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Minister to Yukon gov’t corporations: no more coal
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-26 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Environment, Mining, Governance]Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Ted Laking issued a directive to the Yukon Energy Corporation and the Yukon Development Corporation prohibiting them from pursuing or considering coal-fired power projects. The directive coincided with an opposition motion brought by NDP MLA Carmen Gustafson, which urged the territorial government to direct the Yukon Utilities Board under section 17 of the Public Utilities Act to reject any applications for energy projects using coal. The political debate was prompted by Vancouver-based Strategic Metals proposing a coal exploration project near Braeburn, Yukon, and evaluating coal-fired power generation despite the federal government's mandate to phase out coal-fired power by 2030.
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Minister directs Yukon gov’t corporations not to mull over coal-fired power projects
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-26 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Environment, Mining, Governance]Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Ted Laking issued a directive instructing the Yukon Development Corporation and the Yukon Energy Corporation to refrain from pursuing or considering coal-fired power generation projects. The ministerial directive coincides with an opposition motion brought by NDP MLA Carmen Gustafson, which urged the territorial government to direct the Yukon Utilities Board under section 17 of the Public Utilities Act to reject any applications for energy projects using coal. The debate highlights ongoing friction surrounding Vancouver-based Strategic Metals' coal exploration project near Braeburn, Yukon, and its potential application for power generation despite federal plans to phase out coal-fired power by 2030.
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Q&A | Years in the making: Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in chief weighs in on proposed Dawson regional land use plan
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-15 01:16:47.0
Tags: [National, Indigenous, Resources, Mining, Environment, Governance]Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation Hahke (chief) Darren Taylor expressed hope that a final agreement on the Dawson regional land use plan will be reached with the Yukon government in 2027. The proposed plan outlines acceptable land uses across 40,000 square kilometres in north-central Yukon, balancing environmental protection, stewardship, and historic preservation with economic development and critical mineral resource extraction. Chief Taylor emphasized that without the plan, the First Nation will withhold support for regional mining and development projects unless companies negotiate direct Impact Benefit Agreements (IBAs).
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Whitehorse City Council rejects potential mineral exploration expansion
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-15 00:11:57.0
Tags: [Municipal, Mining, Resources, Environment, Governance, Indigenous]By a 4-to-3 vote, the Whitehorse City Council rejected a petition by Gladiator Metals to amend municipal bylaws and the official community plan to permit mineral exploration across three areas currently designated as greenspace within the Whitehorse copper belt. The defeated amendments drew divided public and council opinions concerning industrial environmental impacts versus economic reconciliation and resource development opportunities supported by the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta'an Kwäch’än Council. Council members opposed to the changes cited a lack of sufficient scientific and environmental justification, leaving the restrictive zoning status quo in place.
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Proposed framework would nearly double land available for mineral exploration in Whitehorse
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-08 00:41:19.0
Tags: [National, Municipal, Mining, Resources, Governance, Environment]City of Whitehorse staff have tabled proposed amendments to municipal policies, zoning bylaws, and the official community plan to establish a new mineral framework. The framework will nearly double the amount of land available for mineral exploration from 1,128 to approximately 2,200 hectares through the inclusion of "future planning areas," while implementing explicit regulations such as a 500-metre buffer between homes and exploration sites, a 100-metre setback from watercourses, mandatory bonding, and site reclamation standards.
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Gov't consultations underway on shutdown of N.W.T.'s Ekati diamond mine watchdog
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-07 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Mining, Environment, Indigenous, Resources, Governance]The Northwest Territories and federal governments have initiated consultations on the proposed dissolution of the Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency (IEMA), the watchdog organization that has monitored developments at the Ekati diamond mine for nearly three decades. The mine, operated by the now-receivership Arctic Canadian Diamond Company, ended production earlier this year and is currently a public liability managed by PricewaterhouseCoopers using a $326-million reclamation security fund. Territorial and federal officials are considering whether funds allocated to IEMA should be redirected directly to site reclamation activities. Indigenous governments—including the Tłı̨chǫ Government, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Łutsel K’e Dene First Nation, North Slave Métis Alliance, and Kitikmeot Inuit Association—alongside IEMA executive director Mark Casas, are participating in the input process regarding the future of the environmental agreement and independent oversight.
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N.W.T. minister won't reconsider wind-down of Diavik oversight board
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-29 18:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Environment, Resources, Mining, Governance]The Northwest Territories' Environment and Climate Change Minister, Jay Macdonald, has rejected a formal request from the Environmental Monitoring and Advisory Board (EMAB) to reconsider the scheduled wind-down of the Diavik diamond mine oversight board by March. EMAB chair Charlie Catholique and advocacy groups like Alternatives North argued that terminating independent monitoring before full site remediation is complete violates the mine's original social licence and public commitments. Meanwhile, the Ekati diamond mine remains under public receivership managed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, raising ongoing concerns among policy analysts and former legislators regarding the adequacy of territorial oversight, Indigenous co-management resources, and long-term environmental protection.
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Clean-up almost done at abandoned mine site on First Nation settlement land in Yukon
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-22 17:54:56.0
Tags: [National, Mining, Environment, Indigenous, Resources, Governance]The Yukon government spent approximately $750,000 to remediate the abandoned Discovery Creek placer mine site located on Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation settlement land west of Carmacks. Contracted through KBL Environmental, crews removed 300 cubic metres of contaminated soil and over 19,000 litres of diesel fuel hydrocarbons, alongside machinery, vehicles, and trailers, after land guardians discovered the site in 2022 following the owner's death in 2021. First Nation officials criticized the four-year gap between the site's discovery and cleanup, advocating for a formalized territorial framework and contingency fund to ensure rapid responses to environmental contamination on settlement lands.
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More Nova Scotians add their names to petition calling for return of uranium ban
Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-08 16:34:55.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Mining, Energy, Environment, Resources, Governance]More than 10,000 Nova Scotians have signed a public petition calling on Premier Tim Houston's government to reinstate a provincial ban on uranium mining. The petition includes over 8,000 existing signatures alongside more than 2,000 new signatures being tabled by the opposition Liberals and NDP at the Nova Scotia legislature. The ban, which previously required mining operations to cease if uranium was discovered at greater than 100 parts per million, was repealed by the Progressive Conservative government in March 2025. Petition organizers, community groups, and medical professionals such as Dr. Catherine Cervin of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment argue that lifting the ban risks releasing radioactive material into air and water, while Premier Houston maintains that resource development is necessary to improve the provincial economy.
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N.W.T. regulator and Ekati mine receiver reach resolution over unauthorized waste disposal
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-03 15:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Environment, Mining, Resources, Governance]The Wek'èezhìi Land and Water Board resolved a dispute with the Ekati diamond mine's court-appointed receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), following the unauthorized dumping of approximately 32,000 kilograms of blasting emulsion into the Long Lake tailings and wastewater facility. Northwest Territories Environment and Climate Change Minister Jay Macdonald confirmed that while government inspectors did not authorize the discharge, PwC's post-incident response and corrective measures were comprehensive and sufficient to maintain confidence in site management. In response to the infraction, PwC implemented new corrective procedures including mandatory written authorization for all water and wastewater movements, a single on-site accountability point person, increased environmental staffing, and pre-approval requirements for out-of-plan activities.
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