Liberal Leader Sandy Silver unveiled some ambitious pre-campaign promises at a luncheon hosted by the Yukon First Nations Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

Around tables in Ballroom A at the Coast High Country Inn sat First Nations government and industry heavyweights, and 13 Liberal election hopefuls, curious to hear what the candidate for premier had to say.

Whispers that Silver would make a “policy announcement” floated through twitter in the moments before he took the podium.

In his lunch-hour address, Silver said he would build a government based on “co-operation and partnership” - one that respects treaties and is bolstered by relationships with First Nations governments. He promised “a new Liberal era of First Nations relations.”

First, Silver pledged to meet with all Yukon First Nations chiefs in his first 30 days in office. The crowd applauded.

Next, he vowed to hold the Yukon Forum – a meeting of Yukon government and First Nations government leaders to discuss issues of shared interest – “up to four times a year.”

The premier and First Nations government leaders are legislated to meet four times per year unless they mutually agree to hold fewer meetings, according to the Cooperation in Governance Act.

The most recent Yukon Forum was in April and took place the day Carolyn Bennett, the federal minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, was in Whitehorse.

The Yukon Forum before that was in 2014, and the one before that was in 2012.

The forum’s agenda, Silver said, would be set “in full consultation and agreement” with chiefs. He also said meetings should be used to address federally-funded program delivery.

“This isn’t about good news stories all the time and cutting ribbons,” he said. “We need to have those hard conversations.”

Silver vowed that all future legislation and amendments that could potentially impact First Nations would be prefaced with “proper consultation.”

The Liberal leader reaffirmed his intention to protect 80 per cent of the Peel Watershed region from oil, gas and mineral extraction, as per recommendations made by the Peel Watershed Planning Commission in 2011.

The Peel has been at the centre of a lengthy court battle between the Yukon Government, which wants to develop a far larger percentage of the region, and Yukon First Nations and environmental groups, who want conservation.

The legal wrangling however, is about more than development versus conservation.

It’s about the very process by which these questions are negotiated, processes which have been laid out in the Umbrella Final Agreement, but which First Nations governments say were undermined in this case.

The challenge was accepted for a hearing by the Supreme Court of Canada, with a tentative date set at March 22, 2017.

The Liberals have long supported the Planning Commission’s recommendations and Silver confirmed in June, after the Supreme Court hearing was announced, that he would implement the recommended Peel Land Use plan.

In addition to engagement with First Nations governments and the Peel, Silver said he would support First Nations in their efforts to establish land registries, as Kwanlin Dün First Nation did this summer.

The Kwanlin Dün First Nation will soon be able to register its land at the Land Titles Office so that its citizens may obtain mortgages and home improvement loans while retaining rights and title to their land.

In his address, Silver made a vague proposal to change the legislative assembly to “incorporate our First Nations culture into our seat of government,” but he did not specify how.

“(The legislative assembly) has to be more inclusive, and I’m determined to make that happen,” he said.

“It would involve all members of the assembly, representatives from First Nation governments and heritage departments, and, of course, the public. 

“I’m open to suggestions on how best to set the process in motion but I am committed to making it happen.”

Silver also said Bill S-6 was front of mind and that he pushed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to prioritize repealing the four contentious amendments to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act after the federal election.

A bill to scrap the four S-6 amendments was tabled in June, and is expected to pass this fall.

Silver didn’t shy away from the perception of his cozy relationship with the federal government.

“I’ve been accused by the other two parties of being a cheerleader of the federal government or even, ‘Trudeau’s little sister,’ I believe I was called,” he said, to chuckles from the audience.

“But folks, this is about respectful dialogue, this is about respectful relations with all governments, including Ottawa. We will use our opportunities now to forge those relationships, absolutely, for the betterment of Yukoners.”

Of course, politicians have offered change and progress and “a seat at the table” to First Nations before, and haven’t followed through.

Some wonder if the Liberals will make good on their promises of inclusion, and perhaps most importantly, of respect.

In a media scrum following Silver’s talk, Peter Johnston, grand chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations, said there is a history of trust issues in the Yukon, and suggested that actions after the election will speak louder than words before it.

“Some cases when you make very high-level comments, if you’re not going to back it up your integrity is lost there,” he said.

Until First Nations representatives are invited into territorial budget negotiations, said Johnston, “it’s never going to be a true partnership.”

“As Yukoners, we need to be a part of that. We are more than just a burden on society as First Nations, we are integral people,” he said.

“Hopefully the next government is going to give us the opportunity to play an integral role in the communities, but more importantly in the Yukon, because we do have a lot to offer.”

The grand chief declined to endorse any candidate or party.

“It’s not my role; I want to respect the process,” he said.

“We have First Nations people in each party and I’m really hoping that those individuals will be a good representation of who we are as Aboriginal Yukon First Nations People.”