I find all this Peel River protection planning very offensive. It is threatening to steal an estimated 10 per cent of the Yukon from everyone who lives here and will ever live here!
I’ve listened to the “Save the Planet” speech from a few organizations and feel some are jumping on board with it and are misinformed on many environmental issues. Today’s mining and oil drilling are not as harmful to the watershed (this is a scare tactic of environmental groups to get people on board) of the Peel or anywhere else for that matter! With the advances in technology and the regulations we have in place, these industries are not as destructive as they are projecting it to be.
We are finally getting some industry coming to the Yukon and a few people want to chase them out (I have seen the same thing happen with Tombstone Park but this is just on a larger scale). I was asked if I am concerned about global warming (and the answer is yes) and my thought is we should keep industry here where we have control on how they operate as we have strict operating guidelines.
If we stop them from coming here, it will not stop the world demand for what we have to offer for minerals, oil and gas. These companies will go to other countries that don’t care about the environment and so by doing this on a global scale, it will be worse. Every industry we keep out of the Yukon, hurts directly and indirectly most of the businesses of the Yukon.
All Yukon businesses, people employed and seeking employment should say no to the Peel plan altogether. They are trying to steal your livelihood from you! Most of the people pushing the plan drive cars, live in houses, eat with silverware and wear jewellery. (Where do they think this stuff comes from ... thin air?)
Most of their food and supplies get hauled in by trucks, which all involves the mining or oil industry. So is it better to get it here or is it all supposed to get shipped in from some other country? Is that more environmentally friendly?
The Yukon already has approximately 12 per cent of it’s total mass in protected areas and about another eight per cent in First Nation class A and B lands. As for the Yukon - I love it! That’s why I moved here 24 years ago, and I think it is all beautiful, but we don’t need to turn everything into a park to keep it that way!
We all need to make a living and we can do that - and keep the Yukon beautiful. We all have a voice so please use it. (The environmentalists are.) Say no to the Peel project!
Joe McIntyre
Dawson City