Yukon court rules Kluane First Nation can evict convicted men

The Yukon territorial court has ruled the Kluane First Nation has the right to evict two brothers from their Burwash Landing homes.

Brothers Wilfred Sheldon and Derek Johnson are currently under a court order not to live in the community. It's part of their sentence for unlawfully confining a local teen in 2013.

This spring, the First Nation took steps to ensure the brothers don't return.

During court proceedings, Sheldon and Johnson claimed they both owned their homes in Burwash Landing. Years ago they applied for a home ownership program with the Kluane First Nation, but it ended there. Neither paid their mortgage, the First Nation paid the bill, and neither followed up on the process.

The court ruled the men did not own their homes and the Yukon Landlord Tenant Act applies. That means the First Nation was required to give both men three months notice.

All the time that's elapsed since the case began means that Sheldon and Johnson are now evicted, though they are allowed to collect their belongings.

A judge found Sheldon and Johnson guilty last October of restraining an 18-year-old guest from leaving their all-night drinking party in Burwash Landing in August 2013.

Sheldon, a former Kluane First Nation chief, was sentenced to 18 months probation for unlawful confinement. Johnson was given a four-month conditional sentence and 12 months probation for the same offence.