Last week, the Yukon Court of
Appeal heard arguments about the future of the massive Peel River
watershed, and about the meaning and application of modern
aboriginal treaties. Will this land be mostly protected from
development, as the Planning
Commission decided after extensive aboriginal consultation? Or
will it mostly be used for resource extraction, as the Yukon
government wants? So soon after the report of the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission, will First Nations interests
again be sacrificed for the economic gain of others?
Peel Watershed
The Peel Watershed is
huge: 77,000 km2. It drains 14% of the Yukon, flowing
into the Beaufort Sea
via the Peel
and then Mackenzie
Rivers. While the lower part of the Peel and its confluence
with the Mackenzie River are in the North
West Territories, most of the watershed in
the Yukon. The Yukon portion of the watershed, the Peel
Watershed Planning Region (PWPR), has been undergoing land use
planning, as required
