YUKON COUNCIL ON THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

YUKON COUNCIL ON THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Minutes of February 5 and 6, 1999

Office Lounge - Gold Rush Inn
Whitehorse, Yukon

Members Present:

Jennifer Mauro	Chair
Dave Austin	Yukon Chamber of Mines
Louise Bouvier	Yukon Indian Women's Association
John Carroll	Yukon Chamber of Commerce
Natalie Edelson	Yukon Status of Women's Council
George Johnson	Council of Yukon First Nations
Ralph Nordling	Member at Large
Louise Ranger	Yukon Federation of Labour
Kathy Watson	Association of Yukon Communities

Secretariat:

Karen Sparrow	Secretariat, Economic Development
Janet Moodie	ADM, Economic Development (Feb 6th A.M.)

Regrets:

Andy Williams	Yukon Conservation Society
Daryn Leas	Council of Yukon First Nations

Guest Presenter:

Lindsay Staples	Consultant, DAP Review (Feb. 5th)
Janet Bell	Consultant for Community Conferences (Feb. 6th P.M.)
Yvonne Harris	Manager, Planning and Resource Policy, Renewable Resources (Feb. 6th A.M.)

1. Meeting Agenda

The Amended Draft Agenda was approved as written.

2. Approval of Minutes

Ralph Nordling moved the minutes of the January 8, 1999, meeting be approved as written. Seconded by John Carroll. MOTION PASSED.

3. Review of Draft Development Assessment Process (DAP) Framework Document

A. Continuation of DAP Review

Council agreed that the four major points/themes were:

Effectiveness
Efficiency and Certainty
Fairness
The Consultation and Review Process

The following is a summary of the points, reached by consensus, to be made in the final draft of the Review:

General:

Key that it is recognized as a development assessment not an environment assessment.
Within the Development Assessment there is a need for "net benefit" concept.
Key stakeholders must be involved in the process of developing the legislation, regulations and policy where it states further work/clarity is necessary.
Resources need to be where it will matter most-at the District Office level. The choice of individual(s) for the DO and DAP Board will determine its success.

Public Involvement:

Ensure that Yukon's interests are reflected front and centre in the purpose section of the legislation, the decision criteria and the appointments. The make up of the Board will be critical.
There is a need for clarification of the following terms: "public", "Yukon Indian people", "Yukon First Nations", and "sustainable development".
Include a recommendation for a future process to address the issue of public involvement in formulating the regulations and policy.
Confusion in using the terms "municipality" and "community".

Access to Information:

Ensure that the information requirements are fair to the proponent and intervenor.
Timeframes need definition and clarity.
Confidentiality is important keeping in mind that the worst thing is to discourage "sharing" of information.
The public notice of decision should be in writing, as well as electronic, and made available in a timely manner.
Clarity needs to be provided on when information is available; need clarity on consideration of information and comments.

Timeframes:

Further work needs to be undertaken to address the broader issue of timeliness and clarity to the stakeholders. Stakeholders must work through the issues of "delivered" and "deemed adequate".

Jurisdiction:

Municipal governments should have the jurisdiction to issue certain decision documents. For example, zoning, building permits, OCP's, and Area Development Schemes.
As LARK (Land Acquisition Review Committee) is being replaced by DAP, there has to be a process and mechanism for the involvement of municipalities.
Provision necessary for recognition of YTG's interests and addressing the question of their authority.
Need clarity in the use of the terms "municipality" and "community".

Decision Documents:

Stronger provisions are necessary to ensure a consolidated decision document within a time limit.

Appeal of Decision Documents/Recommendations:

That an arms length body review, in due time, whether the appeal process is working.
A need for appeals to have a process to proceed outside of the Board.
That the process encourages the proponents to complete consultations before submitting an application - encourage the need to be proactive and anticipatory.

Enforcement:

Need for a consolidated decision document to assist with enforcement.

