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'Let's do it right': N.W.T. downstream leaders and advocates on Alta. oilsands tailings release
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-22 17:08:09.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, Environment, Energy, Resources, Indigenous]Indigenous communities, advocacy groups like Alternatives North, and downstream leaders in the Northwest Territories are calling on federal and territorial governments to review Suncor's proposed oilsands tailings release into the Athabasca River system. Critics cite major scientific data gaps, potential health risks to communities dependent on municipal supplies from Lake Athabasca and Great Slave Lake, and the inadequacy of the 2015 N.W.T.-Alberta Bilateral Water Management Agreement. N.W.T. Environment and Climate Change Minister Jay Macdonald stated that the territory opposes the treat-and-release plan until scientific uncertainties are resolved, though primary regulatory authority rests with the federal government and the Alberta Energy Regulator.
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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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Dehcho grand chief says heritage designation could help them better protect the Mackenzie River
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-13 15:18:52.0
Tags: [National, Environment, Indigenous, Resources]The federal and territorial governments have nominated the 1,800-kilometre Mackenzie River to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System to recognize its historical and ecological significance. Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian supports the designation, viewing it as an opportunity to secure stronger water monitoring and address downstream pollution originating from Alberta's oilsands development. To achieve full designation, the Northwest Territories government must develop a collaborative stewardship plan alongside local Indigenous communities in the Dehcho, Sahtu, Gwich’in, and Inuvialuit regions within a three-year window for independent board approval.
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C-37 (45-1) - First Nations Clean Water Act
Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-09 13:20:48.0
Tags: [National, Indigenous, Infrastructure, Environment, Governance]Bill C-37, titled the First Nations Clean Water Act and introduced by the Minister of Indigenous Services, has completed second reading and was referred to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) on October 9, 2026. The legislation establishes a comprehensive federal framework regarding water, source water, drinking water, wastewater, and related infrastructure on First Nation lands. The bill builds upon previous class-action litigation settlements concerning safe drinking water in First Nations communities and is accompanied by a historic funding commitment and a departmental Charter Statement tabled on September 25, 2026.
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Alberta First Nation taking Ottawa to court over West Coast pipeline
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-09 00:20:48.0
Tags: [Alberta, National, Indigenous, Energy, Environment, Infrastructure]Cold Lake First Nations has filed an application in Federal Court challenging the federal and provincial decision to designate the $35 billion to $43 billion Pacific Link oil pipeline project as being in the national interest. The proposed pipeline, backed by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, would transport up to one million barrels of crude a day from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Delta, British Columbia, while incorporating the Pathways Project carbon capture network near Cold Lake. Chief Kelsey Jacko argues that Ottawa breached Canadian law by failing to consult the community meaningfully regarding the pipeline designation and the underground carbon storage risks on their traditional territory.
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Water, toxic waste and opportunity: Indigenous leaders react to Carney's pipeline plan
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-10-08 08:00:00.0
Tags: [National, British Columbia, Alberta, Energy, Environment, Indigenous]Prime Minister Mark Carney's federal government designated the Pacific Link pipeline project—designed to transport one million barrels of oil daily from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Roberts Bank, British Columbia—as a project in the national interest, targeting construction to begin within a year and operations by 2032. Indigenous leaders, including Sumas First Nation Chief Dalton Silver, Treaty 8 Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi, and Fort McKay First Nation Chief Raymond Powder, have raised critical concerns regarding tight consultation timelines, potential environmental threats to water, fish, and wildlife, unresolved oilsands tailings management, and equitable community equity participation offering at least 10 per cent ownership.
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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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Survey shows broad support for mining activity in Whitehorse greenspace
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-06 21:29:47.0
Tags: [National, Municipal, Mining, Resources, Environment, Indigenous]Gladiator Metals is petitioning the City of Whitehorse to amend its top land-use policy by rezoning copper belt parcels designated as greenspace to allow expanded mineral exploration drilling. A city staff report released following nearly 1,000 written public submissions and a public hearing indicates that 64 per cent of respondents support the proposed amendment, while approximately one-third express opposition or concerns regarding environmental impacts, wildlife disruption, and potential mine failures. Local First Nations, specifically the Kwanlin Dün First Nation led by Chief Sean Smith and the Ta'an Kwäch’än Council, have expressed support for the exploration project to improve understanding of local mineral potential, while city councillors debate the residency and validity of survey respondents under the Municipal Act alongside the city's parallel development of a proposed mineral framework.
