Editorial: Trudeau’s Liberals to repeal Bill S-6 in Yukon

Elections do have consequences, and in the Yukon Territory, the Liberal Party of Canada’s victory in the federal elections last October has brought on the federal government’s decision in April to rescind the contentious Bill S-6 amendment to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act put forward by Stephen Harper’s pro-development Conservative government in consultation with the similarly pro-development Yukon government.

The repeal’s announcement came out of the Intergovernmental Forum held in Whitehorse on April 8 and attended by new federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett, Yukon Premier Darrell Pasloski, Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Ruth Massie and chiefs of the 11 self-governing Yukon First Nations.

In a dig to the Conservatives, the participants pointedly noted it had been the first Intergovernmental Forum held in six years in the territory, with the forum having been established in 2002 to foster better relationships between the three levels of government.

The Harper government passed Bill S-6 in June 2015. Yukon First Nations immediately complained that the bill undermined their final land claim agreements and they vowed to challenge it in court, in particular four clauses relating to: delegation of federal powers to the Yukon government; a delegation of policy direction to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board by the federal aboriginal affairs minister; a shortening of timelines for assessments; and exemptions of certain projects from renewals and amendments.

The First Nations argued they have joint management over lands and resources in much of the Yukon Territory, and Bill S-6 — crafted without their full input — was diluting that role and showed a lack of respect towards the affected First Nations.

In a visit to the Yukon in September 2015, Harper simply said the contentious clauses in the amendment bill had been requested by Pasloski’s government. At the time, the premier wouldn’t tell the CBC definitively whether the four amendments came at his behest, instead saying there had been “too much finger-pointing, and not enough effort to resolve our differences.”

By October 2015, three Yukon First Nations — the Teslin Tlingit Council, the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, and the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation — had filed a petition in the Yukon Supreme Court.

Pasloski told the CBC at the time that he supported Bill S-6 because it would promote a strong economy and local jobs, but conceded that lawsuits launched by First Nations to overturn the amendment would impede economic growth.

Meanwhile both the Liberals and New Democratic Party of Canada had campaigned federally saying they would repeal the bill if elected to power.

Now, the three petitioners are setting aside their lawsuit, and the federal government says its revised legislation will be drafted in collaboration with Yukon First Nations, the Yukon government and other key stakeholders, with an eye to introducing the amending legislation no later than June 23, and passing it late this year.

The federal government said the agreement to repeal Bill S-6 “demonstrates the commitment of all parties to work together to ensure that the legislation underpinning environmental assessment in Yukon is clear, fair and appropriate, and reflects the needs of everyone involved.”

Eric Fairclough, chief of the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation, said in a release that “Canada committed to work towards forging a new fiscal relationship with First Nations, and we are holding them to their word.”