Yukon launches judicial review of assessment in mining exploration project

WHITEHORSE - The Yukon government is challenging the territory’s Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board in court after the assessment authority recommended against a mining exploration project.

Silver47 Exploration Corp., a Vancouver-based company, wanted to explore for minerals such as silver, lead and zinc in the Peel watershed, about 120 kilometres northeast of Dawson City.

The board issued its evaluation report on Dec. 16, saying the five-year project is likely to have significant adverse environmental effects that cannot be mitigated.

The territory filed the petition to the Yukon Supreme Court for a judicial review last month, saying the boarddid not have enough information to provide a thorough assessment of the project.

Government lawyer Ian Fraser said Wednesday that a petition is “effectively the only way” the territory can ask the board to review its assessment and fix any issues.

He said the report noted there wasn’t enough information to allow for a fair evaluation of the project, which put the government “in a tough spot” because it can’t make a decision about the project if it is “operating on incomplete information.”

“How can the government of Yukon fairly evaluate what ought to be done with the recommendation when the designated office has already indicated that there’s certain information that really was necessary for a fair evaluation of the project,” Fraser said.

Todd Powell, Yukon’s director of Mineral Resources, told reporters during a technical briefing on Wednesday that the government does not have a position on whether the project should proceed.

“It’s not the outcome, it’s the process that we have in front of us that we’ve created this challenge,” he said.

The petition was filed to the Supreme Court of Yukon on May 29.

Fraser said there will be a case management conference for the review on June 27 where dates for the hearing will likely be set.

“I don’t control timing, the court does, but I wouldn’t anticipate there’ll be a lot of procedural things that have to happen before this can come to a hearing,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023.