Latest news with #VuntutGwitchinFirstNation
CBC
17-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
For some Yukoners, climate change is a key issue this federal election campaign
While topics like tariffs, affordability and housing have dominated conversations about the upcoming federal election, some Yukon voters say another issue should also be at the forefront — climate change and the environment. "It seems to be something we're ignoring now," Haines Junction resident Julie Bauer said. "I know there's other focuses but I think the environment has to be a priority, especially for our youth and for all of us…. We have to think about other things than just day-to-day stuff, we have to think about the future of our children." Whitehorse resident Jennifer Staniforth also said it was a priority for her. "The environment hasn't been talked about a lot and I would hope that that would be a big part of this election," Staniforth said. "I think a clean, healthy planet is the best thing we can do for ourselves right now." A federal government report in 2019 found that Canada, on average, was warming at double the global rate, with the North warming even faster than the rest of the country. Besides warmer days, symptoms of a changing climate have also included increased precipitation, warming and melting permafrost, higher water temperatures and more intense wildfire and flood seasons. While climate change may seem like a standalone issue, Chrystal Mantyka-Pringle, a Whitehorse-based conservation planning biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, said it's interwoven with other topics. "My perspective is, we want an MP that can … actually see that intrinsic connection between our economy, our social welfare issues and our environment because they're all interlinked," she said. That's a reality that Yukon First Nations have been grappling with for years now, with traditional travel routes and harvest — including for chinook salmon — along with entire communities threatened by the impacts of climate change. "It's really emotional when we talk about our homelands and when we talk about loss and damage because everything that is alive keeps us as First Nations people in our traditional territory alive," Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation elder Lorraine Netro previously said at a global climate summit. The Yukon's capital city also knows the impact of climate change first-hand, having seen one of its main arteries into and out of the downtown core — Robert Service Way — blocked by a major landslide off a neighbouring escarpment in 2022. "That slide was a wake-up call and a clear sign of the impacts of climate change on our community and our infrastructure," Mayor Kirk Cameron told reporters earlier this month. The slide, and smaller ones in the years since, have cost the city millions of dollars for clean-up and the installation of safety barriers, but an even more expensive project lies ahead — permanently rerouting the road away from the escarpment. The federal government is pitching in more than $45 million for the project via its Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund. Cameron said that kind of federal funding was "critical" for dealing with the triple-threat of climate change, aging infrastructure and a growing population, and that he would ensure the next federal government remains aware of that. What candidates say CBC Yukon asked the four candidates running for the territory's lone MP seat how they planned to address climate change during a forum Tuesday. Here's how they responded, with answers edited for clarity and length. Ryan Leef (Conservative Party) We believe in technology, not taxes. We saw the carbon tax didn't [have] any measurable impact on dealing with the climate issue, which is really a global issue and it just ultimately broke the backs of Canadians in terms of affordability of life. So our focus is going to be on investing in technology. If we utilize some of the ethical and the clean products that we have here in the country, extracting our own resources, we can reduce the emissions that are utilized by our reliance on other global partners. Climate change is not a Yukon-caused phenomenon, although we suffer from the effects of it far more than anyone else, so we do need to be conscious about climate issues, but we also can play a much bigger role in reducing global climate emissions with our technological advances in Canadian innovation. Katherine McCallum (NDP) Canadians are doing their part, but we can't keep relying on working Canadians to solve this enormous problem by themselves. And the way to do that is to make sure that the big polluters are paying for the damage that they're causing and, and they shouldn't be rewarded for the damage that they're causing. So we need to be taxing big oil and gas companies and making sure that that money isn't going offshore. We need to end the consumer carbon tax and instead put the onus on the biggest polluters in subsidies to the most profitable oil and gas companies. Put money in people's pockets by making homes more efficient and reinvesting in greener and renewable energies on the home front and, and making it easier for people and more affordable people to buy a zero-emissions vehicle and make their homes more energy efficient. Brendan Hanley (Liberal Party) Canada has an important role to play and to continue to play as a climate leader. And I'm glad to see among Mark Carney's many, many skills, he was also the UN envoy on climate change, including climate financing. So part of his vision and our vision is harnessing the markets to leapfrog into new energy infrastructure and develop more energy self-sufficiency, which we need to do anyway in the light of the U.S. tariffs, but also to accelerate the transition towards renewable energy. We also need to keep in mind emergency preparedness in the North. We also need to hold industrial polluters to account because we need to continue to bend the curve in emissions. I would say the consumer carbon tax did have an effect about 10 to 15 per cent of emissions reductions. We need to compensate for that on the industrial side. Gabrielle Dupont (Green Party) Clean energy transition — this is one of my priorities for this campaign. We do know that taxing the big emitters, it's three times more efficient than taxing consumers, taxing people. And I do not believe that the carbon tax in the Yukon was the right tool. And so when we do keep taxing the big emitters, the revenue that we're getting from this, we're using [it] to fund clean energy transition. And the Yukon, we're really not that far from being 100 per cent renewable. And I'm pretty sad that we actually missed the boat on projects like the Atlin hydro expansion because of a lack of commitment from the federal government. And so as a Green MP, these are the projects that I would champion as hard as I can, to get these projects out the door. This is exactly what we need to do for our clean energy transition in the Yukon so let's fund these projects.
