Economist: Nunavut ought to get extra mining cash

Inuit associations and the Authorities of Nunavut ought to get more cash from the mining trade, in line with economist Erin Weir.

Weir, a senior affiliate at SILO Technique and former NDP MP from Saskatchewan, offered his analysis on royalty funds in the course of the Nunavut Mining Symposium on April 20.

“Each Inuit organizations and the Authorities of Nunavut are receiving solely a tiny proportion of the worth of minerals being extracted from the territory,” Weir stated.

AGNICO EAGLE

In 2024, between property taxes and royalties, Agnico Eagle paid $90 million to Inuit associations and the federal government, properly up from $72.3 million in 2023, in line with Weir’s analysis. However though the greenback determine went up, Nunavummiut truly obtained a smaller piece of the pie, Weir defined.

Simply 5.2 per cent of income from Agnico Eagle’s Nunavut operations have been paid to Inuit associations and the federal government in 2024, whereas 8.2 per cent was paid in 2023.

That’s as a result of royalties are calculated by income, or whole cash being generated, and never revenue, Weir defined.

The rising worth of gold resulted in greater income for Agnico Eagle, in line with Weir, however Nunavummiut acquired a smaller share of these income as they elevated.

“There are super social and financial wants within the territory. The greater than doubling of gold costs prior to now two years has created large windfall income at Nunavut’s gold mines,” Weir stated.

Simply over half of the Agnico Eagle royalties from Nunavut went to the Kivalliq Inuit Affiliation, whereas a 3rd went to Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), and the remaining was divided among the many territorial authorities, the Kitikmeot Inuit Affiliation and the federal authorities.

BAFFINLAND IRON MINES

The image is analogous with Baffinland Iron Mines, however with much less publicly obtainable element as a result of Baffinland is a personal firm.

Baffinland paid the federal government $16.7 million and the Qikiqtani Inuit Affiliation (QIA) $13.8 million in 2023, Weir stated.

That works out to five.3 per cent of Baffinland’s whole worth created from its Mary River mine.

Funds to the QIA rose barely to $14.7 million in 2024, however Weir stated he couldn’t discover public knowledge on how a lot was paid to the federal government that 12 months.

“Baffinland has additionally put a truth sheet up on its web site displaying that in 2023 it paid the Authorities of Nunavut an extra nearly $17 billion. Now this quantity would come with issues like gas tax and payroll tax that aren’t sometimes thought-about as compensation for the sources extracted,” Weir stated.

He didn’t embody B2Gold’s Goose mine in his presentation as a result of that challenge solely entered business manufacturing in 2025.

Public knowledge on how a lot mining corporations paid in royalties final 12 months is just not but obtainable, Weir defined.

“My suggestion is that Inuit organizations and the Authorities of Nunavut can and may extract a lot better return from this useful resource,” Weir stated.

He stated that Nunavummiut might get more cash from mining corporations by tying royalties to income, reasonably than to the pre-expense income generated from the operation.

NEGOTIATING A FAIR PRICE

Inuit Affect Profit Agreements (IIBA) are obligatory in Nunavut for all developments on Inuit land.

Negotiations for the agreements are made between the developer and regional Inuit associations, to make sure native advantages.

Within the mining trade, multinational corporations negotiating IIBAs are a lot bigger than regional Inuit associations.

“I feel that we have to discover some sort of approach for regional Inuit associations and the territorial authorities to co-ordinate to make it possible for as a complete, they’re amassing a good return from sources that in the end belong to Nunavut,” Weir stated.

COMPARED TO ONTARIO AND QUEBEC

Agnico Eagle produces the identical quantity of gold in Nunavut because it does in each Ontario and Quebec, Weir stated.

However the royalty funds in every jurisdiction are completely different.

In Nunavut, royalties to Inuit associations and the federal government are $100 per ounce of gold, in Ontario they’re $116 per ounce, and in Quebec royalties are $160 per ounce of gold. Weir defined that Quebec was an outlier as a result of the province collects its personal company earnings tax.

“That comparability to different jurisdictions sort of reinforces the concept that there’s room for Inuit organizations, and/or the Authorities of Nunavut, to gather a greater return from these sources,” Weir stated.

In 2024, Agnico Eagle’s price to supply an oz of gold from its Ontario operations was $734. In Quebec, that determine was $898. In Nunavut, it was $921.

SCALE OF THE SECTOR

Nunavut depends extra on mining than some other territory or province in Canada.

A whopping 41 per cent of Nunavut’s gross home product comes from the mining trade.

Weir pointed to Baffinland’s upcoming Steensby railway enlargement as an instance how a lot mineral worth is in Nunavut.

Baffinland has stated the enlargement will improve its iron ore manufacturing by 5 occasions its present fee.

“That will work out to $3 billion Canadian of iron being extracted from the territory. So we’d ask, ‘What sort of a return is Nunavut receiving from that iron manufacturing?’” Weir stated.

As for Agnico Eagle, its mine manufacturing hasn’t modified a lot lately. However what has modified is the value of gold, which has skyrocketed as world uncertainty pushes buyers to a safehaven commodity.

“Simply from the rise in gold costs over the previous couple of years, we’ve a windfall of a further $2.8 billion {dollars} (to Agnico Eagle). Taking a look at Nunavut’s final territorial funds, $2.8 billion is the whole amount of cash that the territory obtained from the federal authorities. In different phrases, it’s nearly the entire territorial funds,” Weir stated.

» Nunavut Information

Within the 2025-26 GN funds, Nunavut acquired $2.8 billion from the federal authorities and generated $580 million itself.

Weir has labored as an economist for the federal authorities, the Canadian Labour Congress, the United Metal Staff, and was a elected as an NDP Member of Parliament for Regina–Lewvan in 2015, serving 4 years.

» Nunavut Information