How Did the Media Report the Mining Industry’s Initial Response to COVID-19 in Inuit Nunangat? A Newspaper Review
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Inuit Nunangat
2.2. Theoretical Framework
2.3. Search Strategy
2.4. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
2.5. Data Extraction and Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Database Search Results and General Article Attributes
3.1.1. Database Search Results
3.1.2. Most Articles Were from Inuit Nunangat-Based Newspapers and Had a Neutral Valence
In March, the company scaled back operations at the mine after local residents staged a roadblock to protest the risks posed by flying workers in. Since then, the Nunavut-based workforce is no longer coming to the mine and the workers that are flown in are not interacting with the community. But with no date in sight for when the coronavirus threat will pass, the company is laying the groundwork for an eventual resumption of operations. Instead of waiting for COVID-19 test samples to travel thousands of kilometres to a lab in lower Canada, the company will be able to know within a matter of hours if someone on the site is infected [57].
Agnico Eagle has always given us a heads up on what they’re doing, but it happened differently this time and I don’t think that can all be blamed on COVID-19… This action was taken through HTOs (hunters and trappers organizations), KIA (Kivalliq Inuit Association), NTI (Nunavut Tunngavik Inc), the Nunavut Water Board and NIRB (Nunavut Impact Review Board)—it went through all those and the federal minister, while the community, itself, was among the last to hear about it. That just doesn’t sit well with what people are going to think about it, especially our Elders, who are not happy about now having to drink water that has been pumped back into a lake that they’ve been using for so many years [59].
Baffinland Iron Mines has donated more than $200,000 to assist five north Baffin communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mining company and its employees put in excess of $115,000 toward food security, working closely with the hamlets in Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay, Clyde River, Iglulik and Sanirajak [60].
3.1.3. Nunavut-Based Mines Mentioned Most Often and Half of All Articles Had In-Depth Discussion on Impact to Operations Due to COVID-19
3.1.4. Half of All Sources Quoted Were Mining Companies and Most Reactions to Industry’s Response Were Negative
Expressed great respect for the experts that Agnico Eagle has hired to oversee the mine site laboratory, but he noted that the rapid testing method in question has an error rate of approximately 30 per cent when attempting to determine whether an individual without symptoms might develop the coronavirus [65].
I have no intention of slowing it down. But I think we have to be very clear about the limitations of a test and the limitations about some of the strategies that have been proposed. Using it to take the place of 14 days of isolation is dangerous [65].
3.2. Reported Themes
3.2.1. COVID-19 Transmitting to Mine Sites and Communities Most Reported Concern
Inuit employees are integrated and they play a key role, an important role in the operation—we’re talking between 400 and 500 people. All employees and contractors are essential to our operation so this is not an option we’re looking at for now [66].
We’ve never experienced anything like this before. It’s scary, worrisome and concerning. It’s surreal. This is really happening. Hopefully everyone’s happy with AEM’s announcement, but, at the same time, it’s still scary because these bigwig workers who will still be coming to town might carry the virus. This announcement should have been made two or three weeks ago, not on 19 March. They didn’t seem to take it seriously at all and it shouldn’t have taken a protest to make them do it [69].
If anyone can explain to me how the Agnico Eagle Mine in Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake, Nunavut, is an essential service? They are flying people in and out every day to pull gold out. That gold will still be there tomorrow, next week, next month, even next year. No amount of gold or money would replace a loved one if they pass away from COVID-19 [70]?
I think people here understand for the most part what happened in 1918…We lost a third of our people because of that horrible disease. It’s definitely on everybody’s minds…This virus would be particularly devastating up here, because of the overcrowding situation. There’s a lot of people here with pre-existing health conditions, from TB to diabetes [17].
At the rapid pace that the Coronavirus was and continues to spread around the world, we felt it was our responsibility to minimize the potential that it could end up on our doorstep in Northern Labrador, where we have a deep understanding of the realities of the health-care system and the social determinants of health in Nunatsiavut and Innu communities [61].