CBC
25-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Canada won't meet with new commission on First Nations child welfare reform, chair says
Canada refuses to meet with a new commission established to renegotiate a landmark agreement on First Nations child and family services reform, the group's chairperson says. Pauline Frost, chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in Yukon and chair of the National Children's Chiefs Commission (NCCC), said the swiftly created body is now waiting for answers after writing to the prime minister, his Liberal government and their lawyers. "Essentially, they're refusing to meet with us, but we've reached out anyhow to find a pathway forward to productive negotiations," Frost said last week. Chiefs mandated the NCCC to reset talks on a $47.8-billion proposal to overhaul the federal government's on-reserve child welfare program last fall, when they rejected the offer at an Assembly of First Nations meeting in Calgary. The commission is now operational, with terms of reference, legal counsel and chiefs working pro bono in 11 regions, said Frost. But they're still missing one key element — someone to negotiate with. "This should not be a burden or a barrier. Canada already has a mandate, so they should really just do what's right and come back to the table," said Frost. The standstill emphasizes the cloud of uncertainty around the future of the potentially historic deal, which would partly resolve an 18-year-old legal battle over children's rights. In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the federal government to reform its First Nations Child and Family Services Program, concluding it was tearing families apart and shattering lives through systemically racist funding practices. For Frost, the order remains in force and the situation as urgent as ever. The modern child welfare system is no different than residential schools, she said, with the same disparities, inequities, trauma and intergenerational impact. "This work is imminent, it's critical, and the human rights tribunal is getting a little impatient with process." A spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada Minister Patty Hajdu didn't answer directly when asked why Ottawa won't meet with the group. "The Government of Canada will support First Nations in the way that they choose to organize and be represented," wrote press secretary Jennifer Kozelj in a statement. "Canada isn't refusing to meet with anyone. It is unclear of the role between the NCCC and the AFN and if the NCCC is leading negotiations on behalf of the AFN." An 'opt-in' process On that front, in a letter last month, six regional chiefs accused National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak of "stoking division" and "inaction" by failing to support the NCCC. They also suggested Woodhouse Nepinak may be too close to the Trudeau government and the Liberal Party. Woodhouse Nepinak rejected the inference as "inappropriate and malicious," noting that First Nations leaders voted to keep the commission independent from the AFN. She also highlighted a technical barrier facing the commission: AFN is a party to the human rights complaint, while the new entity is not, so some co-operation will be required. Meanwhile, in an eyebrow-raising remark two weeks ago, a chief in Manitoba said the original settlement needs an "opt-in" provision so chiefs who support it can sign on. At a news conference, Derek Nepinak, chief of Minegoziibe Anishinabe also known as Pine Creek First Nation, said last October's vote was "infiltrated" by lobby groups. He told CBC News last week he feels the vote was compromised. "The only solution I've seen in the last 25-30 years is the final settlement agreement that was offered last year," Nepinak said. His concerns echo the national chief, who blamed the agreement's defeat on an organized campaign by child welfare agencies. In December, chiefs passed another resolution demanding she apologize, though it isn't clear if that's happened. Nepinak said he isn't looking for political heroism, but practical solutions. "There's ambition, ambitious politicians out there who want to be the hero. I don't need a hero. I need a practical solution, and I feel that we had that in October," he said. In the statement from Indigenous Services Canada, Kozelj said Canada hasn't received a formal "opt-in" proposition and wouldn't speculate on hypotheticals. In a letter on Jan. 6, Justice Canada told the AFN that Canada will not restart national negotiations, pursuing instead a carve-out deal with chiefs in Ontario, the only region to endorse the original offer. Another letter from Canada followed soon after, this time to the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, a co-complainant in the human rights case. It further laid out Canada's opposition to some of the chiefs' demands for renegotiation. This prompted Caring Society executive director Cindy Blackstock to file a tribunal motion to force Canada back to the table, but Frost is optimistic they can find answers without more legal wrangling. "The last thing that anybody wants is litigation."
