Ekati watchdog holds annual meeting amid uncertainty

Uncertainty about the future was a key theme at the latest annual general meeting of the public watchdog for Ekati.

The NWT and Canadian governments are considering terminating the environmental agreement for the insolvent diamond mine and shutting down the Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency, or IEMA, as a cost-saving measure.

While IEMA’s yearly meeting normally focuses on its annual report, the impending decision loomed large at Friday’s meeting in Yellowknife – which could be the agency’s last.

Executive director Marc Casas advocated for IEMA’s continued operation, pointing out the environmental agreement is a legally binding document that states the agency “shall exist until full and final reclamation of the project site is completed.”

“We feel we still have value to our society members and for the closure of the Ekati mine,” he said.

Casas highlighted the agency’s technical expertise and historical knowledge of Ekati. He said IEMA provides valuable input to the regulatory system and “can help eliminate costly mistakes before they happen.”

It’s a critical time for Ekati, Casas said – the GNWT, now responsible for managing closure and remediation of the mine site, is under pressure to keep costs down and will no longer provide technical input through the co-management system.

“It’s in these kind of situations where having an independent oversight board is particularly important to help ensure that reclamation is done properly,” he said.

Territorial officials and the head of the Wek’èezhìi Land and Water Board have publicly said they’re confident financial security will cover the full cost of closing and remediating the site.

Environmental advocates say they are confident taxpayers will end up on the hook for a costly cleanup.

MLAs express support for IEMA

MLAs passed a non-binding motion in the Legislative Assembly on November 5 calling on the NWT’s environment minister, Jay Macdonald, to leave the environmental agreement for Ekati and IEMA in place until closure, reclamation and post-closure monitoring are complete.

Frame Lake MLA Julian Morse, who introduced the motion, said financial security may not cover the full costs of cleanup and shutting down IEMA would leave a gap in expertise on the project. He said that could result in the receiver having to hire outside consultants to prepare submissions for the land and water board, which could cost more than continuing to fund IEMA.

Morse noted the agency’s annual budget is around $900,000, less than one percent of the $327 million in security held by the NWT government. He added $12.8 million was previously set aside to support IEMA’s continued operation.

“This is going to necessitate tough decisions about site closure and I think there is going to need to be independent oversight of those decisions,” Morse said, “to ensure that the decisions are sound, to ensure that the decisions receive appropriate review, that they are overseen by experts, and that this project doesn’t balloon in cost like we’ve seen other reclamation projects do.”

Jane Weyallon Armstrong, the MLA for Monfwi, said IEMA provides a valuable discussion forum for affected Indigenous groups.

“At present, many questions remain unanswered regarding what the future may bring for the Ekati site,” she said.

“I know my constituents know that the forward path includes discussion – full discussion – using tools that we know have worked for three decades. We know we need IEMA.”

Other MLAs in favour of the motion included Kate Reid, who seconded it, Richard Edjericon, and Shauna Morgan, who has previously spoken against shutting down IEMA.

Two Yellowknife MLAs voted against the motion: Kieron Testart and Robert Hawkins.

Echoing arguments Rio Tinto gave in support of shuttering the watchdog for its Diavik diamond mine, Testart said improvements to the territory’s regulatory system since Ekati’s environmental agreement was signed have made the independent oversight board unnecessary, and available funding could be better used for remediation work.

“I cannot support additional costs that are duplicating existing processes that exist within our excellent co-managed regulatory system,” he said.

Hawkins said he felt the motion was “just finding ways to spend money for people to have jobs.”

Environment minister Macdonald told the legislature the GNWT will consider environmental liabilities, remediation requirements and the public interest when deciding on the future of Ekati’s environmental agreement and IEMA. The NWT and federal governments have given signatories to the agreement until December 17 to provide feedback.

The motion passed with eight regular MLAs in favour. Cabinet abstained. The territorial government has 120 days to respond.

Last week in the legislature, Morse also tabled a letter of support for IEMA signed by five former board members and staff of the agency, including former MLA Kevin O’Reilly, who served as the agency’s executive director from 2005 to 2015.

At Friday’s meeting, O’Reilly expressed disappointment at the lack of planned public consultation about IEMA’s future, pointing to the territory’s open government policy.

“They consult on things like renaming buildings and changes in programs and services, but something as important as this, where there’s hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money at stake, GNWT is not prepared to carry out some public engagement around this. This is not good,” he said.

Funding, reporting delays

A key concern IEMA raised at Friday’s meeting was the lack of a final closure and reclamation plan for Ekati or closure criteria for the site. Ron Allen, the agency’s vice chairperson, said closure planning had not been advanced by Burgundy Diamond Mines.

Burgundy took over former Ekati owner Arctic Canadian Diamond Company’s assets in 2023. As a subsidiary of Burgundy, Arctic Canadian went into receivership in July 2026.

Other agency concerns Allen highlighted included a lack of communication and engagement on a wildlife management and monitoring program, and a lack of information on the use of traditional knowledge at the mine.

He said 11 waste rock seeps at the site were flagged for exceeding effluent quality criteria, while water quality results showed elevated levels of cadmium and zinc, which he said are an early indication of metal leaking.

Unusually, IEMA did not release an annual report ahead of the meeting, citing funding and reporting delays.

According to IEMA director Kim Poole, Burgundy was late with payments to the agency in 2025-26 and there were significant funding delays after the GNWT took over, making it challenging for the agency to get things done.

IEMA relied on unspent funding from the previous year to cover operations between April and October this year, he said. With the agency a week away from being unable to make payroll payments, the GNWT transferred funds that are projected to keep IEMA operating into the new year.

Poole said the territorial government has verbally committed to fund the agency until the end of the environmental agreement termination process.

IEMA said it also received several reports from the mine operator, relied upon to inform its annual report, months late. For example, the agency said it received reports on wildlife effects and air quality monitoring programs in late October that had been due at the end of March.

What’s happening at Ekati now?

Morag Cooper, a representative of court-appointed receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers, provided an update on work at the mine since Ekati went into recievership.

She said that has included closing and depowering the Misery camp, removing hazardous materials and equipment from the underground, shutting down and cleaning the processing plant, and repairing ammonium nitrate storage.

In October, she said, there were an average of 54 employees and 24 contractors on site per shift.

Cooper said “culturally significant items” from Ekati and the Calgary head office have been returned to Yellowknife, including paintings, carvings and traditional art. She said a birchbark canoe and large soapstone carving will remain at the mine until a safe procedure has been established for their return.

This month and into the future, Cooper said work at the site will include continuing to cap the Misery waste rock storage area, demolishing buildings, advancing reclamation and closure planning, and implementing corrective actions from regulatory and safety inspections.

She said the mine is preparing for a winter road to reopen in the winter of 2027-28. The Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road is not opening this winter for the first time in nearly 50 years.