Keith Russell unapologetic for 'sue us' comment

The Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs, Lake Melville MHA Keith Russell, says it was just a conversation between twoold friends when he told a Nunatsiavut government minister recently to "go ahead and sue us" during a conversation about exports fromthe Voisey's Bay mine.

Russell abruptly ended a scrum with reporters Wednesday after persistent questions about his encounter at an airport with the unnamed Nunatsiavut minister.

• Vale gets extension for exporting Voisey's Bay ore
• Nunatsiavut president Sarah Leo 'quite disturbed' over Vale agreement

He said his comment was not meant to sour relations or to antagonizethe Inuit government.

"What it was about was just reaffirming our position that we're confident that the land claims agreement was not violated," Russell stated.

Inuit leaders say they were not consulted

The two were discussing a decision by the provincial government to allow Vale to export more nickel concentrate outside of the province for furtherprocessing.

The agreementwas announced in late February, and is related to delays in completing Vale'snickel processing plant inLong Harbour.

The government said the export extension was necessary in order to protect the nearly 500 jobs at the mine in Labrador.

However, it drew criticism from theInuit regional government, with Nunatsiavut president Sarah Leo saying they were not properly consulted.

The Voisey's Bay mine is located on Inuit land and is subject to a land agreement involving the Inuit and the provincial and federal governments.

'We are solid in our position'

Russell said the province followed the land claims agreement, and his "sue us" comment to the minister was a reflection of his confidence in the decision.

"We take our relationships and our level of communication very seriously and I lookforwardto meeting with President Leoand other ministers of the Nunatsiavut government to continue dialogue on this issue," Russell said.

"We are solid in our position."

• Aboriginal groups ready to give Keith Russell 'benefit of doubt'

Russell is no stranger to controversy, and hismissteps in dealing with aboriginal groups over the years haveraised some eyebrows.

In 2011, he was removed as a minister with the Nunatsiavut government for not doing his job.

A year later, Russell apologized after he offended the NunatuKavut when he dismissed some spiritual beliefssurrounding a piece of land as "mumbo jumbo."

NunatuKavut represents the more than 6,000 southern Inuit of Labrador.

Russell has not apologized for the "sue us" comment, and when pressed about whether it was a fair comment to make, Russell repeated that his comment was "about reaffirming our position."

He then thanked the reporters and walked away.