News Release

Yukon Government Ignores Yukoners, Opens Peel Watershed to More Oil and Gas Development

August 19, 2004 – Whitehorse – The Yukon government has ignored the advice of many Yukoners and, at the bidding of a multinational oil company, is putting key wildlife habitat in the magnificent Peel River watershed at risk.

In recent public consultations held by the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR), First Nation governments, community members and conservationists called on the Yukon Government to postpone oil and gas development in the Peel watershed until land use planning has been done. Serious concerns were also expressed about potential impacts of oil and gas development on the Turner Lakes wetlands, Peregrine Falcons (federally listed species at risk), the Porcupine Caribou Herd and the wilderness values of the Peel watershed.

“We are disappointed with EMR Minister Lang’s decision to reject the advice of Yukoners and to proceed with the Call for Bids. We call on him to reverse his decision – as he is authorized to do under the Yukon Oil and Gas Act regulations,” said Mac Hislop, Campaign Coordinator for the Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-Yukon). “The Yukon Government needs to show that it is truly listening to First Nations governments, mandated boards and councils, and Yukoners from all walks of life.”

Based on the information released by the Yukon Government, it is clear that the Yukon government ignored calls to complete land use planning in the Peel watershed before allowing oil and gas development. “From the outset it appeared that the Yukon government would proceed with the Call for Bids regardless of the wishes of Yukoners and despite the risk to the wildlife and wilderness values of the Peel watershed,” says Hislop. “When public input is largely ignored and the government proceeds undeterred along its original intended path, public consultation is a charade.”

Minister Lang’s approach could be troublesome for industry. “By proceeding despite public concerns, the Yukon Government shows its true colours, valuing the interests of a single oil and gas company more than the interests of Yukoners,” says Hislop. “This could put communities and the bidding company at odds, as it has in the past.”

The Peel watershed is one of the Yukon’s most magnificent watersheds. A land of high mountains, clean clear rivers, healthy fish and wildlife populations and extensive wetlands, it has sustained First Nations peoples for millennia. Yukoners and people from across Canada and around the world travel to the watershed to hunt, fish, canoe and hike. They support a thriving conservation economy that supports local Yukon businesses.

For more information, please contact:

Mac Hislop
CPAWS-Yukon Campaign Coordinator
Telephone: 867-393-8080 ext. 3.