Two Yukon mining groups back Bonnet Plume work

Two territorial mining organizations hope to intervene in a court challenge to existing federal mining regulations.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is challenging the legality of the federal land use permit allowing Westmin Resources (TSE) to bring heavy equipment on to its claims to build an airstrip. It does not want mineral exploration activities to be exempt from federal environmental assessments.

Both the Yukon Chamber of Mines and the Yukon Prospectors Association have filed applications to intervene in Federal Court in support of the exploration work by the company in the Bonnet Plume River region of the eastern Yukon.

Westmin is looking for Olympic Dam-type copper-gold deposits. Gregg Jilson, president of the Yukon Chamber of Mines, is concerned about the implications this case may have throughout the territory. There are years of precedents showing that the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs correctly granted the land use permit, he claimed.

The federally convened Yukon Mining Advisory Committee has worked hard on recommendations to update the Yukon Quartz Mining Act to address environmental and mining interests, Jilson continued. But these proposals — put together by stakeholders, including miners, conservationists and First Nations — have yet to be passed by Parliament.

“We believe these regulations will work,” he said, adding that they are far superior to current territorial land use regulations which were introduced in the 1970s.

The president also believes it would be “very unfortunate” if the courts ruled that the Yukon Lands Act should apply, and derailed the proposed amendments to the Yukon Quartz Mining Act.

He suggested that CPAWS work with the mining advisory committee and drop its lawsuit, as “they’re wasting everyone’s resources.” CPAWS, meanwhile, has complained about lack of consultation.

But the Na Cho Nyak Dun First Nation in the central Yukon, which supports Westin’s activities, said the company had approached its members. CPAWS, which is backed by the Sierra Legal Defense Fund, is also getting some help from the Gwich’in Tribal Council. The council, based in the Mackenzie Delta region of the Northwest Territories, is planning to intervene in support of the CPAWS lawsuit.

At a recent gathering in Old Crow, Y.T., Gwich’in people from the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Alaska endorsed a resolution requesting an environmental assessment before development is allowed in the Bonnet Plume. The Bonnet Plume River flows into the Peel River, which tribal council leaders say is vital for their traditional fish supply. But, while the river has been named a Canadian heritage river, this designation does not prevent development.

— The author is a freelance writer who lives in Whitehorse, Yukon.