New Yukon government to decide on Peel
Planning commission chair hopes government will act quickly to protect watershed
CBC News
Posted: Oct 12, 2011 6:24 PM CT
Last Updated: Oct 13, 2011 10:08 AM CT
The Peel River Planning Commission says it's up to the new Yukon government to decide the next move on the area, which covers 67,000 square kilometres in central Yukon.
One of the big Yukon election issues was protecting the environment.
The Peel River Planning Commission spent six years working on a land-use plan for the area which covers about 67,000 square kilometres of wilderness in northeastern Yukon.
The head of the commission says the next move on the Peel is now up to the newly elected Yukon Party Government.
Chair Dave Loeks says while there are no legal timelines to follow, he's hoping the new government will act quickly to do what Yukoners have asked them to do.
"Yet another round of community consultations, and following that round of consultations then the process has the Yukon government and the four first nation governments somehow doing their best to arrive at some agreements and decisions," said Loeks.
Loeks says the planning commission's work is done and the final plan rests with the Yukon and First Nation governments.
The Yukon Conservation Society says it will hold the Yukon Party to its commitment of working together on the Peel plan. A planning commission is recommending 80 per cent of the area be withdrawn for protection.
Yukon premier Darrell Pasloski, has not committed to that, saying there's one more round of consultation to go. Although the party won another majority, the Yukon Conservation Society believes most Yukoners want the area protected.
"I don't know if this was a referendum on the Peel but it's very interesting that the three ridings of the communities that are most affected by the Peel plan, none of them elected a Yukon Party candidate," said the society's executive director, Karen Baltgailis.
"That indicates to me probably where those people stand," she said.
Baltgailis says the society will continue to work within the process to protect the Peel.
Premier Darrell Pasloski says the various sides need to get together to come up with a final plan.
Share Tools
Latest North News Headlines
- Prosecution wraps up in Whitehorse murder trial
- Prosecutors in the Christina Marie Asp murder trial have concluded their case. Court last heard from an undercover police officer who posed as a female crime boss. more »
- British-born bulldog winds up at N.W.T. shelter
- The Great Slave Animal Hospital in Yellowknife picked up a stray purebred last week with a microchip that indicates she was born in the U.K. more »
- Nunavut search for missing mayor to resume
- The Kimmirut, Nunavut, search and rescue committee is set to begin looking once again for the community's mayor, who failed to return from a hunting trip in late November. more »
- Nunavut takes over community internet access funding
- The Government of Nunavut has announced it will take over the funding to community internet access that was cut by the federal government in March. more »
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria, B.C., native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
- Nunavut search for missing mayor to resume
- British-born bulldog winds up at N.W.T. shelter
- Nunavut takes over community internet access funding
- Yellowknife toddlers catching hand, foot and mouth virus
- Yellowknives Dene member wants chiefs and council ousted
- Prosecution wraps up in Whitehorse murder trial
- Fort Smith, N.W.T., man charged with arson
- Head of Nunavut Impact Review Board not re-appointed
- Yukon Dakla'weidi celebrate rebuilding of traditional house

