Silver and First Nations Not on Same Page on Raising Resource Royalties

Tuesday, 31 October 2017 11:49

Silver "This is a tough issue for sure and I sympathize with the First Nation governments who believe that this rate is not enough, but again we don’t think that this is going to change our financial situation and we have been very clear on that."

Premier Sandy Silver (Klondike) is standing firm that his government will not be raising placer mining royalties, but admitted in the legislature, that First Nations have a different opinion on if the royalties should go up. “The First Nations do not share our point of view on that. When Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in gets $69 in royalties for one year, that’s an issue. We’re encouraging that dialogue and we’re going to have that dialogue here.” “The First Nations have a very legitimate beef with this issue and I am encouraging industry, whether it is the KPMA or others, to talk with the First Nations and to have conversations about everything from occupancy.”

Raising resource royalties was one option presented by the Yukon Financial Advisory Panel as helping to fix the territory’s financial quagmire, which could possibly generate as much as $2 million annually. Another Panel option would be to introduce a Harmonized Sales Tax. With Silver trying to honour a campaign commitment by not raising royalties, he has not shut the door to an HST, saying his government wanted to examine all options.

Yukon Party MLA Scott Kent (Copperbelt South) was quick to point out Silver’s hypocrisy. “During the past election, the Yukon Liberal Party sent a letter to the Klondike Placer Miners’ Association, committing to not raise placer royalties above the levels they are currently at. Given the options that have been provided by the Financial Advisory Panel, which included raising placer royalties as a source of revenue generation, and, most recently, an amended motion on the floor that urged the government to — and I quote: “consider all options put forth by the panel” — we feel there may be a need for clarification of the record on the floor of the Assembly. Can the Premier reaffirm his previous statements that raising placer royalties, despite being part of the panel’s recommendations, is categorically off the table?”

Silver tried to clarify his government’s position. “But just to clear the record, we have said in the past, during the platform campaign, that we weren’t interested in raising those royalty rates.” “This is a tough issue for sure and I sympathize with the First Nation governments who believe that this rate is not enough, but again we don’t think that this is going to change our financial situation and we have been very clear on that.”

(Dan Jones Whitehorse October 31, 2017)