First Nation blasts Yukon government over release of draft mining framework

Territory says it ‘deeply regret[s] the recent accidental release’ of document still being negotiated

The Yukon government is under fire from a First Nation over its release of a draft framework for new mining legislation, something the territory said it did “accidentally.”

In a news release on Wednesday, the White River First Nation blasted the territorial government for releasing the framework that the First Nation says is unfinished, and deeply flawed.

The draft framework, which would serve as an outline for developing new mining legislation, was obtained by CBC News through an access to information request.

The White River First Nation, based in Beaver Creek, Yukon, says the territory failed to consult with any First Nations before honouring the access request and deciding to release the document.

According to White River, the territorial government may have done so as a “push to present it [the draft framework] as a ‘done deal,’ in all its major details, and one that has supposedly attracted broad consensus.”

The First Nation says it’s nowhere near being a “done deal,” and that White River has concerns about it “in its current form.”

“The draft framework does not represent the fundamental change that is critically needed to pull the outdated mining regime out of the Gold Rush era and into a place that respects the rights of Yukon First Nations, including those of unceded Nations such as [White River First Nation], reads the First Nation’s statement.

“[The Yukon government] needs to go back to the drawing board, working in true and meaningful partnership with Yukon First Nations as rights-holders.”

Odin Miller, lands manager with the White River First Nation, calls the release of the draft framework a “serious breach of protocol.”

“[It] never should have occurred. It shows a serious lack of respect for First Nation negotiating partners, and I think, frankly, it shows a government that’s desperate to get a feather in its cap before the election,” Miller said.

The draft framework was also publicly criticized weeks before the document was released. Last month, both the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun and the Yukon Chamber of Mines sounded off about the draft framework itself, and about how it was being negotiated.