After a wildfire tore through the forest around Kakisa, N.W.T., in 2014, Lloyd Chicot began noticing changes in the lake: the pickerel grew fatter, and the pelicans moved in. Chicot, the chief of Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation, attributes the change partly to climate change and partly to runoff from the fire, which brought nutrients and debris into the lake. "Right after the fire, there was a lot of burnt driftwood and that kind of stuff," he recalled.

The spread of dust caused by Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s Mary River mine is larger than predicted and is impacting drinking water, wildlife and sea ice in the surrounding area, says a Qikiqtani Inuit Association manager. Regulatory affairs manager Chris Spencer presented three years’ worth of reports to the association’s board members for the first time Thursday. The reports summarize an investigation, launched in 2020, into how dust spread from the mine is affecting the environment and Inuit culture. QIA found foxes near the mine that were “deeply discoloured red” and acting strangely; that dust spread was worse than what Baffinland had predicted it would be each year; and that water in several locations had surpassed national drinking water safety guidelines for aluminium content.