YT Government: Engagement for a new Public Lands Act has begun

Press Release

The Government of Yukon is modernizing the way public land is managed in the territory by creating a new Yukon Public Lands Act. The act will support many different types of land use for residential development, conservation, business ventures and recreational activities in the Yukon.

The new act will replace two existing pieces of legislation, the Lands Act and the Territorial Lands (Yukon) Act. It will recognize First Nations Final Agreements in the spirit of co-operation and day-to-day management of land in the Yukon.

This act will determine how we can better manage land use and activities in the territory. It can be used to support and manage recreation activities such as cabins, camping, off-road vehicle use, bicycling and hiking. The act will also support residential development, commercial activities, resource and industrial development and critical cultural, heritage, and environmental protections.

The Government of Yukon is seeking public feedback on how Yukoners use public lands. Yukoners are encouraged to review the discussion paper that outlines key considerations in the drafting of this new act and fill out an online survey. The deadline to participate is April 30, 2022. Additional information is available to Yukoners on Yukon.ca/lands-act.

A new Yukon Public Lands Act for the territory is an important step in modernizing the way we live in the Yukon and use public lands. We want to hear how Yukoners use our lands and what important issues they would like to see reflected in the act. We encourage everyone to submit feedback during this public engagement period and I look forward to reviewing Yukoners views to guide how we value and use our land in the future.

Minister Energy, Mines and Resources John Streicker

Quick facts

• Since 2003, the Government of Yukon has been responsible for administering two separate legislative regimes for two sets of public lands. These acts have not been extensively reviewed since the 1980s.
• The Yukon is over 482,000 square kilometers. Much of this is public land or First Nation settlement land. Almost 85 per cent of the land is public land, with the remaining amount Federal land and First Nations land, 0.06 per cent of land in the Yukon is under private title.

Contact

Renée Francoeur
Cabinet Communications
867-334-9194
renee.francoeur@yukon.ca

Aly Callaghan
Communications, Energy, Mines and Resources
867-667-3123
alison.callaghan@yukon.ca

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