B. Revisiting Previous Recommendations and the First Draft

The following changes were agreed to (numbering applies to numbering in the "first draft" not subsequent copies): 1.1 The Report: state upfront that this is a consensus report

2.0 General Comments: retitle 2.0 and call it Big Issues. Organize the discussion to clearly list the four issues. 2.1 would remain the same followed by themes of efficiency, review and consultation, fairness and effectiveness. Council recommended using positive optimistic language in the legislation and balancing it with alternatives. Include in this section the importance for the District Office and board members to have specific relevant qualifications. The success of the legislation in the long run will be through whom is implementing it.

2.1 Consultation and Review Process: "rolling draft" is not the term to use.

2.2 Big Issues: definition of "public" and "notion" with respect to public involvement - have Yukon interest preeminent.

3.1 Definitions: include definition of "public", "community", "Yukon First Nation", "Yukon Indian", and "sustainable development". State that the exclusion lists need to be updated frequently and that there needs to be clarity between "definition of plan" and "project".

3.2 Purposes: should include an equal guarantee to be part of the process for both the public and First Nations

3.5 Applications to Plans, Proposals, Policies and Programs: proactive and positive planning aspect - reiterate it here even though it is in 3.10. Recommendation (9) to include the exclusion of plans which require comprehensive consultation (i.e. Official Community Plans).

3.6 Designated Offices and the DAP Board: need for clarification of the review process and the functions of the District Office and the executive committee; make the legislation clear on who the proponent will be dealing with on their project and ensure the executive committee has explicit criteria for the district office.

3.7 Matters to be Considered in Screenings and Reviews: recommendation to be improved upon - include criteria for best and reasonable option.

3.8 Screenings: include/address options that will clarify the classes of projects and the rules and procedures, which will apply to the District Offices.

3.9 Reviews provide for public access to shared undertakings/Panels.

3.10 Class and Area Assessments: include a paragraph upfront stating the importance and that it needs to be enhanced in the legislation, recognizing its importance as a planning tool.

3.11 DAP Decisions and Duplication: include the need for specific criteria on decisions the legislation is silent on. Duplication and decision making should be under separate sections. Take into account the fact that devolution may not be achieved now.

3.12 Link to Planning: relationship of Regional Land Use Plans and DAP needs to be articulated and clarified.

3.13 Public Involvement: ensure the interest of Yukoners is maximized, clarify access to information and confidentiality issues, and ensure clarity of information requirements, rules and timeframes for the public.

4. Communication of YCEE's Position on DAP

Council discussed the timelines associated with the release of the DAP Report and the necessity for a press release upon distribution of the Report.

ACTION: Council will independently review the next draft of the Report. Staples will have the draft available within a week and Secretariat will ensure that distribution is immediate. Council members were urged to review this draft as soon as possible and to provide their comments to the Chair in a timely fashion. The need for a quick turnaround time and release was stressed.
5. Outstanding Action Items

The Chair reviewed and updated Council on outstanding action items.

6. Updates from Members on Issues Related to their Nominating Interests

Members updated the Council on recent developments and issues related to their nominating interests.

7. Update on the Business Summit

Council members, who attended the Business Summit, gave the members a general overview. Members advised that the Summit was viewed as a success and that it served the purpose of bringing people together to share their views.

ACTION: The Business Summit Report will be forwarded to members when it is released.
8. YCEE Review of the Yukon Economic Strategy (YES)

Consensus was reached by the Council to proceed with a "Review" of the YES. Council decided to proceed with preparing a report on the progress towards the four general goals and 17 sectoral and industry areas listed in the YES (Modified Option 2).

The following points regarding the review/YES were noted:

need to define criteria to measure the YES - as it is written there are no indicators
need for resources to assist in doing this exercise properly
recognize some of the baseline data that has been collected to date
need to access the goals and not whether an action was done or not
balance quantitative and qualitative

Council decided to have the Working Group, consisting of K. Watson, J. Carroll, D. Austin, N. Edelson, and L. Ranger, determine the method of proceeding and establish the Terms of Reference. The Working Group will determine the approach to reaching bundles of the criteria/indicators to use to access the movement to these goals and the approach to take.

