Thank you, Madam Speaker. The rivers, the air, the fish and caribou, lines on the map mean nothing to them. Where they go is where they belong.
The Gwich’in people know how important the Peel River Watershed is to the land around it and all the wildlife and people who depend on it. I want to voice my disappointment in the Yukon government for losing sight of this when they decided to alter the Peel Land Use Plan before it was released last month.
Residents from Fort McPherson, Aklavik, Inuvik and also protestors in the Yukon walked on January 28, 2014, in support of the Land Use Plan that was originally recommended, which would have provided permanent protection for 80 percent of the Peel River Watershed. The modified plan protects a mere 29 percent. That leaves 71 percent open to development.
I can’t sit back and not voice my disappointment in the Yukon government and its lack of understanding for the people who live in and near the Peel Watershed and all those who are affected downstream. It seems the Yukon government did not listen to the people who spoke from their hearts and from their experience about why they don’t want development in the Peel River.
Last February more than 200 people in Fort McPherson crammed into the community hall to discuss their strong historical ties to the Peel Watershed. The Gwich’in have traditional lands in the Yukon, as stated in the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement.
The transboundary overlap agreement is being ignored by the Yukon government. This is just not right. We have worked for years developing our land claims, only to have it shelved in the Yukon Legislature.
Decisions made in the Yukon affect the portion of the Peel Watershed that lies within the Northwest Territories. Our government must do all that it can to protect our land and waters. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
