The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 793 and International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) have urged the federal government to approve Baffinland Iron Ore's request for an emergency order to allow the company to increase production at the Mary River mine through to the end of 2022.

This step, the unions say, is needed to safeguard the jobs of hundreds of skilled unionised workers, many of whom reside in Nunavut.

Baffinland, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and a US-based private family wealth fund, last week submitted a request for an emergency order from Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal to increase its 2022 shipping limit from 4.2-million tonnes to six-million tonnes as an interim measure.

Should the order not be granted, Baffinland said that it would suspend operations for the rest of the year, once its production reached 4.2-million tonnes. This would affect about 1 300 employees and more than 400 contract employees.

Baffinland said it had started preparing to file a notice with the Nunavut Labour Standards Compliance Office (LSO) of termination of staff at its Mary River operations and Nunavut offices. Should this step be necessary, Baffinland would notify its employees 16 weeks after its notice to the LSO.   

Calling on the Minister to grant the emergency order, the unions said in a statement on Friday that the Mary River mine provided good-paying jobs for highly trained and skilled Canadian workers from across the country, including hundreds of workers from Nunavut. 

“Baffinland's Inuit workers residing in Nunavut were sent home during most of the pandemic to ensure their communities' safety.  It has only been in the last few months that all Inuit workers living in Nunavut have returned to the mine to continue their apprenticeships and skills upgrading. Having any reduction in the workforce would drastically undermine this progress. For the rest of Local 793 members working at the mine, losing their employment when the cost of living has skyrocketed, and good-paying jobs are scarce in many parts of Canada, would be devastating.

"Recovery from the pandemic requires maintaining and more importantly growing quality jobs, not losing them,” said Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher.

"We know that the company cannot compete on a global scale if it is unable to grow and increase its production at the mine," said IUOE Canadian regional director Lionel Railton. "We encourage the federal government to work with Baffinland to identify and develop a long-term solution so as to ensure the company is able to maintain employment for Local 793 members and all other workers into the future."

However, Nunatsiaq News reported on Friday that Vandal did not have the authority to increase Baffinland Iron Mines' shipping limit, citing a department spokesperson.

Baffinland is seeking approval for an expansion of Mary River. It has proposed to build a 110 km railway from Milne Inlet to the Mary River and to increase its shipping limit to 12-million tonnes a year. Vadal has to either reject or approve the project. The review board has already recommended the project not be approved.