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Indigenous, local leaders optimistic about new pipeline despite “host of issues” Carney says Federal government is yet to address
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-05 16:03:04.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment, Indigenous]Prime Minister Mark Carney, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and Pembina Pipeline Corp. CEO Scott Burrows announced that the Pacific Link Pipeline (formerly West Coast Oil Pipeline) has been officially listed as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act. The project aims to export an additional one million barrels of Albertan oil per day to Asian markets, generate over $20 billion annually in GDP, create 140,000 jobs, and provide a 10 per cent ownership stake to Indigenous communities in British Columbia and Alberta through an accelerated single federal regulatory review process. However, the initiative faces ongoing concerns from local Indigenous groups—including Fort McKay First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation—regarding unresolved legacy issues, carbon capture and storage technologies like the Pathways Project, mine water release, and effluents regulations tied to a trilateral memorandum of understanding aiming to double regional oil production to eight million barrels per day within a decade.
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Separatist, environment, and some First Nation groups speak out against new Alberta-B.C. pipeline
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-02 20:03:56.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Infrastructure, Energy, Environment, Indigenous]Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the Pacific Link pipeline, proposed by Pembina Pipeline Corporation, has been designated a project of national interest, allowing it to be fast-tracked through Ottawa's major projects office with construction potentially starting in September. The pipeline faces strong opposition from Alberta separatists like Let Alberta Decide over public financing and timing, B.C. and Alberta First Nations including Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and the Union of B.C. Indigenous Chiefs over lack of consultation and environmental impacts, and environmental groups like the Pembina Institute and Ecojustice over increased greenhouse gas emissions and risks to the Salish Sea.
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Nearly 2 years later, tailings leak at Yukon’s abandoned Wolverine mine continues
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-29 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Mining, Environment, Resources, Indigenous]Nearly two years after a tailings leak was first identified at the abandoned Wolverine zinc mine in the Yukon, the Yukon government has been unable to locate or fix the liner issue beneath the facility due to technical water-level challenges and high precipitation. The mine, abandoned by Yukon Zinc Corporation in 2015 after financial difficulties, left the territory with a costly environmental legacy that included a failed attempt to increase financial security from $10.6 million to $35.5 million in 2018 and $42 million in government spending by 2024. While the Yukon government maintains that current water effluent being discharged into the creek meets the terms of its water licence, groundwater monitoring updates from May 2026 show ongoing metal and inorganic exceedances above Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment guidelines. Ross River Dena Council Chief Dylan Loblaw has expressed serious concerns regarding watershed safety, fish habitat impacts, and a lack of meaningful First Nations consultation in the site's closure and remediation plans.
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Proposed dam near Iqaluit could have 'adverse impacts,' QIA admits in board filing
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-28 20:27:44.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment, Indigenous]The Qikiqtani Inuit Association and its subsidiary, the Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation, have acknowledged in a regulatory filing to the Nunavut Impact Review Board that the proposed $500 million Iqaluit hydroelectric project could cause significant adverse impacts on the environment, wildlife, and Inuit livelihoods. The project, planned along the Kuugaluk River approximately 60 kilometres northeast of Iqaluit, would entail constructing a dam and powerhouse capable of generating 15 megawatts of electricity for 100 years. According to the project proposal, the development would flood 73 square kilometres of land, raising ongoing concerns from regional leaders and community members in Pangnirtung regarding impacts on fish, caribou, traditional harvesting, and travel safety.
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Wind turbine going up a ‘big moment’ in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-28 17:11:14.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment, Climate, Indigenous]The Inuit-owned clean energy developer Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC) has installed a 1-megawatt wind turbine and 1-megawatt battery storage system as part of the $30 million Anuriqjuak Nukkiksautiit Project in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut. The project is expected to displace at least 50 per cent—or approximately 600,000 litres—of the community's diesel usage annually and will sell power to the Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC) at about 27 cents per kilowatt-hour under an energy purchase agreement signed in 2023. Funding for the initiative includes $16.7 million from Natural Resources Canada, $7 million from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, and a $6.7 million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, with 20 per cent of project profits directed into a local community enhancement fund.
