Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act Five-year Review
What is the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act?
The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (YESAA) was established after Chapter 12 of the Umbrella Final Agreement and Yukon First Nations' Final Agreements, which require a review of YESAA within five years of it becoming law. This assessment process applies to all Yukon lands: federal, territorial, First Nation and private. YESAA is federal legislation and was developed by the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN), the Government of Yukon and the Government of Canada. (The Umbrella Final Agreement (UFA) is a framework for Yukon First Nations and federal/territorial governments in their negotiations to conclude Yukon First Nation Final Agreements.)
YESAA is a single assessment process for considering the potential affects a proposed development may have on the Yukon's environment, people, communities and economy.
In 2003, the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) was established under the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Act. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) provides funding for the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment process.
The review was a joint initiative of the UFA parties: Government of Canada, Council of Yukon First Nations and Government of Yukon, and was completed in March 2012.
The Five-year Review of YESAA examined all aspects of the Yukon development assessment process. The Review was conducted in three phases: information gathering and issues scoping, issues analysis, and response. See the YESAA Five-year Review Process Chart for more information.
The Five-year Review
The Five-year Review of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act examined all aspects of the Yukon development assessment process including:
- YESAA and its regulations
- implementation, assessment and decision-making processes
- implementation plan
- funding
- opportunities for public participation in the process
- phases and timelines
- process performance expectations
- process documents such as rules, guides, forms
- responsibilities, duties and functions of Decision Bodies, YESAB and other participants and their timelines and supporting documentation