http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north
North American Tungsten says move by 5 Kaska First Nations is ‘exciting, positive’
The Kaska Nation’s announcement that it is planning to pass a resource law to create more certainty for industry is being welcomed by one large mining company with projects on Kaska traditional territory.
The five Kaska First Nations have territory in the Yukon, northern British Columbia, and parts of western N.W.T. They say they’ll pass the law later this year, with regulations to follow.
“We’re going to create a set of guidelines and policy around when a company comes in, what they have to do to consult the First Nation, what they have to do to accommodate right and title interest on the land to make sure that all of our interests are met,” said Brian Ladue, chief of the Ross River Dena Council.
Ladue says the law will simplify the process for mining companies, and ensure good relationships with industry. He says leaders are entrusted to protect and preserve the land for future generations. North American Tungsten owns the MacTung project north of Ross River, and the CanTung mine north of Watson Lake.
Allan Krasnick, who is on the company’s board of directors, says a Kaska resource law is “not threatening in any way” and says such a law would be “an appropriate way to be regulating the use of land.”
Krasnick says industry is comfortable with the concept of unceded aboriginal right and title.
“Title is real, it should be real,” he said.
“Whoever owns the land, it’s not us. We’re renting it, using it, at the consent of the underlying owners.”
He adds he likes the idea of developing something new that will have depth and “resonance with the community and the industry.”
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/industry-applauds-kaska-nation-plan-to-pass-resource-law-1.2940206