ACTION: The Working Group will present a plan, including timeframes for the review of the YES to the Council either by e-mail or at the next meeting based on a modified Option 2 as per memo.
9. State of the Environment Report (SOER)

Renewable Resources Staff gave an update on the SOER. The freshwater fish, land and water reports are underway and a contract for salmon research will be issued; terms of reference for wildlife have been prepared. Due to budget restraints, the focus on a "specific" topic has been dropped.

Brief discussion was held regarding the approach to ensuring traditional knowledge is incorporated in a more comprehensive and thorough way. Again Council was informed that due to budget cuts, the original plans would be changed. Council suggested Harris:

Contact CYFN re: the Elder's Council and their possible role
Contact the Fish & Wildlife Management Board re: results of the Traditional Knowledge Conference last year
Consider co-hosting an Elder's Conference

The Chair offered assistance from the Environmental Working Group currently involved in the Yukon Conservation Strategy review.

10. Yukon Conservation Strategy - Review/Revisions

A progress report was not presented at this meeting. The review and revisions are progressing. The Chair advised that Andy Williams would be assuming the responsibility of overseeing the review of the YCS and reporting to Council.

ACTION: A draft of the 1998 Annual Review will be presented at the June meeting. A complete update of the Revisions to the YCS will be given at the June meeting.
11. Community Conferences

The Chair advised that Janet Bell would be coordinating the conferences. The dates for the conferences were reviewed and Council offered to provide community contacts. It was agreed there would be three research projects including:

circumpolar sustainable development
examples of diversification throughout the territory by industry and community
community profiles analyzing the formal and informal economies

Council also recommended the following:

different agenda for each community's needs
talk to a variety of communities
reception the evening before to set the stage
ask the community to sponsor the reception
try to stick to Saturdays due to the working population
Audrey to participate in workshops as well as speaking at the luncheons
prepare a summarization of what comes out of each community
be aware of the linkage between the communities
for Whitehorse, have one conference on a work day and one on the weekend
include a link from the communities at the Whitehorse meetings

ACTION: The Steering Committee, consisting of K. Watson, N. Edelson, D. Austin, J, Carroll, L. Ranger and D. Leas will meet every second Monday from 12:00 - 1:30 for approvals/input. The Chair will talk to the Yukon Circumpolar Envoy, Audrey McLaughlin to finalize her level of commitment to the conferences. Community coordinators, in conjunction with Bell, will assist in determining appropriate dates for each community conference.
12. Diversification Indicators

Municipal business licenses were discussed as a method/tool to capture most of the business interests in the territory. The suggestion was made that municipalities could ask, in their application forms, some of the questions that the working group is looking for answers to. The method of a survey was also discussed.

ACTION: The Chair and K. Watson will discuss, evaluate and work out the details. In the process they will consider what is needed for the review of the Yukon Economic Strategy.
13. Yukon Mineral Exploration Tax Credit

The recently announced tax credit was discussed.

ACTION: A letter will be sent requesting additional information on the tax credit and advising that in theory the credit sounds good, however, more details are necessary to determine the effectiveness. Further details are also required on whom they are targeting and who will qualify.
14. Immigrant Investors Fund

Discussed the governance, accountability and transparency of the funds.

ACTION: A letter will be sent inquiring how the funds will be used and requesting clarification on the accountability and transparency. The Chair and J. Carroll will study the prospectus in more detail. A draft of the letter will be sent to members if there are substantive changes to the discussion held.
15. Workplan for YCEE - 1999/2000

Kathy Watson will be heading up the Working Group.

ACTION: Chair will send out an e-mail to members requesting assistance in formulating the workplan. The workplan will be completed in March 1999 and finalized once the budget for next year is approved.
16. Next Meeting

Council discussed holding the next meeting in April in conjunction with one of the community conferences; if this cannot be coordinated, the next meeting will be held in June.

Secretariat will be in touch with members regarding potential dates for the next meeting.

______________________________________

Jennifer Mauro, Chair