Baffinland Steensby Railway Consultation

Background

The Canada Transportation Act requires Agency approval for the construction of federally-regulated railway lines. The Agency will approve an application to construct a railway line if it determines that the location of the railway line is reasonable, taking into consideration the:

1. requirements for railway operations and services; and
2. interests of the localities affected by the railway line.

For more information about the Agency’s process, please refer to: How to Apply for Approval to Construct a Railway Line: A Guide For Federally Regulated Railway Companies.

Project information

The Steensby Railway is a component of Baffinland’s multi-phase Mary River Project to develop and operate the Mary River Mine on northern Baffin Island within the Qikiqtani Region of Nunavut. The Mary River Mine has been in operation since 2015, and is one of the most northern mining operations in the world.

The Steensby Railway will provide freight rail service between the mine and the Steensby Port located at Steensby Inlet, transporting loaded and empty iron ore rail cars between the port and the mine. The increased efficiency and capacity resulting from the proposed railway will allow Baffinland to concentrate iron ore shipments during the ice-free and open-water season. Baffinland expects the project to bring substantial economic and employment benefits to the territory.

Duty to Consult - Crown Consultation

The Northern Projects Management Office (NPMO) is serving as the Crown Consultation Coordinator under a separate but concurrent process focused on consulting Inuit communities regarding the Steensby Railway Project and Steensby Port. NPMO will prepare What We Heard reports to capture issues raised. NPMO will share these reports with each Inuit community as well as with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. The Agency is part of the consultation coordinated by NPMO and the reports prepared will form part of the record considered by the Agency in its decision-making for the Steensby Railway. Inuit and their representatives may choose to participate in the complementary Agency public comment process following the instructions provided below.

Map

Google Map (KML view)

Call for comments

You are invited to submit your comments on the following questions:

• How would the location or operation of the proposed railway line affect your interests? Describe any expected benefits or concerns you have with the proposed line.
• If you have concerns about the proposed railway line, what could be done to address them?
• Baffinland has provided information about the project in its application and supplemental documents (see Reference materials below). Is this information sufficient to understand how this construction and operations of the proposed railway line can affect you? If not, please describe what type of additional information you would need to know about the impact of the railway line on you.

The last day for submitting your written comments is the close of business on May 16, 2025.

Confidential Information

All submissions sent to the Agency will be considered public documents. The comments, including the submitter's name, may be posted on the Agency website.

If any document you send to the Agency contains information that you believe should be treated as confidential, you must send two copies of it, as follows:

1. One copy (the public version) from which the confidential information has been blacked out.
2. One copy (the confidential version) in which:
   1. each page is marked “contains confidential information” at the top; and
   2. you highlight or otherwise identify on each page the confidential information that was blacked out in the first copy.

The Agency will post the public version on its website and keep the confidential one for its use only. However, any document provided to the Agency is subject to potential release on request under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act requirements. The Agency may be required to release the information if it doesn’t fall within the exceptions in those laws.

How to participate

Email: Secretariat@otc-cta.gc.ca
TTY: 1-800-559-5575

Submissions by mail can be sent to:

Secretariat, Canadian Transportation Agency
60 Laval Street, Unit 1-117
Gatineau, Quebec, J8X 3G9
Canada

Please note that these must be postmarked no later than May 16, 2025.

Reference materials

https://steensbyrailway.baffinland.com/