CBC
05-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Vuntut Gwitchin citizens voice concerns about First Nation's leadership
Vuntut Gwitchin citizens in the Yukon say they are concerned their First Nation's leaders aren't being transparent with them, or involving them in decisions. At least 65 Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) members met Monday evening in Old Crow, Yukon, for a community-led discussion about their concerns. CBC News was not allowed to be present, but meeting co-organizer Erika Tizya-Tramm said Tuesday that attendees shared similar concerns. "These issues have really been coming to a head with further and further actions like shutting down forums for discussion or not providing forums for discussion," Tizya-Tramm said. Last week, CBC News reported that the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation was disabling comments on its Facebook page. At the time, the First Nation said that decision was to "encourage respectful dialogue outside of social media." It said people could still comment about government and community issues on the First Nation's website. The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation has repeatedly declined CBC's requests for an interview. 'A big divide' Tizya-Tramm said Monday's meeting was meant to create a safe space for citizens to voice their concerns without feeling targeted or judged. She said many of those who attended say they are feeling ignored by leadership, and are tired of it but don't know how to do anything about it. "There's a big divide right now," she said. "It's very difficult for any one person to know how to bridge that without feeling an incredible sense of responsibility, and not wanting to feel like they're going to be stuck with the consequences for speaking out." Tizya-Tramm said in a small community like Old Crow, everyone knows everyone. Family ties run deep, and many people hold different positions within the local government. She said people don't want to put their jobs, relationships or selves at risk by speaking out. Tizya-Tramm said VGFN leadership was not invited to Monday's meeting, but one council member, Crystal Linklater, did attend. Linklater spoke about a situation she is going through with her colleagues. Tizya-Tramm said leadership will be invited to future meetings, but this week's meeting was solely focused on hearing from citizens. Tizya-Tramm is one of several Vuntut Gwitchin citizens CBC News has spoken with in recent days about similar concerns with how the community is currently being governed. In a recent interview with CBC News, VGFN citizen Stanley Njootli Jr. echoed some of Tiyza-Tramm's concerns. "If you speak up in this community, you can get targeted," Njootli Jr. said. "It's happened to me. I lost my job but I don't have the funds to get a lawyer and whatnot, and there's no recourse within our government." Njootli Jr. said he feels in the dark about what is happening in his own community. He said aside from the First Nation's general assembly, he hasn't seen a public meeting held by chief and council, which is required annually under the governance act, in over a year. He said many council resolutions have been debated and passed without consent or any consultation. "People feel that they have no voice," Njootli said. Njootli Jr. and Tizya-Tramm said people just want to be included in the decision-making process. Both said they aren't looking for anyone to resign or be removed from their positions. "We always need to support our leaders," Tizya Tramm said. "But maybe support doesn't look like we blindly follow everything our leaders are doing. Maybe support looks like us standing up as a community and saying, 'Hey something is not right and we want to investigate that and we can do it together.' "This shouldn't be an us-versus-them." Councillor says she was pressured to resign Citizens are raising these concerns at the same time one VGFN councillor says she is facing unfair pressure from her colleagues to step down. Coun. Crystal Linklater, who has held her position since 2023, received a letter mid-January titled "request for resignation" and signed by Chief Pauline Frost, Deputy Chief Harold Frost Jr. and Coun. Debra Leigh Reti. The letter alleges Linklater hosted a gathering at her home over the holidays where people, including Linklater, were drinking alcohol — a breach of VGFN laws, given Old Crow is a dry community. It also alleges Linklater assaulted two people during an altercation at that party, and that RCMP had been called to make an "emergency intervention". Linklater says that's not true. "I spoke to the RCMP here in Old Crow at the detachment and they had said that there was no such report and that they didn't know what [Frost] was talking about," Linklater said. Yukon RCMP told CBC News they won't provide any information about the incident in question for privacy reasons. There was no record of charges against Linklater in the Yukon court registry. What bothered Linklater more about the letter was a threat that if she didn't resign quietly, the First Nation would go public with its claims. Linklater said her partner and father to her three children died suddenly last year. She didn't disclose to CBC News whether or not she was drinking during the time in question but did admit she has leaned on alcohol to cope with the grief. She said that shouldn't be a reason to force her off council. "It was really hurtful to see that," Linklater said. "It felt like a personal attack." The letter also accused Linklater of a pattern of troubling behaviour during her time on council, including incidents of "aggressive and confrontational" conduct. Linklater confirmed there were two incidents; one was resolved through a mediator and the other was never addressed. She said she wasn't aware of any other complaints against her. "I don't believe I've shown any kind of behaviours like that." The letter, dated Jan. 15, gave Linklater two days to respond, either by stepping down or submitting a written explanation to Frost directly about the holiday incident. Linklater responded that she is not planning on resigning. "Under our constitution, the only way you can be asked to resign is if you've been found guilty of an indictable offence or you've missed three consecutive, scheduled chief and council meetings," Linklater said in an interview. "I'm not resigning for the simple fact I shouldn't be blackmailed. I shouldn't be manipulated." Frost declined an interview request. In a text message, VGFN spokesperson Gyde Shepherd wrote: "As elected leaders, we treat all Nation-related matters, whether related to governance, internal or external issues, or otherwise, as highly sensitive and confidential. This is particularly important where no final decisions have been made, and therefore not yet suitable for public discussion. "We view maintaining this confidentiality as crucial to protecting the reputations of our citizens, regardless of their position or role within our community, especially when matters are still under review and not yet fully determined."