We are very concerned about the spread of the coronavirus as a result of reopening the mines. We don’t believe the conditions will completely protect the Inuit population from coming in contact with potentially infected people returning to the region [71].
3.2.2. Wage Protection for Inuit Nunangat-Based Employees
It is our objective to maintain the employment of our Inuit workforce throughout these difficult times as much as possible. The situation will be reevaluated and employees and contractors will be notified when the situation changes. The decision to return our Inuit employees and contractors to work will be made in partnership with the concerned authorities [63].
Our goal in making this change is to help make our operation sustainable for the duration of the crisis and to avoid layoffs. We continue to evaluate whether any additional measures are required and have committed to employees that we will be as transparent as we can about our decision-making [63].
In summary, federal relief programs came too late to influence our decision to slow down operations, and we would not be eligible for this employee-focused measure in any case. TMAC™ and Hope Bay contractors are eligible for other federal relief programs if they are not already eligible for regular EI. We are actively assisting our affected workers apply for federal programs for COVID-19 affected staff [63].
3.2.3. COVID-19 Precautionary Measures
We are extremely grateful to Dr. Kobinger and his team for allowing us to be a pilot project for this new rapid COVID-19 testing lab as it provides us with an advanced level of protection for our employees and the communities [67].
3.2.4. COVID and Uncertainty about the Future of Inuit Nunangat’s Mining Industry
We are not really sure how best to determine the cost of the pandemic so far but it will be significant. With companies having higher operating costs to ensure employee safety and compliance with government and health officer orders, paying salaries of Nunavummiut employees that have returned to their communities, combined with lower production, in some cases, at least, the impact will be significant [72].
We feel the pain: they are essential to all our operations. But it’s worth it to us to not contribute to any higher risk of infection in the communities. We’re using everything in our power to make sure we’re reducing the risk [74].
3.2.5. COVID-19 Impacts on Consultation Processes
So far, the information provided by Agnico Eagle® has not convinced KIA that the discharge of saline water will not impact fish and other aquatic life, or that removing all of the water from the containment pond is necessary to avoid an emergency [78].
3.2.6. Takeover of TMAC™
Without a significant investor like SD Gold, the mine’s current owners stated they would likely shut down operations, leaving Nunavut workers without a job, suppliers without a customer and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association without the benefits associated with the gold mine [81].
4. Discussion
We call upon Canadian journalism programs and media schools to require education for all students on the history of Indigenous peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Indigenous rights, Indigenous law, and Indigenous–Crown relations [30].
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Component | Search Terms |
---|---|
ProQuest® Database Search | |
Location | (“Northern Canada” OR “Canadian North” OR “Canada’s North” OR circumpolar OR Nunangat OR Inuit OR Inuvialuit OR Nunatsiavut OR Nunavik OR Nunavut OR Nunavummiut OR “Northwest Territories” OR NWT OR Labrador OR “Northern Quebec” OR arctic OR sub-arctic OR subarctic OR ITK) |
AND | |
COVID-19 | (COVID-19 OR COVID19 OR COVID OR coronavirus OR pandemic OR quarantine OR isolation OR virus OR health) |
AND | |
Mining | (mining OR mine OR “resource extraction” OR IBA OR “impacts and benefits” OR agreement OR consult OR “Voisey’s Bay” OR Vale OR Glencore OR Raglan OR “Agnico Eagle” OR Meadowbank OR Meliadine OR Baffinland OR “Mary River” OR TMAC OR “Hope Bay” OR “Canadian Royalties” OR “Deception Bay”) |
NNSL Media, Nunatsiaq News and Labrador Voice Search | |
COVID-19 | COVID |
AND | |
Mining | mine |
Inclusion Criteria | Exclusion Criteria |
---|---|
Article mentioned an operational mine which was physically located in one of the four settled Inuit land claim regions in Canada (Inuit Nunangat): Inuvialuit, Nunavik, Nunavut, and/or Nunatsiavut. Only mining operations in one (or more) of these four regions were included. | Article mentioned a non-operational mine, or only mentioned an operational mine outside of the four regions. |
