Thursday, December 14, 2017

The Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources has the honour to present its

TWELFTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill C-17, An Act to amend the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act and to make a consequential amendment to another Act, has, in obedience to the order of reference of Wednesday, December 6, 2017, examined the said bill and now reports the same without amendment but with certain observations, which are appended to this report.

Respectfully submitted,

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Observations to the Twelfth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources (Bill C-17)

This committee heard concerns expressed by industry officials related to the absence of transition and replacement regulations and policies. Such regulations and policies are essential in order to ensure predictability and to build prosperity for Yukon. Witnesses before the committee confirmed to us that the Government of Canada, Government of Yukon, and Council of Yukon First Nations, with input from industry stakeholders, will work together upon the passage of Bill C-17, to create replacement regulations as promised under the Memorandum of Understanding. However, there has been no commitment to a timeline. Industry and the Government of Yukon also expressed concerns that capacity funding for First Nations was inadequate in order to ensure that First Nations can fully and meaningfully participate in this process. Therefore, the committee recommends that the Government of Canada and its partners in this process draft and implement replacement language expeditiously and that the federal government should provide the required funding and capacity support. The committee also recommends that the Minister report back to this committee on the progress of this collaborative process within ten months after the bill comes into force.