May
3, 2002
Voisey’s Bay close
to deal
The giant mining company
Inco Ltd. is close to reaching a deal with Newfoundland for the development
of the nickel-rich Voisey’s Bay deposit in northern Labrador.
Inco has been trying to
resolve some of the major hurdles to starting up the development at Voisey’s
Bay: a compromise with Newfoundland over its demand that ore be processed in
the province and an impact and benefits agreement with Labrador Inuit and Innu
be signed.
When Inco bought the nickel-rich
Voisey’s Bay property in 1996 for $4.3 billion, it promised to build a
smelter in Newfoundland to process the ore, but later pulled away from this
commitment.
This caused Brian Tobin,
the former premier of Newfoundland, to cut off negotiations in January 2002.
But the province’s
new leadership has been more open to reaching a compromise with Inco.
Last fall, Inco submitted
a new work plan to the Government of Newfoundland. The company’s new proposal
to build a small ore processing plant in Newfoundland may have re-opened the
way for an agreement.
Over its 30-year lifespan,
the mine at Voisey’s Bay will supply hundreds of jobs and open up economic
opportunities for Labrador Inuit. Voisey’s Bay lies a little more than
50 kilometres from the community of Nain.
If all parties can agree,
work could begin as early as June.
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May
3, 2002
Russians to take part in
contaminant monitoring
A program that monitors
pregnant mothers and newborns in the Aleutian Islands for environmental contaminants
will be extended to the Russian islands at the end of the chain, the Anchorage
Daily News reports.
Currently, voluntary tests
are offered in five Aleutian villages. Blood and urine samples are collected
from pregnant mothers and then checked for organic pollutants like PCBs and
pesticides, heavy metals and radioactivity.
The levels of contaminants
found appears to increase the further out on the chain a village is located,
although, so far, researchers haven’t been able to pinpoint the source
or sources of these pollutants.
Aleuts in Alaska and Russia
share a history and family lines and still speak a similar dialect. The Russian
American Co. settled the Aleutians in the 1800s to harvest fur seals.
Though the islands are
only a few hundred miles apart, travel between the Alaskan and Russian islands
involves tens of thousands of miles of transportation to cities with airports,
and customs offices and expensive visas.
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May
3, 2002
Indigenous Forum opens
in NYC
United Nations’ General
Secretary Kofi Annan will open the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues, this
month, what he’s called a "historic" occasion.
The idea for the forum
first surfaced in 1991 when Greenland’s Henriette Rasmussen proposed the
forum at a Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva.
The Permanent Forum will
have 16 members, eight representatives from indigenous peoples and eight members
appointed by governments.
Ole Henrik Magga from Kautokeino,
Norway, will represent the interests of both Sámi and Inuit at a new
United Nations forum for indigenous peoples.
The forum won’t be
able to interfere in the internal affairs of U.N. member states, but it will
consider indigenous opinions on issues touching human rights or environmental
and social issues as well as hear grievances.
The Inuit Circumpolar Conference
and the Sámi Council jointly nominated Magga to the Forum.
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May
3, 2002
High rates of violence
in Greenland
According to new study
on violence in Greenland, one half of Greenlanders have experienced personal
violence.
Six out of 10 women aged
18 to 24 had been victims of assault or threats, according to the study conducted
by the Danish National Institute for Public Health.
More than 30 per cent of
these young women were also victims of sexual abuse, and 12.5 per cent were
abused as children.
While violence affected
men in almost equal rates, women victims were typically younger.
The study drew on statistics
from a 1994 health and population profile on Greenland, but researchers say
the figures are probably higher today because reports of violence have doubled
over the past 10 years.
"The numbers are alarming
and express a bad quality of life. But now a de-colonization process has started,
and we’re in the midst of a healing process," Greenlandic politician
Asii Narup told the Danish newspaper, Politiken.
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