You can download the Council's summary of their recent strategic planning sessions pdf here (191 KB) , or read on...
The members of the Yukon Land Use Planning Council held two sessions in late 2014 and early 2015 to discuss the strategic direction for the organization. While the council is strongly supported by an experienced secretariat, the council is fairly “young” with two members having been on the council for less than 2 years and the other member only recently appointed in June 2014. Effort was taken to understand the purpose, intent, role, challenges and future for the organization.
The Council is a creation of the Umbrella Final Agreement and is referenced is subsequent Yukon First Nation Final Agreements. Chapter 11- Land Use Planning details the purpose and objectives of the Council. As such, we recognize that our mission is to satisfy the objectives of the Agreements, specifically through the creation of land use plans that ensure that social, cultural, economic and environmental policies are applied to the management, protection and use of land, water and resources in an integrated and coordinated manner so as to ensure Sustainable Development. And that our vision is to have plans in place that assist in decision making in Yukon.
Our ongoing work has been significantly impacted by the dispute over the plan for the Peel Watershed Region. In response to a request for the creation of a new planning region the Government of Yukon advised they believed that it would be prudent to wait for the outcome of the Peel legal challenge prior to initiating an additional regional planning process. Further, as of December 1st, 2014, the Dawson Regional Planning Commission's planning process has been suspended. The three parties to the planning process: the Government of Yukon, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Vuntut Gwitchin Government advised that as the courts are considering a case directly related to Yukon’s regional land use planning process, all parties agree that it is critical to receive clarity before continuing with the planning process in the Dawson region. It is expected that the conclusion of this case may well bring greater clarity to the Agreements and lead to successful regional planning.
It has become clear to the Council that having a clear, common, consistent understanding of the Agreements, especially related to Land Use Planning, will have a significant impact on the operations and success of the Yukon Land Use Planning Council. To that end we believe that the Council will need to foster and contribute to such an understanding.
The Council has previously embarked on a review of the Common Land Use Planning Process. In light of recent events this work is even more important. We are committed to reviewing our policies and practices and, with the Parties to the agreements, developing and accepting recommendations for changes.
You can download the Council's summary of their recent strategic planning sessions pdf here (191 KB) .
