Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced more than $360 million in federal and territorial spending will be invested to improve road access to mineral-rich areas in the Yukon.

Trudeau made the announcement on Saturday morning, during the second day of his Whitehorse trip, with Premier Sandy Silver and Yukon MP Larry Bagnell.

The Yukon Resource Gateway Project will improve road access in the Dawson Range in central Yukon and the Nahanni Range Road in the southeastern part of the territory.

The project will see more than 650 kilometres of road upgraded and the building or replacement of several bridges, culverts and stream crossings.

“It’s an investment in the future of Yukon’s natural resources sector, more than that it’s an investment in its people,” Trudeau said at the Miles Canyon lookout on the Schwatka Lake Road.  

Ottawa will contribute up to $247.3 million of the funding, with the Yukon accounting for $112.8 million.

Local industry will also contribute approximately $108 million to the project.

Silver and Trudeau also stressed that the project will not move forward without the partnership of First Nations whose traditional territories will be affected.

“The relationship with Indigenous Peoples is the most important relationship that this government has,” Trudeau said.

“And it needs to be based on partnership, on respect, on shared stewardship of our land and the people on it, of moving forward in a way that closes the socioeconomic gaps and creates real opportunities for Indigenous Peoples, for everyone who shares this land.”

Silver added, “It’s a conversation about jobs, it’s a conversation about prosperity, it’s a conversation about making sure that our communities in the Yukon are more resilient tomorrow for our next generation than they are today.”

Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation Chief Russell Blackjack said negotiations are ongoing.

The Yukon government has announced it will deal with the First Nation’s agreements before work on the Freegold Road begins.

“I believe there’s a lot of issues that we haven’t come to an agreement with yet, especially with regards to the environment,” Blackjack said.

Chief George Morgan of the Liard First Nation also said the environment is a key concern in negotiations. He expects an impact benefit agreement will be negotiated for the portion of the project that runs through Kaska territory.

Morgan noted that the Kaska are mining-friendly and the project will be benefit the area by creating jobs.

“I really find this to be something to celebrate for the Yukon,” he said.

Under the project, four separate systems will be upgraded in the Dawson Range.

And on the Nahanni Range Road, upgrades will be from the junction with the Campbell Highway to the border between the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Along the roadways highlighted in the project are several mines that have yet to be approved by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board.

These include the Goldcorp Coffee Gold mine project and the Casino Mining Corporation’s open-pit mine project.

But Samson Hartland, the executive director of the Yukon Chamber of Mines, said it’s a forward-thinking agreement.

“This is a visionary investment; this is not about three or four specific mining projects; this is about unlocking Yukon’s mineral potential,” he said.

“There are plenty of other low-level grassroots exploration projects that have significant potential to become operating mines one day decades down the road.”

The Yukon Party is also applauding the federal government’s commitment.

The opposition party had lobbied Ottawa to support the project, asking for a $248-million commitment, with $112 million from the Yukon and $108 million from industry.

“While in government, we made this project a major priority in all discussions with the federal government, as it should directly stimulate mining activity while providing economic benefits and jobs to Yukoners,” Scott Kent, the party’s mining critic, said in a statement.

At Saturday’s press conference, Trudeau also addressed the federal government’s moratorium on Arctic oil and gas drilling, which has received criticism from the N.W.T. and Nunavut premiers.  

Trudeau and then-U.S. president Barack Obama announced the five-year ban last December.

“At this point, the technology simply is not there to ensure that deep-water, high Arctic drilling can be done in a way that protects vulnerable fragile communities and ecosystems from potentially catastrophic consequences,” Trudeau said.

“It was something that I knew mattered deeply to an awful lot of people across the North, and we seized that opportunity.”

He noted that the ban isn’t ideal, but said consultation and partnership is needed for a science-based review of the moratorium every five years.

“Northerners all agree: we need to grow the economy in smart sustainable ways while protecting what is valuable,” he added. 

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