Peel

Yukon Planning Regions

Peel Watershed Planning CouncilThe PWPC was an arms length commission with members that are jointly nominated by the Yukon, Na-Cho Nyak Dun, Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, Gwich'in and Vuntut Gwitchin governments. Their land use plan is meant to apply to all Settlement and Non-settlement lands in the planning region. The Commission produced their Final Recommended Plan in July 2011. The Commission ceased operations shortly thereafter.

The Commission's website is still active, and serves up their documents. This website will eventually be decommissioned. Their documents are also served on this website   folder here .

The area of the Peel Watershed region is: 67431 km2.

When a proposed project is submitted to YESAB, they determine if the project will fall within a planning region with an approved plan. If so, it sends the YLUPC a letter requesting a conformity check. YLUPC staff then indicate whether or not a project would conform with the plan, and what practices and strategies recommended in the plan would be the most relevant. Recently, we looked at whether the project "Dempster Fibre Optics Project" conformed in both the North Yukon and Peel Watershed Regions.

Now that the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan has been approved, it is time to put it into action. The Parties to this plan, the Yukon Government and the governments of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation,Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, Na-Cho Nyak Dun and the Gwich'in Tribal Council, have agreed on some plan implementation tasks. One task, checking the conformity of proposed projects to the plan, is being done by the Yukon Land Use Planning Council.

The Umbrella Final Agreement (section 12.7.1) and the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Act (section 44.1) specify that planning commissions do this task. However, because the Peel Watershed Planning Commission won't be maintained, the staff of the Yukon Land Use Planning Council (YLUPC) will do conformity checks on their behalf. Here's how it works:

Dignitaries and elders gather after the signing.

On August 22, 2019, the regional plan for the Peel Watershed was approved by all five Parties: Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, the Gwich’in Tribal Council, and the Yukon. Hundreds of people gathered in Mayo for the festivities, many attending a signing and water ceremony on the shore of the Stewart River. This marks the second regional plan to be approved under chapter 11 of Yukon's Final Agreements, and a milestone for reconciliation in the Yukon.

Cover of What We Heard Report

The Parties to the Peel Watershed planning process consulted on the Final Recommended Plan in late 2018. They recently released a report detailing what was heard during that consultation. These results will help inform their discussions on finding a shared position on the Plan, and ultimately finalize and approve the Plan. The consultation and report were done by a consultant, Stantec.

The Council is pleased that there is a ruling on the Peel Watershed Plan, and looks forward to incorporating it into our future planning processes. We will take actions that will help build a common understanding Yukon's Land Claim Agreements. With our staff and legal counsel, we will review the decision and will make substantive comments in the near future. See also our initial press release.

Peel Watershed Planning Commission's Final Recommended Plan was central to the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling. As always, this document, and other planning documents are found on our website and the Commission's.

More Articles ...

  1. Supreme Court of Canada
  2. Yukon Court of Appeal
  3. Yukon Supreme Court Decision on Peel Plan
  4. Another Case Study of the Peel Process
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