Kaska in Yukon, Canada agree to meet premier over blockade threat
Kaska leaders had threatened action over proposed oil and gas developments on their traditional territory
The Kaska are hoping a meeting with the the premier of Canada’s northwestern Yukon territory will head off a confrontation over oil and gas development.
The Kaska nations have threatened to sue the Yukon government and blockade roads if the government goes ahead with plans to remove Kaska veto powers over oil and gas development.
The Kaska say secret cabinet documents prove the government is aware oil companies are interested in shallow gas fracking operations in Kaska territory and they’re committed to stopping that before it starts.
“It kind of confirmed suspicions of government saying one thing and doing another,” said Liard McMillan, the chief of the Liard First Nation.
He said he was relieved to receive a letter from Yukon Premier Darrell Pasloski asking for a meeting. Now, he’s waiting to see what the Premier will say and do.
“We are hoping that maybe they’ve come to some new realizations,” added McMillan.
The meeting is now set for Dec. 7.
Related Links:
Feature interview with chief of the Yukon’s Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation, Eye on the Arctic
Yukon First Nation threatens to shutter mining exploration, CBC News
Rights, resource development take centre stage in Yukon, CBC News
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