Whitehorse:  Sandy Silver said he is disheartened, but not surprised by the Government of Yukon’s new Peel Land Use Plan.

“I guess we all knew this day was coming but I hoped the Yukon Party government would do the right thing and adopt the recommended Peel Land Use Plan,” he said.  “Instead the government has chosen to go it alone and ignore the views of First Nation governments and hundreds of Yukoners who participated in the land use planning process.”

Silver says he is very concerned about the message the unilateral actions of the government sends to everyday Yukoners who participated in the planning process.

“The message is ‘Stay home. We don’t care what you have to say’,” he said.  “That erodes people’s faith in the public process and is very discouraging to anyone who thinks they can try and make a difference.  This is another example of the ‘we know best’ attitude Yukoners have seen from this government on many occasions.” 

Silver believes the next step is court action and is disappointed to see the Government of Yukon heading to court because of its unwillingness to work with First Nation governments.

"This government would rather litigate than negotiate and Yukoners are getting very used to the Yukon Party meeting First Nations in front of a judge,” he said.  “We’ve just been through an expensive court process in Ross River and it looks like we are headed right back into that divisive format again.”

Silver also said the Yukon Party decision to go it alone sets a dangerous precedent for future land use plans.  He believes people will be very reluctant to get involved knowing the Yukon Party is just going to do whatever it wants regardless of what it hears.

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For additional information contact:

Jason Cunning 667-8942