Final draft of Yukon mineral development strategy released

The independent panel responsible for developing the Yukon mineral development strategy (MDS) is now seeking public feedback after releasing a final draft of the document. 

The draft, published on Dec. 28, contains 79 wide-ranging recommendations aimed at shaping the future of mineral management and development in the territory and comes after 16 months of community consultations. 

It's the latest step in a process involving all 11 self-governing Yukon First Nations that began in 2017, when the Yukon government and First Nations governments signed a memorandum of understanding on mining. 

"The MDS Panel is confident that this Yukon Mineral Development Strategy and Recommendations report fulfills the desire of many engagement participants for a bold, transformative and contemporary approach to Yukon mineral development," the final draft reads in part. 

"(It's an) approach that establishes a framework for sustainable mineral resource development within a positive context of economic, social and environmental reconciliation."

It also notes that the panel is "confident the mining industry will finally be able to see a clear development pathway and know the goal posts at each stage of the mineral exploration and development cycle."

Math'ieya Alatini, one of three people sitting on the MDS panel, told CBC Dec. 29 she believed all Yukoners should look at and reflect on the draft strategy, noting that mineral development, along with tourism, are the largest drivers to the territory's economy. 

"It's in everyone's interest, (who) are Yukoners, to look at the resources that are being extracted from the ground and have a say in how that will be regulated and monitored and developed for the future … It affects everyday life," she said. 

Collaboration, sustainability among key principles

The final draft strategy distills the information the MDS panel obtained through more than 90 interviews, 63 written submissions and eight online open houses, among other things, into seven guiding principles and six strategic priorities.

The guiding principles include collaboration across all government entities, Yukon First Nations and industry, "honouring our ancestors," sustainability, respect for Yukon's "natural and human environment" and legislative and regulatory certainty and clarity. 

Among the strategic priorities, meanwhile, are establishing a "modern mineral resource management regime" aligned with modern treaties as well as the principles and recommendations in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNRIP) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, operating within an "attractive investment climate" that "supports competitive and innovative mineral development enterprises," and providing support for "leading edge workforce development and public awareness initiatives." 

Each of the 79 recommendations then falls under one of the strategic priorities. They range from bringing in new mineral resource legislation and regulations by the end of 2023 to updating or implementing royalties and taxes to ensure Yukon First Nations and Yukon residents receive fair financial returns on mining and exploration activities.

Another recommendation would see the Yukon government directing additional resources toward completing land-use plans detailed in the Umbrella Final Agreement within the next five years. 

Alatini said land-use planning was brought up by "everyone" during consultations as something that needed to be completed as soon as possible (the Dawson, Northern Tutchone, Kluane, Whitehorse and Teslin plans are still outstanding). 

"This is such a fundamental element to any sort of development in Yukon … It keeps us in limbo, as Yukoners, if we don't have these land use plans completed," she said. 

The MDS panel's final recommendation is the establishment of an implementation agency to "facilitate the legislative, policy and administrative initiatives needed" to implement the full strategy over the next three to five years. The agency would also provide quarterly progress reports at the Yukon Forum. 

'Transformational leadership' needed from Yukon government

Alatini acknowledged that the recommendations would be "challenging" to implement, but said she didn't think the work would be "insurmountable" if governments at all levels come to the table. 

"The likelihood of being able to implement all of these recommendations — it's doable in the five-year time period," she said. 

The draft strategy emphasizes that the "full, effective and successful implementation of the recommended actions will require transformational leadership by the Yukon government." 

"Aligning the mineral development aspirations of all Yukon people will require the Yukon government to function as a coherent and singular entity," it reads. 

"The whole of Yukon government must embrace the principles of reconciliation and work to build the trust and respect of Yukon First Nation governments, and the entities and agencies borne of the modern treaties. True collaboration is hard."

The public comment period for the final draft, which is available online at yukonmds.com, is open until Feb. 22.

The panel will release the final Yukon Mineral Development Strategy and Recommendations on March 29 and submit it to Yukon First Nations and the Yukon government for review.