WHITEHORSE, YT – Protests against the Yukon Government’s decision to take the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board to court for a judicial review of their evaluation report on the Michelle Creek mining project had taken place across the Yukon and northern Northwest Territories on Wednesday, November 27th.
In addition to the Whitehorse rally on the steps of the Yukon Courts, protesters gathered in solidarity for the ‘Protect the Peel’ cause in the Yukon communities of Mayo, and Dawson City, as well as Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic in the Northwest Territories.
The rallies have drawn in folks from all walks of life, with many community youth taking up the cause alongside their elders.
CPAWS Yukon Outreach Manager Joti Overduin, who’s been closely following the legal proceedings, says she wasn’t surprised to see so many people come forward to say they want the peel protected, as that means so many different things for so many.
‘The Peel Watershed and Protecting the Peel really represents so many different things. It represents the protection of the environment, it represents the integrity of the Final Agreements, also democracy, and working together in collaboration, reconciliation, justice… so many different things.’ – Joti Overduin, CPAWS Yukon Outreach Manager
Overduin has encouraged anyone interested in the case to come to the Yukon Courts and follow along with the proceedings for themselves.
For their part, the Yukon Government says they are committed to upholding the Peel Land Use Plan, and that a judicial review in court is the only way to have aspects of a YESAB evaluation report reconsidered without outright rejecting it.
