Conservation policy with a climate focus

WCS Canada

Getting laws and policies right for a climate-changed future

WCS Canada provides comments and input on many government laws, regulations and policies in hopes of using our scientific knowledge to make these efforts work for a wild Yukon and people. We depend on healthy natural systems for our health and wellbeing, but too often this is overlooked by government.  We must get our priorities right when it comes to protecting one of the last large and intact wild areas on Earth.  On this page, we are posting some of our input on laws, policies and programs that will also have an impact on whether our land-use plans can meet their goals.

Yukon wetlands policy

The direction taken in this draft policy could lead to delays and deferrals in identifying and conserving important wetlands and leaves too many wetland areas at risk. It also fails to embrace the need to protect the enormous amounts of carbon stored in wetlands as a way of curbing global heating. There is too much “status quo” thinking in the policy, which will lead to the gradual eating away of wetlands by mining, agriculture, roads and other development. Overall, we conclude that the Draft Wetland Policy fails to achieve any lasting wetland protection, fails to provide significant new direction to wetland stewardship, and leaves a lot of uncertainty for Yukoners who care about wetlands.  Read our full comments on the policy.

Yukon’s Our Clean Future Strategy

Yukon Government’s Our Clean Future strategy deals with climate change and energy supplies, while promoting a green economy. In our response to the strategy, we provide support and encouragement for various useful policy intentions, such as expanding the suite of geothermal, solar and wind energy. However, we are concerned that the strategy promotes biomass energy (burning wood) as a low-carbon energy source for replacing fossil fuels. More extensive and intensive burning of wood for space heating will not significantly reduce the Yukon’s carbon footprint, but will lock the territory into many decades of high-carbon emissions. In addition, we are critical of the government’s intention not to include emissions from mines in its accounting of the territory’s carbon footprint, and to allow mines to work towards lower carbon emissions using intensity measures (carbon emitted per unit mineral production) rather than absolute measures (total carbon emitted from all sources per year). The strategy also does not recognize the huge value of intact forests and landscapes for their carbon sequestration and storage properties.  Read our full response.

Impact Assessment

The Yukon Government is currently considering a re-licensing application for a the Whitehorse Rapids Hydroelectric Generating Station. In our submission on the application, we provide six recommendations: (1) that the project receives a temporary short-term license given the high uncertainty of project effects on salmon and other fish species in the region, (2) that the proponent focuses primarily on effective mitigation strategies to reduce effects on salmon, with offsetting measures only considered as a last resort, (3) that detailed alternative approaches for reducing harm to salmon during their migrations through the dam facilities are provided, including leading-edge technologies, (4) that the role of conservation hatcheries should not be considered as a primary offsetting measure, (5) that the proponent provides a broad assessment of cumulative effects on salmon, and (6) that offsetting measures are identified in collaboration with interested Yukon
First Nations

Promotion of biomass energy

In this submission, we urge the Yukon government to reconsider its previous support and promotion of biomass energy as a suitable replacement for fossil fuels in its response to the climate crisis. We explain why burning wood cannot be considered as either carbon neutral or even “low-carbon” in terms of emissions. We point out that emissions from burning wood for space heating need to be included in the government’s annual accounting of emissions and not be considered carbon neutral. We also point out some of the negative health consequences already experienced in Yukon as a result of wood burning. Read our full submission.

DFO Cumulative Effects Position Statement

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has released proposed revisions to the Fisheries Act.  We are pleased that the revised act includes renewed commitments to protect fish and fish habitat, strengthens the role of Indigenous knowledge informing habitat decisions, establishes a public registry, and includes recognition of principles of sustainability, the precautionary principle, ecosystem management, and consideration of cumulative effects.  However, we have an overarching concern that the draft Position Statement falls short of providing clear and actionable guidance for the implementation of considering cumulative effects under the new Fisheries Act.  Our response explains why stronger measures to address cumulative effects are needed and how these can be incorporated into a renewed act.