A group of Whitehorse citizens consistently opposed to mining and exploration within city limits have put questions on the issue to those seeking mayor and council seats in the coming election. Three of five mayoral candidates and seven of 18 council candidates responded.
The issue of mining in the city reached city council chambers in recent months as delegates opposed to and in favour of exploration work by Gladiator Metals on mining claims in and near the city spoke. Delegates from Yukoners Concerned made it clear that their objective was to ensure that mining in or near Whitehorse would not be allowed to happen while a Gladiator representative detailed the money already invested in the project and how shutting down the exploration would be limiting economic options and scientific investigation of the area. Gladiator was issued a development permit for class-one exploration work on a property off Mount Sima Road in late 2023.
Yukoners Concerned asked mayor and council candidates to share their thoughts on the matter.
The mayor and council candidates were presented with the following questions:
Would you support an application from Gladiator Metals for amendments to the Official Community Plan (OCP) to expand mining activities?
How would you ensure the rights and interests of citizens, plants and animals are upheld in order to protect our environment and properties?
Do you support a moratorium on all mining activities within the city limits until the modernization of Yukon’s Minerals Legislation is completed?
The three replying mayoral candidates were Kirk Cameron, Dan Bushnell and Stephen Kwok. Their edited replies provided by Yukoners Concerned all forewent simple yes or no responses and couched their answers to varying degrees in a desire for more information. The News reached out to all three candidates so they could expand upon their views.
“I would want to understand the extent of the issues and concerns from the community and the two local First Nations. We as the city need to ensure rules are followed. Our First Nation partners are key stakeholders in communications and the environment and safety is a priority,” Kwok wrote in reply to the survey.
He offered no further comment, standing by the importance of hearing more from the community and local First Nations.
Cameron provided a lengthy reply to Yukoners Concerned, which Donald Roberts, representing the group, noted was heavily edited in the results they circulated. Cameron is an incumbent city councillor who was at the table for the discussions of the Gladiator project in 2023 and 2024 and also says he was a Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) appointee for seven years. With that in his mind, he said the issue of balancing the economy with social and environmental concerns is tricky and unsuited to yes or no questions.
Cameron’s response notes that there would be no need for OCP changes, as discussed in Yukoners Concerned’s question, to allow class-one exploration as Gladiator has been permitted to do. He noted that the process for permitting larger scale exploration work would include reviews of the project through YESAB and the territorial government’s permitting process.
“The City, too, will have involvement in ensuring attention is given to matters important to our community: citizens, water, wildlife, air, noise. I hasten to add that the current City Council has set the stage for the next Council to determine if there should be more of a role for Council in the small exploration programs that today do not need this,” he wrote
He placed faith in existing processes' ability to asses project impacts and determine what mitigation and monitoring should occur. He said he believes those processes will cover the values important to the community.
Cameron is not in favour of a moratorium on mining activities ahead of the new territorial legislation, writing that the processes in place should guide the city in determining next steps on each permit application for exploration or mining.
“The history of this city has, as one of its economic anchors, the mining of copper with significant economic contribution and limited, if any, environmental impacts,” he wrote.
Bushnell indicated that his first question about such projects would be: whose land is it on?
“I think we as a city, whatever decision is made by a First Nation about how they're using and doing things on their land, our job is to support that,” he told the News in an Oct. 10 interview.
“It's not our purview to tell another government what they can or can't do with their land, especially as a municipal body.”
He added that he is in favour of waiting for the new legislation to come into effect before making a decision. Acknowledging the protections that are in place when mines close, but citing examples such as the Faro and Eagle Gold mines, Bushnell said he would want it made “doubly sure” that if the mine closes the people of the Yukon aren’t left holding the bag.
He said in his reply to the survey that he supports mining but made it clear to the News that he thinks the burden for closing and remediating mines should be firmly on the mining company, not the people of the territory.
“I do think that, you know, we need to support mines, but we just need to make sure that mines are using all best practices and and that we're actually really making sure that we're following up and checking in so that we don't see something happen like we just saw happen at Vic Gold,” he said.
“I’m not thrilled about the idea of having the mine directly within city limits. I would be willing to look at it based on what kind of mining they're doing, how they were doing the mining, what chemicals, if any, that they were using. And we would need to be putting in way more controls to make sure that something that close to the city didn't end up being harmful or polluting and causing an issue for us down the road.”
Seven of the 18 council candidates responded. Yukoners Concerned circulated their answers with yes and no replies to the first and second question and more detailed comments in reply to the second one. Respondents were: Anne Middler, Jenny Hamilton, Norma Felker, Sarah Newton, Eileen Melnychuk, Lenore Morris and Jean-Sébastien Blais.
All seven indicated that they would not support an application by Gladiator Metals to amend Whitehorse’s Official Community Plan and expand mining activities, and that they supported a moratorium on mining in the city until the territorial government’s new legislation is completed. From that starting point there was considerable variability in their views. The News also offered replying council candidates a chance to expand on their position.
Middler said if elected she would push the city towards extending the claim-staking ban in city limits and also favoured finalizing McIntyre Creek park and protecting trails.
Hamilton said she isn’t opposed to mining in general but is opposed to it within city limits. She replied to the survey that environmental considerations must take precedent.
Felker provided no additional comment.
“Mining has been an important industry for the Yukon and has allowed us to enjoy a much higher standard of living than many other Northern regions. However it also has a very significant impact on the environment, both on the land base impacted directly by the activities, as well as the greenhouse gas emissions from all the activities from exploration right through to closure,” Newton stated in reply to additional questions from the News.
Newton noted ongoing cleanup issues at some shuttered Yukon mines and the carbon footprint of mining activities, but also the importance of critical minerals in the transition away from fossil fuels.
“Gladiator Metals is mining for copper and they advertise that this resource is to help transition to a green economy, which is admirable. However, I would like them to be held to a very high standard as far as reducing their emissions, using electric vehicles, and ensuring their activities have an incredibly low risk to the water and land around Whitehorse,” they wrote.
In reply to the survey, Melnychuk stated that her opposition to OCP or bylaw changes allowing expanded mining activities, based on the sensitive nature of Whitehorse’s environment and its proximity to the headwaters of the Yukon River.
Morris was clear on advocating a permanent ban on mining in Whitehorse city limits. She expressed full support for responsible mining, particularly for critical minerals but noted the environmental risks of abandoned mines.
“And we have to ask ourselves, do we want even the smallest chance of this happening within Whitehorse,” she wrote.
She noted extensions of the moratorium on claim staking in city limits with council support and delegations to council in 2023 and 2024 as evidence that Whitehorse residents do not want mining in city limits.
Blais feels that the issue of mining or exploration in the city could be put to a referendum in the future. He added that he would want council to have the endorsement of Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta'an Kwäch'än Council before proceeding with any major actions on this front.
He acknowledged that a referendum could lengthen the process but said it is an option to consider in the face of such highly-sensitive issues. He noted the role of experts in assessing projects but thinks that even with their approval it would be hard to support such projects without clearly established social license.
“So, it’s why going to referendum is, for me, the best way to know what is the opinion in the city of Whitehorse and those results could be a major factor in the decision-making of the council,” he said.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com
