Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in chief 'frustrated' at waiting for Yukon gov't to move on land-use planning

The chief of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation says he's getting tired of waiting for the Yukon government to help move along the land-use planning process in his region.  

"I'm just frustrated on some of the delays and some of the reasons and rationale that we're hearing from other parties," said the First Nation's Hähkè (chief) Darren Taylor.

"I'm almost to the view that they don't want to see land use planning be successful."

Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and the Yukon government have been working together for the past five years to develop the Dawson Regional Land Use Plan. It's an objective under Chapter 11 of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in final agreement, to exercise their right to participate in the management of public resources within the First Nation's traditional territory.

In 2022, the Dawson Regional Planning Commission released its latest draft of a land-use plan which would lay the groundwork for how roughly 10 per cent of Yukon's land mass should be co-managed in the future.

Both the Yukon Government and the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation were then tasked with reviewing the plan, and deciding whether to accept, reject, or recommend changes to the draft plan.

Taylor said the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in submission was given to the commission in April, and that the process is still on hold until the territorial government submits its response. He wants that to happen soon.

Taylor said as they wait for a response mineral claims continue to be staked in areas that should be protected.

"If we don't plan accordingly, then our whole environment and traditional territory will eventually be a mess," Taylor said. 

"We had already given two extensions already, and they [Yukon Government] requested a third beyond the April deadline. We neglected to provide that additional extension."

Feedback needed before moving forward

The Dawson Regional Planning Commission is made up of six citizens living in the Dawson region who were appointed to help create the land use plan.

Kirsten Reid, senior planner with the commission, said the commission is still fully committed to moving forward but it won't until it receives a response from the territorial government.

"The commission members have made the decision that we won't proceed with any discussions, or deliberations on what a final recommended plan will look like, until we receive the feedback from the Yukon Government," she said. 

Reid said in the meantime, she's reviewing the response from the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and looking at how it could be incorporated into the final recommended plan.

"At the end of the day, my job is to present that information to the commission and to facilitate these discussions," Reid said. "So I won't be doing that until I have also considered YG's [Yukon Government's] feedback."

Kaila De Boer, director of land planning with the Yukon's department of Energy, Mines and Resources, said the territorial government is very committed to moving forward with the Dawson regional land use plan — but first needs to do a full review of the recommended plan. 

"Right now we're investing the time needed to complete the full review," she said. "Including concluding consultations with White River First Nation as an affected First Nation with asserted traditional territory that overlaps with the component of the Dawson region."

De Boer said she anticipates the government's response will be submitted to the commission sometime this Fall.