Yukon NDP leader not attending AME Roundup; hosting mining discussion instead

Wednesday, 22 January 2025 10:43

Yukon NDP leader Kate White speaks with reporters on the last day of the Fall 2023 sitting. (Photo, S. Bonell)

Kate White says she's taking her lead from Yukon First Nations leadership by saying that Yukon mining discussions should be held in the territory.

Mining and political leaders alike are gathering in Vancouver for AME Roundup 2025. But there’s at least one notable absence from the Yukon.

Yukon NDP leader Kate White says that she made the decision not to attend this year’s mining event in the wake of mining disasters in the territory. She says that the mining industry needs to serve the interests of Yukoners; not the other way around.

“After Yukon Zinc and the Wolverine mine, Minto Minerals and the Minto mine, and of course, Victoria Gold and the Eagle mine; what our track record is saying is that in Yukon, it’s about serving big mining, and it’s not about big mining serving Yukoners.”

White says that she took her lead from Yukon First Nations Chiefs whose message for mining companies was that discussions regarding mining in the Yukon should take place on their traditional territories, rather than in Vancouver.

In the spirit of that message, the Yukon NDP is hosting an online event to discuss mining in the territory later this week.

“On Thursday, we’ve got an event called Let’s Talk Mining,” said White. “It’s going to be with Chief Dawna Hope from the (First Nation of) Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, it’s going to be with Lewis Rifkind, the former mining analyst for the Yukon Conservation Society, and myself. And we’re going to be talking about what we believe mining should look like going forward.”

Yukoners who wish to attend the online event can RSVP online at https://yukonndp.ca/homepage/lets-talk-mining/

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Yukon NDP leader not attending AME Roundup; hosting mining discussion instead

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