Yukon's environmental assessment board signs off on Kudz Ze Kayah project again

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board has concluded the Kudz Ze Kayah project can moveahead, effectively ending the screening phase of the proposed hard rock mine in southeast Yukon.

Despite "significant and adverse effects" linked to the project, the assessment board's executive committee is "deadlocked" on whether those impacts can be mitigated, according to a report the committee releasedMarch 29.

The move boils down to an impassebetweenexecutive committee members overissuinga new recommendation.

The assessment board is defaulting to a recommendationit released in October on the project. That work wasslapped down by the federal government.

"In order for the executive committee to issue a new recommendation following its reconsideration, at least three of the four individuals authorized to exercise the functions of the executive committee for this screening would have to agree to issue that recommendation," the report states.

"This requirement has not been met."

Two members of the executive committee determined impacts can be adequately mitigated; the remaining two disagreed.

BMC Minerals, the Vancouver-based company behind the project, wants to extract primarily zinc deposits, copper and lead deposits over a 10-year period.

Company President Scott Donaldson didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Impasse'unprecedented'

Lewis Rifkind, mining analyst with Yukon Conservation Society, said the deadlock is "unprecedented."

"They can't change their minds, whether by consensus or majority, so they've been unable to issue a new recommendation on this project," he said.

In January, the Canadian government ordered the assessment board to reevaluate the project, declaring it fell short whenconsidering First Nationsrights and how environmental impacts would be mitigated.

According to the executive committee's report, it's not up to theassessment board to determinewhether a particular project affects First Nations rights.

"This is the role and purpose of Crown consultation," it states.

Another public comment period was launched following the order from the federal government.

Laura Cabott, executive committee member and chair of the assessment board, wrote in the report that comments borea close resemblance to ones submitted in October, when theboard initially recommended the project move ahead for government approval. She liststhis as anotherreason why a new recommendation cannot be made.

Many comments centreon potential impacts to the Finlayson caribou herd, whoserange is located in the project area.

The project would likely culminate in the decline of the caribou herd, the assessment board's October screening report states.

Earlier this year, Stephen Charlie, chief of Liard First Nation, wrote a letter to Liberal Leader Sandy Silver and Dan Vandal, minister of Northern Affairs, stating the assessment board "erred in law" when it permitted the project to move ahead for government approval.

The Kaska harvest Finlayson caribou for subsistence purposes.

Charlie said in an email that he won't be commenting on the matter until the chief and council has conducted a fulsomereview ofthe executive committee's report.

The next step will require the decision bodies in this case, the Yukon and federal governments to accept, reject or modify the recommendation.

Rifkind is calling on the decision bodies to "act responsibly, protect the Finlayson caribou herd and reject the project."