It’s been nearly two decades since work began on the Nunavut land use plan, but there’s still no word on when it’ll be signed. As that process drags on, some Nunavummiut are nervous about the damage being done to their lands.

The 129-page document, released in June 2023, is the largest plan of its kind in the world, covering one fifth of Canada’s land mass. 

Nunavut is a resource-rich territory, and there’s a strong desire to capitalize on that. In a keynote speech in September 2025, then-premier P.J. Akeeagok said the territory holds 23 of Canada’s 34 listed critical minerals, and it’s a “matter of national security” as “supply chains shift and tensions rise” around the world.

But respecting the environment, the land, and Inuit rights are also in the very essence of the territory, and they are enshrined in law through the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement. 

“Nunavut is one of the last frontiers of the world…. Money is good but money cannot do everything,” says James Eetoolook, president of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.

“We have a lot of minerals in the Kitikmeot too and we have to be very careful how we approve these to be extracted by the industry.”

That’s where the land use plan comes in. It sets out which areas of the territory are open for development and which are protected. It also tells developers where projects, like mines, will be allowed and under what conditions. 

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the territorial and federal governments need to sign the plan before it becomes legally binding.

The plan is a central piece to Canada handing over control over Nunavut’s land and resources to the territorial government. The process, known as devolution, is slated to take effect from April 1, 2027. 

Rebecca Chartrand, the federal northern affairs minister, says devolution and the land use plan are still set to proceed as scheduled. As for the delays in the approval of the plan, she says Ottawa will move “when the partners are ready to move”.

“We know there’s been a transition with a new [territorial] government … so our conversations are ongoing.”

Nunavut’s environment minister, Brian Koonoo, says the signatories still need to work out how to ensure the plan recognizes and affirms existing treaty rights under Section 35 of the Constitution Act. 

“The government is taking steps to [consider] Section 35 rights holders, whose rights may be affected by the plan,” he says. “But it’s been the closest it’s ever been to a decision.”

NTI declined to comment while the review of the plan continues. 

Most mining stakes claimed since 2023

According to the World Wildlife Fund, as of May 2025, there are mineral claims in roughly 1.5 million hectares of Nunavut’s lands, with more than half of those having been staked since September 2023. 

But the N.W.T. and Nunavut Chamber of Mines says to put that into perspective, the areas where mining has occurred, or where stakes have been claimed, amount to roughly 1.3 per cent of Nunavut’s total land mass.

CBC News spoke with Nunavut MP Lori Idlout before she crossed from the New Democratic Party to the Liberals. 

In the absence of a plan, the Nunavut Impact Review Board process acts as a stopgap measure. But Idlout is concerned that’s not enough because of the free entry system, which grants mineral rights automatically to prospectors working public lands. 

“Their engagement doesn’t necessarily need to happen until the duty to consult is triggered. So there’s this gap between when mining companies stake their claims, they acquire rights and their rights become more important,” she says. 

Chartrand acknowledges that mineral staking can occur in areas that may later be designated as protected areas under the land use plan. But she also points to the obligation for the federal government to carry out consultations as required under Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act. 

“Nothing moves forward without those processes and I’m confident that when we move forward that indigenous rights holders will be adequately engaged in those processes,” Chartrand says. 

Keeping traditional knowledge in mind

The land use plan includes different chapters about protecting wildlife like caribou and migratory, which push for environmental stewardship alongside responsible development – which is exactly what Idlout says is lacking right now. 

“Those kinds of provisions, those kinds of definitions are where we’re starting to see Inuit rights being a part of the discussion,” she says. 

Iqaluit’s Meeka Mike was previously a technical advisor for the Amaruq Hunters and Trappers Association, and spoke at some land use plan hearings.

She says she’s waited decades for a land use plan. However, she worries there isn’t enough emphasis on Inuit traditional knowledge and language – which is often passed down orally. She points to words few people know like “kipa,” which she says is a rock formation that indicates the area is caribou land.

“Those who are under oral traditional knowledge, there are existing [traditional] rights that are placed on the land that are necessarily not written in the land claim,” she says. 

Chamber of Mines opposes current plan

In a February 2024 letter, the N.W.T. and Nunavut Chamber of Mines urged the federal government to reject the current plan, saying the boundaries are unnecessarily restrictive, including in areas with high mineral potential. 

But Hudson Lester, the general manager of the Nunavut arm of the chamber, says the organization isn’t opposed to a land use plan.

In fact, without one, he says it means longer regulatory processes with a wait time of up to 14 years to get a project approved. But he says the plan, as it stands, is too broad and isn’t targeted on only protecting specific areas which are significant.

“It was just the current one seemed to be more focused on locking land away from use versus figuring out a way to properly tap into it,” he says. 

Lester adds there are ambiguities around the definition of existing rights, and whether current projects are barred from expansion, which could provide more training and employment opportunities.

Both Chartrand and Koonoo say they aren’t considering any tweaks, apart from some refinements and clarity around existing rights and implementation of the plan on Chartrand’s end. 

She stresses the land use plan is meant to be a foundation for the entire territory, and it’s grounded on the values of the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement. 

“It’s meant to set that framework, it’s not meant to decide those individual projects. It’s meant to be durable, it’s meant to be lawful, and it’s meant to be respectful of Inuit rights,” she says.