YUKON COUNCIL ON THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

YUKON COUNCIL ON THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Minutes of December 1-2, 2000

Alpine Bakery
Whitehorse, Yukon

Members Present:

Richard Buchan	Chair
Roger Alfred	Council of Yukon First Nations (December 2nd)
Louise Bouvier	Yukon Aboriginal Women's Association (afternoon of Dec. 1st and Dec. 2nd)
Natalie Edelson	Yukon Status of Women's Council
James Grattan	Yukon Chamber of Commerce
Daryn Leas	Council of Yukon First Nations (December 2nd)
Bill Mann	Yukon Chamber of Mines
Ralph Nordling	Member at Large
Andy Williams	Yukon Conservation Society

Regrets:

Louise Ranger

Yukon Federation of Labour

Secretariat:

Ann MacDonald	Secretariat, Executive Council Office
Karen Sparrow	Secretariat, Economic Development

Presenters:

Ross Burnett	Policy Analyst, Renewable Resources
Karen Clyde	Policy Analyst, Renewable Resources
Scott Milton	Manager, Economic Policy, Economic Development
Meg Horn	Senior Planner, Economic Development
Greg Komaromi	A/Director Pipeline Unit, Economic Development
Bill Klassen	Technical Advisor, Pipeline Unit

1. MEETING AGENDA

The agenda was approved as written.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

R. Nordling moved that the minutes of the September 8 & 9, 2000 meeting be approved as written and B. Mann seconded.

3. UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR

The Chair advised Council that the Yukon Sustainable Progress Indicators report will be presented to the Deputy Ministers Review Committee in early January. Council was also advised that the Chair met with the Deputy Minister of Renewable Resources and the A/Deputy Minister of Economic Development on separate occasions to discuss the possibility of using the report as a common tool to measure sustainable progress both from Renewable Resources and Economic Development's perspective. The Chair advised that there was willingness from both departments to consider the idea.

4. REVISIONS TO THE YUKON CONSERVATION STRATEGY (YCS)

Renewable Resources staff updated the Council on the Yukon Conservation Strategy revisions noting that goals from YCEE's sustainable progress indicators (SPI) work have been included but only some of the indicators due to certain information being unavailable. The department has added other indicators for a total of 99 indicators.

Council was advised that the department would now like to complete a public review and table the final revisions to the YCS in the spring legislature.

Council advised Renewable Resources staff that it would be useful to:

track deviations and monitor what information is not available to measure SPI work.
consider the usefulness and reasonableness of the indicators; it may be advisable for the dept to remove all indicators and stick to goals and objectives, as YCEE has developed their own indicators for this purpose.
link the goals and objectives more closely with the indicators
strive for more certainty by using clearer language and avoiding vague generalizations
look at what other jurisdictions are doing to achieve balance

Renewable Resources staff advised that they will:

include in the report how decisions were made regarding what to use and what not to use
provide a better explanation of the link back to the principles of the strategy
flush out the purpose and rationale of some of the indicators in order to show their value
determine how to collect the data for indicators that still need to be looked at

Council and Renewable Resources staff discussed the difficulties encountered with meeting the mandated completion of revisions every three years and discussed possible options to assist the department and YCEE in meeting the timeline.

ACTION: Renewable Resources staff will incorporate the above suggestions and ensure that the language is linked to the goals and objectives. The report will be re-organized to identify the goals and address how they refer to the environment, economy and social aspects of society. Council will continue to work towards generating government support to incorporate the Yukon Conservation Strategy and the Yukon Economic Strategy into one Sustainable Development Strategy.
5. YUKON CONSERVATION STRATEGY REVIEW / STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT

Council discussed their mandate to review the Yukon Conservation Strategy and the State of the Environment Report. Discussion focused on making the process useful. After much discussion Council noted a desire to revisit the legislative mandate with an aim to achieve three outcomes:

Gain government support for the use of the sustainable progress indicators work;
Generate support for the development of a Sustainable Development Strategy which is updated by government on a regular basis (3 years) to reflect key priorities; and
Use the SOER exercise to collect data required to support the sustainable progress indicators.

ACTION: Secretariat will incorporate in the annual report and workplan a review of the legislative mandate for the Yukon Conservation Strategy review and the State of the Environment Report.
6. E-COMMERCE

Economic Development staff presented the Council with an overview of the e-commerce initiative, including a new legislative framework. Council declined the request to review proposed new e-commerce regulations as regulations will comply with national standards and Council has little to add to the process.

ACTION: Secretariat to provide Council with the regulations when finalized.
7. PIPELINE PRESENTATION

The Pipeline Unit provided Council with a presentation on the Alaska Highway Pipeline project.

8. REVIEW OF THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT (SOER)

Council reviewed the draft submitted by L. Duguay, the consultant providing the review of the SOER. Council agreed that:

The matrix would be left off the final report
More detailed work was required to evaluate the sectors and make them more specific and comprehensive.

ACTION: Secretariat will contact members in order to solicit their input and arrange for the consultant to add it to the report. The report will be finalized and reviewed by members, then prepared for tabling in the legislature in February 2001.
9. ANNUAL REPORT AND WORKPLAN

Council discussed the mandate of the YCEE and considered a number of options for the next year. Council would like to remove the clutter from its agenda and focus on its mandate.

The Yukon Economic Strategy (YES) and the relevance of a business survey were discussed. Council discussed reviewing what the government has or has not been doing with respect to the YES.

Council agreed to include public education in its workplan, particularly in relation to the pipeline and the socio-economic impacts related to a project of this size.

ACTION:

Include in the workplan a desire to work with the Yukon Government to move towards completion and adoption of a Sustainable Development Strategy to replace the currently outdated Yukon Conservation Strategy and Yukon Economic Strategy.

Articulate in the annual report the difficulties Council has with the process of reviewing the outdated Yukon Conservation Strategy and the doubts as to there being value-added. Council will work with the Yukon Government to consider amendments to the mandate that reflect value-added work.

Secretariat to arrange for a pipeline presentation in Destruction Bay and possibly Haines Junction in conjunction with the February 9th and 10^th, 2000 meeting.

10. NEXT MEETINGS

The next meeting will be held in Destruction Bay on February 9 and 10, 2001.

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Richard Buchan, Chair