Article mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the operations of the mine. | Article did not mention the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the operations of the mine. |
Article was published on or after 1 January 2020, and on or before 30 June 2020. | Article was published before 1 January 2020, or after 30 June 2020. |
Article was published in English or French. | Article was published in a language other than English or French. |
Category | Options | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Articles Attributes | Name of Newspaper | Open text field | |
Date | Open text field | ||
Author | Journalist Opinion column Other | ||
Sources Quoted | Academic Company spokesperson Inuit employee Inuit community member Inuit organization official Territorial or provincial elected official Public health official Other (specify) Not applicable | Sources quoted regarding mining industry’s response to COVID-19. | |
Frame type | Episodic Thematic | If article only discussed one company, it was classified as episodic. If article discussed more than one company, or the mining industry as a whole, it was classified as thematic. | |
Valence | Negative Neutral Positive | Valence regarding the mining companies’ initial response to COVID-19 is assessed. If article contained both positive and negative statements, it was classified as neutral. | |
Mine-Related Data | Location of Mine | Nunavut Nunavik Nunatsiavut Inuit Nunangat | |
Mining Company | Agnico Eagle® Baffinland® Canadian Royalties® Glencore® TMAC™ Vale® All | ||
COVID-19 | Issues | Case on mine site Case in Inuit community Underlying health conditions Access to medical care Future of employment Wage protection Second wave Other (specify) | |
Reaction to industry response to COVID-19? | Yes No | Noted reactions to the sources quoted. | |
If yes, whose reactions were reported? | Academic Company spokesperson Inuit employee Inuit community member Inuit organization official Territorial or provincial-elected official Public health official Other (Specify) | Classification of individual providing a reaction to mining industry’s response to COVID-19. | |
If yes, how would you describe those reactions? | Negative Neutral Positive | Overall reaction based on quote or photo provided. If quote contained both positive and negative statements, it was classified as neutral. | |
To what extent does the article discuss an impact to mining operations due to COVID-19? | Not at all Briefly mentioned In-depth discussion | If just a sentence, it was classified as briefly mentioned. If a paragraph or more, it was considered an in-depth discussion. |
Deductive Themes | Appearance in Overall Articles (%/n) 1 |
---|---|
COVID-19 transmitting to Inuit communities | 34%/31 |
COVID-19 transmitting to a mine site | 18%/16 |
Wage protection for Inuit Nunangat-based employees | 11%/10 |
Inductive Themes | |
COVID-19 precautionary measures | 26%/23 |
Uncertainty about future of mining industry in Inuit Nunangat | 22%/20 |
Impacts on consultation processes | 17%/15 |
Takeover of TMAC™ | 11%/10 |
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Share and Cite
Pike, M.; Cunsolo, A.; Babujee, A.; Papadopoulos, A.; Harper, S.L. How Did the Media Report the Mining Industry’s Initial Response to COVID-19 in Inuit Nunangat? A Newspaper Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 11266. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111266
Pike M, Cunsolo A, Babujee A, Papadopoulos A, Harper SL. How Did the Media Report the Mining Industry’s Initial Response to COVID-19 in Inuit Nunangat? A Newspaper Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(21):11266. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111266
Chicago/Turabian StylePike, Matthew, Ashlee Cunsolo, Amreen Babujee, Andrew Papadopoulos, and Sherilee L. Harper. 2021. "How Did the Media Report the Mining Industry’s Initial Response to COVID-19 in Inuit Nunangat? A Newspaper Review" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 21: 11266. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111266
APA StylePike, M., Cunsolo, A., Babujee, A., Papadopoulos, A., & Harper, S. L. (2021). How Did the Media Report the Mining Industry’s Initial Response to COVID-19 in Inuit Nunangat? A Newspaper Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), 11266. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111266