Yukon Chamber of Commerce concerned about turf war

The Yukon Chamber of Commerce hopes the legal battle over the future of the Peel River watershed moves quickly through the court system.

The territorial government is appealing a Yukon Supreme Court decision on the Peel land use planning process.

The court found that the Yukon government’s modifications to the Peel land use plan did not respect the land use planning process set out in the territory’s final agreements with First Nations.

It said the remedy is for the Yukon government to return to consultations on the final recommended land use plan. 

Peter Turner, the president of the Yukon Chamber of Commerce, says Yukon business owners are worried that if the courts are being used too often to resolve those types of issues the results could be costly and take too much time to resolve. 

"We have been hearing from our membership and the costs and the protracted time lines associated with the Peel process," he says.

"And of course that has potential impact on extending a period of uncertainty for businesses as they think about planning their objectives for the next couple of years," Turner says.

He adds the Yukon Chamber of Commerce hopes the court action leads to clarity for future land use planning.