Review of Dawson land use plan taking 'more time than we want,' says Yukon gov't

The Yukon government has not yet submitted its recommendations for the Dawson Regional Land Use Plan, despite saying earlier that it would do so by last month.

And the territory acknowledges it's taking longer than hoped for.

Tr'ondk Hwch'inFirst Nation and the Yukon government have been working together for the past five years to developthe land use plan. It's an objective under Chapter 11 of the Tr'ondk Hwch'infinal agreement, to exercise theirright to participate in the management of public resources within the First Nation'straditional territory.

In 2022, the Dawson Regional Planning Commissionreleased its latest draft ofa land use planwhich would laythe groundwork for how roughly 10 per cent of Yukon's land mass should be co-managed in the future.

Both the Yukon Governmentand the Tr'ondk Hwch'in First Nation were then tasked withreviewing the plan, and deciding whether to accept, reject, or recommend changes to the draft plan.

The First Nation submitted its response and recommendations in April.

In August, the department of Energy, Mines and Resources said it was still doing a full review of the plan, and consulting with the White River First Nation as an affected First Nation with asserted traditional territory in the area. The government said that's why it hadn't submitted its response yet, but said it expected to do so byOctober.

In the legislative assembly last week, Energy, Mines and Resources MinisterJohn Streicker said his department wasstill in the reviewingand consulting stage of the process. He said the government has a responsibility to engage with other First Nations.

"Everybody wants this to move forward, and it is just the hard work of the public servants who are doing their diligence around this that is taking more time than we want," Streicker said.

"We are working to get it there."

The minister offered no timeline as to when the territory would officially submit itsresponse to the plan.

Feeling 'hijacked'

The territory's reasonfor why it's taking more time doesn't sit well withTr'ondk Hwch'in Chief Darren Taylor.

He says his First Nation feels "somewhat hijacked" by the government's efforts to consult with the White River First Nation, saying that's not a requirement.

"From our perspective,we [Tr'ondk Hwch'in] have a final land claims agreement," he said. "Our deal is done.

"We're not willing to have any First Nation encroach upon our traditional territory until a strength of claim is proven, and dealt with. My understanding is they [White River] haven't proven strength of claim, and yetYukon Government is giving us the impression that they have this legal obligation to consult with White River First Nation."

CBC News contactedWhite River First Nation for comment but nobody responded before publication.

Taylor said his First Nation offered its recommendations for the land use plan a year ago, and he doesn't understand why the process isnow at a stand-still.

"We have very limited staff," he said. "We met the appropriate deadlines in regards to providing our written submission into the draft plan. The Yukon Government has a lot of people working on their behalf and I'm just not understanding why they couldn't provide their response prior to the deadline."