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The ins and outs of the Yukon's biggest proposed mine
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-23 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Mining, Resources, Environment, Indigenous, Economy]Western Copper and Gold and the Casino Mining Corporation are proposing the Casino mine project in the Yukon, located between Carmacks and Dawson City, with an estimated 27-year lifespan to extract approximately 4.27 billion pounds of copper, 346 million pounds of molybdenum, alongside gold and silver deposits. The project is projected to create up to 1,400 construction jobs, 700 operational jobs, and contribute roughly $1.3 billion annually to the Yukon economy while generating 25 of the 34 critical minerals designated by Ottawa. However, the project faces major regulatory scrutiny, undergoing its first-ever panel review by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESAB) due to concerns from First Nations and conservation groups over impacts on the Klaza caribou herd, fish, wildlife habitats across five First Nation territories, and risks associated with tailings dams and heap leaching.
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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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As sea ice vanishes, Tuktoyaktuk’s shoreline defences buy crucial time against Arctic surges
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-21 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Infrastructure, Climate, Environment, Emergency, Indigenous]The hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk avoided structural damage during a Beaufort Sea storm surge due to a $54 million shoreline revetment project completed in July 2025 using the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF). While existing boulder defenses protected the harbour, disappearing sea ice and warming ocean temperatures continue to accelerate coastal erosion and permafrost thaw. To secure long-term protection for critical infrastructure like the airport and fresh water reservoir, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation submitted a joint funding application for Tuktoyaktuk, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, and Ulukhaktok under review as of spring 2026. The community ultimately plans to relocate to safer ground on Inuvialuit lands while exploring nature-based shoreline reinforcement in the interim.
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First Nation opens work camp at Faro mine cleanup project in Yukon
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-18 20:54:45.0
Tags: [National, Mining, Environment, Indigenous, Infrastructure, Resources]The Dena Nezziddi Development Corporation, owned by the Ross River Dena Council, has opened the Tsē Zūl work camp at the abandoned Faro mine site in central Yukon to house workers for a massive federal remediation project. Located 200 kilometres northeast of Whitehorse, the facility is designed to accommodate nearly 300 workers and provide long-term revenue and employment opportunities for the First Nation. The Faro mine complex, which operated for nearly 30 years as a lead-zinc mine before its bankruptcy and abandonment in 1998, represents one of Canada's most complex industrial cleanup sites, expected to take decades to complete.
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Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, expecting system upgrades after months of water woes
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-14 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Infrastructure, Environment, Indigenous]The Government of Nunavut's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is planning water system upgrades across 14 communities as part of its $610-million Drinking Water Strategy Framework, backed by more than $400 million in committed funds. In the hamlet of Gjoa Haven, which recently endured an eight-month boil water advisory and a local state of emergency due to a leaking water line, potential upgrades include a new water treatment plant, transmission line, and pumphouse designed to serve the community until the end of the century. Meanwhile, Canada's Auditor General is scheduled to release an audit report in 2027 examining how Nunavut manages drinking water, following findings that only 8 out of 25 territorial water treatment plants passed health and safety tests in 2024.
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Residents worry Tsiigehtchic is not prepared for impacts of Mackenzie Valley Highway
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-10 21:30:20.0
Tags: [National, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment, Public Safety, Indigenous]Residents of Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, voiced concerns during Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board consultations regarding the $405-million federal investment to advance the Mackenzie Valley Highway. The project scope includes an environmental assessment expansion covering the corridor connecting Norman Wells to the Dempster Highway in Inuvik. Residents worry the route bypasses their community of approximately 180 people while potentially increasing environmental degradation to land and water, and raising access to illicit substances without corresponding local emergency services, such as a dedicated RCMP officer or local nurses.
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Health study begins examining potential oilsands impacts on Fort Chipewyan
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-10 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, Indigenous, Healthcare, Environment, Energy]A 10-year, $12-million federally funded health study named Project Monument Hill has officially begun to examine potential links between oilsands developments and cancer rates among residents in the northern Alberta Indigenous community of Fort Chipewyan. Overseen by the Métis Nation, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, and the Mikisew Cree First Nation—with the federal government playing an observer role—third-party researchers will analyze current and historical health data, monitor environmental conditions, and evaluate traditional land use. The study follows decades of community concern regarding industrial projects upstream along the Athabasca River, such as Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine and Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills mine.
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