Mining Oversight — August 2026
GNWT Quietly Dismantles Diamond Mine Oversight
The environmental watchdogs for Snap Lake and Diavik are being shut down at the mining companies’ request — with no public engagement.
What Happened
When the Ekati, Diavik, and Snap Lake diamond mines went into production, each came with a legally binding Environmental Agreement — negotiated in 1997, 2000, and 2004 respectively — that included an independent body to oversee the mine’s environmental performance. These bodies were part of the “social licence” that let the mines operate, alongside Indigenous benefit agreements and other regulatory approvals. Similar arrangements exist for the Giant Mine and the Gacho K’ué diamond mine.
On June 30 and July 31, 2026, the GNWT’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change agreed to shut down the oversight bodies for Snap Lake and Diavik — both at the request of the mining companies that own them. Neither decision involved any public engagement.
A third body, watching over Ekati, faces a different threat: its funding is now uncertain because Ekati’s owner is in receivership and the mine is expected to wind down.
By the Numbers
Two mines, two very different timelines for oversight.
An Inconsistent Standard
“It’s rather ironic that GNWT gets rid of independent oversight for itself at the request of mining companies, just when the largest diamond mine has become a public liability.”
— Kevin O’Reilly, Alternatives North
The Diavik decision goes a step further. Rather than the GNWT taking responsibility for independent technical review of Diavik’s closure operations, that job will fall to Diavik itself — the company will design and review its own fund for Indigenous governments to conduct technical reviews of its closure work, for three years, with no guarantee the arrangement continues after that.
In other words, the company being watched is being handed control of who does the watching, and for how long.
In the News
It’s Time for a Federal Audit
Alternatives North is calling on the Auditor General of Canada to conduct a performance audit of GNWT’s resource management — from Cantung and Mactung to Cameron Hills and now the diamond mines. Independent oversight shouldn’t disappear the moment it becomes inconvenient.
Read the Full Media ReleaseQuestions or comments? Contact Kevin O’Reilly at Alternatives North — 867-444-2929