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Yukon resource deal under fire Pat Duncan believes Kaska First Nation has veto rights over Alaska Highway gas pipeline; warns revenues from Yukon could flow across border to British Columbia Gary Park Petroleum News Calgary Correspondent
An initial deal intended to open up aboriginal land straddling the Yukon-British Columbia border to resource development may also contain veto rights over construction of an Alaska Highway gas pipeline, said former Yukon premier Pat Duncan.
The pact, signed May 9 by Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie and leaders of the Kaska Nation, was hailed by Fentie as laying the foundation for development of the southeast Yukon.
But Duncan believes the deal gives the Kaska control over resource development of their traditional lands, including the Alaska pipeline.
She argued that the right of way for Foothills Pipe Lines to build the line has been formally recognized and the land has been set aside.
If the Kaska now have a veto over the pipeline they have rights not available to other Yukon first nations, Duncan said. Fentie had said deal didn't include land Fentie had previously assured the legislature that the deal being negotiated had nothing to do with land, resource revenues or giving the Kaska a veto over development on their lands.
Questioned by reporters on May 12, he refused to say whether he stood by that commitment.
Duncan and Yukon New Democratic Party leader Todd Hardy said the deal offers the Kaska benefits that have not been offered to the territory’s 12 first nations that have either ratified land claims or signed memorandums of understanding with the Yukon government.
Hardy said the outcome will cause a “great deal of uncertainty” within industry and the appearance of preferential treatment for the Kaska.
He said Yukon nations that have either signed final agreements or reached memorandums of understanding with the Yukon could now make a case to reopen their negotiations.
The Kaska incorporate two first nations in the Yukon and three in British Columbia, which heightens Duncan’s objections to the agreement.
She said benefits totaling “potentially millions of dollars” from Yukon resources could end up in the hands of British Columbia first nations.
“It’s a sell-out” of the Yukon’s resources, she declared on May 12. “Yukoners have every reason to be absolutely outraged.”
Duncan believes the two Yukon-based Kaska first nations are entitled to receive money from resource development, but she is flatly opposed to distributing cash among the British Columbia first nations.
Hardy also noted that the Canadian government has been excluded from its traditional role in land claims discussions.
Kaska deputy chief negotiator Victor Mitander, while conceding there is a “lot of work” ahead to get federal participation in the final agreement, said the bilateral deal allows oil, natural gas, mining and forestry development to proceed with the consent of the Kaska, although there is not yet a revenue-sharing deal in place.
While the political squabbling continues, the Kaska are organizing meetings with the Yukon government to establish the ground rules for a disposition of oil and gas licenses.
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