YUKON COUNCIL ON THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

YUKON COUNCIL ON THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Minutes of Meeting Called by the Government Leader

October 9, 1998

Elijah Smith Building
Whitehorse, Yukon

Members Present:

Jennifer Mauro	Chair
Dave Austin	Yukon Chamber of Mines
Louise Ranger	Yukon Federation of Labour
Lucy van Oldenbarneveld	Yukon Status of Women's Council
Louise Bouvier	Yukon Indian Women's Association
John Carroll	Yukon Chamber of Commerce
Andy Williams	Yukon Conservation Society

Guests:

Piers McDonald	Government Leader
Max Fraser	Principal Secretary

Secretariat:

Toby Sanger	Secretariat, Executive Council Office
Karen Sparrow	Secretariat, Economic Development
Ross Burnett	Acting Manager for Policy, Policy Analysis & Development, Renewable Resources

Regrets:

Daryn Leas	Council of Yukon First Nations
George Johnson	Council of Yukon First Nations
Ralph Nordling	Member at Large
Kathy Watson	Association of Yukon Communities

1. Welcome

The Chair advised the Council that this meeting had been called at the Government Leader's request to address the possibility of YCEE conducting community consultations on sustainable development.

Piers McDonald, Government Leader, welcomed the YCEE members to the meeting.

2. Discussion on Sustainable Development Community Forums

The Government Leader presented the YCEE with a brief overview of the Yukon's economic picture. During recent community visits, the Government Leader learned that people would like:

to know more about what other communities are doing
an opportunity to discuss practical ideas
a forum for expressing those ideas.

The Government Leader advised that the government does not intend to go into debt creating large public sector projects, which only provide a short-term solution, but instead would like to encourage the communities to:

Discuss ways and means of creating sustainable development
Consider diversification to strengthen their economies
Develop entrepreneurial projects
Create opportunities for leadership and action; looking at a wide variety of initiatives
Discuss their community in a "real sense" and look for creativity
Talk about where they are going and what it is going to take to get there, not just one on one but with others
Converse with each other and look for answers within
Look at ways to keep money in the community instead of flowing out

The Government Leader informed the YCEE that their challenge would be to provide a forum that is moderated in a fair manner and to receive ideas in a way that encourages creative thinking. He stated that the task is well suited to the YCEE. The YCEE would be seen as an independent voice to hear the concerns and help find what the shared responsibilities can be.

Council members discussed the proposal and expressed the following concerns:

Need for a mechanism to look at each community individually
Need for concrete and practical ideas before going out to the communities
Need for follow-up to discussions in the communities
A lot of the work should be done locally with local people
Difficulty in convincing people to attend and participate in forums
Creating an atmosphere where individuals could talk one-on-one and for more than one evening
Whether community or regional discussions would be more effective
Need to consider government sector as well as the private sector

The Government Leader advised the Council that they:

Would receive resources for the project from the Executive Council Office.
Would be provided with recent economic outlooks
Must be careful not to leave any communities out
Would be expected to complete a consultation report
May wish to broadcast their report on NEDAA/TVNC
Should report back to the communities as much as to government

He stressed that the primary objective was not to produce a report, but instead to encourage creative discussion about ways in which communities can encourage sustainable economic development. The Government Leader also advised that this would be the first step in a longer process of getting communities to think more about sustainable development for their communities.

ACTION: Council accepted the opportunity to discuss sustainable development with the communities as laid out by the Government Leader. A detailed planning session will be held the week of October 12^th and a steering committee formed.
3. Immigrant Investor Fund/Trade and Investment

At the request of the YCEE Chair, the Government Leader presented the Council with an update on the Immigrant Investor Fund and various trade and investment initiatives.

Council expressed concern regarding a code of ethics for the Immigrant Investor Fund and asked whether government would be responding to the Council's suggestions on this. Council also expressed a desire for the government to have a better understanding of the roles and capacity of the YCEE.

The Government Leader responded that the government would like to keep the lines of communication open and he ensured the Council that their views are valued.

4. Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on October 30 and 31, 1998, in Whitehorse. Secretariat will confirm with the members the week of October 12, 1998.

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Jennifer Mauro, Chair