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Peel not needed for healthy mining industry

Peel not needed for healthy mining industry Open letter to Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Brad Cathers: Your recent decision on the Peel land use plan shows a complete disrespect of public opinion and the many years of hard work endured by the Peel

Open letter to Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Brad Cathers:

Your recent decision on the Peel land use plan shows a complete disrespect of public opinion and the many years of hard work endured by the Peel planning commission. It was your government that put this planning process in place and I find it disgraceful that you, just a few months after being re-elected, have thrown the recommendations of this democratic process overboard and completely ignored the commission’s findings.

Not long ago, you stood up against the bullish behaviour of the Yukon’s previous premier and I admired you for that braveness. But now, with your dictatorial decision on the Peel plan, I wonder where your sincerity has gone. This is very likely the worst betrayal you and your party have ever done.

In one of your statements, you said that you have no interest in protecting an area the size of Nova Scotia. Here is a comparison closer to home: With an area of 67,000 square kilometres, the Peel watershed is not even half the size of the Alberta oilsand deposits (141,000 square kilometres). Considering this and the fact that the Yukon experiences an unprecedented mining boom while the Peel area is closed for staking Ð why relinquish this icon of world class wilderness? Can’t you see that the Peel area is not needed for a healthy mining industry?

I insist that you reconsider your decision and accept the recommended plan. We need to protect the Peel for the sake of the Yukon, for the sake of Canada and Ð most importantly Ð for the sake of democracy.

Christoph Altherr

Whitehorse