Yukon outfitters angry over Peel plan

Some Yukon outfitters are speaking out against the Yukon government's new plan for the Peel region.

They're angry over the ruling Yukon Party's decision to leave most of the region open for mining and other development.

The Peel Watershed Planning Commission wrote a land use plan for an area in northeast Yukon about the size of New Brunswick. It recommended 80 per cent protection for the area after spending $1.6 million and more than five years on consultation.

But the Yukon government said last week it's looking to find balance in the Peel Region. It said in a release it does not want to prohibit activities like mining, but will instead manage the intensity of development. Hunting outfitter Chris Widrigsaid he doesn't buy it.

"I think they're speaking in code, they're basically opening it up to large scale mining interests," Widrig said.

He said like many others, he spent the last seven years participating in the planning process and he feels the government is ignoring that work.

"If the government wanted to put principles that are basically ideological in, they should have done it right at the very beginning."

Widrig wonders why the Yukon Party was silent on the Peel during last Octobers territorial election.

"They never once mentioned it during the campaign," he said. "That's just not democratic, that's not fair."

Outfitters have long been wary of intensive mineral exploration in their hunting concessions. Heavy helicopter traffic and staking activities are seen as disruptive to their businesses.

At least one has recently complained about being squeezed out of his concession in central Yukon.

NDP accuses government of deceptive advertising

The NDP opposition in the legislature is calling on the government to halt what it calls a deceptive advertising campaign.

The advertisements tell Yukoners that the government is taking a balanced approach to the Peel watershed.

But New Democrats say the recommended plan not accepted by the government was balanced. They say the government is trying to trick Yukoners with their own money.