Ron Cruikshank, who was our Director since 1998, retired on June 28^th (2022). He brought his planning experience on the Mackenzie Delta and beyond to our office. Under his watch, a Common Planning Process and Yukon planning regions were developed, as well as three regional planning processes. We held a jovial retirement party for him at the MacBride Museum in Whitehorse; photos below.

Now and Tomorrow!

Over the last year, we have helped with the implementation of approved regional plans, helped the Dawson Commission with their ongoing planning process, and worked towards improving future planning processes. We have also set several goals for the coming year and beyond. Regional planning in the Yukon is happening!

The Council is currently exploring ways to meaningfully weave Indigenous planning concepts and traditional knowledge throughout regional land use planning processes. This work strives to uphold the objectives of Chapter 11 “recognizing and promoting the cultural values of Yukon First Nations” and “Utilizing the knowledge and experience of Yukon First Nations to achieve effective land use planning.”

In support of this effort, the Council contracted Planner Gillian McKee to do a literary review of the use of traditional knowledge in northern regional land use plans. The nine plans examined were:

We won this year's Bike to Work Workplace Challenge! After entering the challenge for the past several years, we finally logged enough people and kilometers to win. Some days we had almost everyone in our office commuting to work on their bike, making bike parking tight. Congratulations to everyone who took up the challenge.

Since late 2014, we have been focussing much of our effort on reviewing the Common Land Use Planning Process (CLUPP) in an effort to make future planning projects more efficient and successful. One question that has come up is about sub-regional planning. The Yukon Land Use Planning Council is mandated under Chapter 11 - Land Use Planning of the Umbrella Final Agreeement. However, this chapter references sub-regional planning minimally and provides even less guidance for the application of a sub-regional planning process. The need to develop greater clarity with respect to sub-regional planning was expressed by the Council in a submission to the10 Year review of the land claim agreements in 2004 and again in a letter to the First Naton of Nacho Nyak and the Yukon Government October 5, 2017. To explore how sub-regional planning could be a part of regional planning under Chapter 11, we recently contracted Ryder Communications Management to provide this analysis.

The Council is please to release its annual report for 2017-2018. It gives highlights on its membership, roles and relationships, the status of Yukon regional planning, and Council and their staff activities. In particular, 3 successes and 2 challenges were highlighted:

Successes:

• Re-establishment of high-level communications with Yukon Government Yukon First Nations
• The Council hosted the successful gathering Peel Decision and Beyond
• Development of a Terms of Reference for the Dawson Regional Planning Commission

Challenges:

•  The lack of establishment of a senior staff-level regional planning committee
•  The establishment of a sub-regional planning exercise outside of Chapter 11 Land Use Planning

The Council recently wrote a letter to the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources requesting a meeting. Items we would like to discuss include:

• The relationship the Council desires with Yukon Government;
• The implications of the recent Supreme Court of Canada's on the future of regional planning in the territory;
• Ideas the Council has for improving the process of regional planning in the territory.;
• The reviews of Chapter 11 Regional Land Use Planning that are occurring in the next two years;
• The Minister's invitation to speak at an upcoming workshop.

The letter is available here. This meeting is scheduled for January 31^st.

Last year, we hired Ryder Communication Management to do a jurisdictional analysis of planning strategies and to recommend the contents of one for the Yukon. With this report in hand, we are exploring ways to collaboratively create a Yukon Regional Planning Strategy. The report comes in 2 parts: a report, and a table of strategy components used in different jurisdictions.

Since 2014, we, our staff and contractors have been thinking about Yukon land use planning and the process we can all follow to get successful plans. In 2015, Lesley Cabott Consulting & Associates drafted an analysis of potential solutions. One of the most pivotal recommendations was to develop a Yukon Regional Planning Strategy or framework. This recommendation led us to commission this report.

Dennis Zimmermann was appointed as our newest member on December 7^th, 2017, and is the Government of Canada's nominee.

Dennis Zimmermann has over 20 years of professional experience in the North. He has a Master's of Science Degree in Rural Planning with a focus on community-based planning and engagement. He has worked in both the public and the private sectors, and in the last decade his work has revolved around the intersection of community, fish, wildlife and habitat. With this breadth of experience, he will sure to be a great addition to the Council.

More information on Dennis is found here.

The Council and staff recently had a day of media relations training put on by Calypso Communications, Mosaic Communications & AVCR Video Productions. It was a fun and informative day for everyone. There were presentations, discussions, and mock radio and TV interviews.