued that scaling back or eliminating the seismic testing in Lancaster Sound would be a loss for science.

Lawyers for the Nunavut government spoke briefly in court, saying they stand by the federal government's submissions on the project.

Both the government and the Inuit association told Judge Cooper to consider whether the seismic testing would cause irreparable harm to marine life in Lancaster Sound.

Inuit traditional knowledge is that seismic testing has harmed marine wildlife in the past, according to the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.

But federal government lawyers argued that seismic testing methods have changed over the years, and there is no evidence that seismic testing today will cause long-term harm to wildlife.