Energy, Mines and Resources Minister John Streicker found himself fielding some uncomfortable questions Monday about how mining companies in the Yukon are vetted.

Emily Tredger, an NDP MLA, brought up the subject in reference to the Coffee Creek gold mining project south of Dawson City.

“The project is being led by Newmont Goldcorp, one of the largest mining companies in the world,” Tredger noted.

“Although their employees at the Coffee Gold project are building positive relationships on the ground, those at the top are another matter entirely.

“Allegations of human rights abuses have followed this corporation wherever they go,” she pointed out.

“When Indigenous communities in Peru opposed Newmont Goldcorp’s mine site in their country, they received death threats.

“When one farmer refused to sell her land near the mine site, she was shot outside her home,” Tredger said.

“Can the minister tell us why he’s turning a blind eye to these horrific human rights violations while opening the door for this corporation to operate in the territory?”

Streicker responded that “every time that I have met with Newmont and the folks from the Coffee Gold project and we have sat down and talked about the project, my first question has always been about how their work with the communities is going.

“I think that this is how we should judge the work of this project,” he said.

The company worked hard to get an agreement in place with the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, the minister added.

“While the project was being considered by YESAB (Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board), they also got an agreement with the White River First Nation,” Streicker said.

“I think it is very important that we make sure that our mining projects work to support our communities, the environment, and social and governance models.

“What I can say, from my experience with the company here in the Yukon, is that they have an excellent relationship with the communities. I am concerned if the member opposite feels that they do not....”

Tredger was quick to launch a counter-attack.

“Well, it sounds like the minister is saying that we should ignore their human rights abuse records and wipe the slate clean,” she said.

“There is a mountain of evidence on Newmont Goldcorp’s abuses. In fact, their own internal report proved that these abuses happened under their watch near their mine sites internationally.

“So, while the local mining industry keeps pushing for ethical, sustainable practices, this government continues to allow multibillion-dollar parent companies that commit human rights abuses outside of Canada to do business in the territory,” Tredger said.

“The minister can hold these corporations accountable, or he can risk tarnishing the entire industry’s future in the territory.”

She asked: “Does the minister agree that international human rights abuses and environmental harms should be taken into consideration when the government makes a decision about an application?”

That brought Premier Sandy Silver into the fray.

“I guess what we are hearing from the members opposite in the NDP is that they are not supportive of this project, and I will let the member opposite rise to confirm yes or no on that,” the premier said.

“When it comes to this particular project, we are thrilled to see the level of engagement that has happened, not only with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and other First Nations in the area, but also with White River First Nation. We believe that the relationship that has been fostered by this company in Canada and in the Yukon absolutely is one worth supporting.”

Tredger, the premier noted, “talks about international concerns about this company, and I think that this is what we are hearing from the NDP — that is what they are going to determine as to whether or not mining should be happening in Yukon.

“I respectfully would say that, in my perspective, we are going to take a look at the socio-economic status and the regulatory process.

“We are going to make sure that any company that works in Yukon works hand-in-glove with the First Nations whose traditional territories are affected, but also works through the regulatory process in the context of Yukon.”

Tredger wasn’t deterred.

Currently, she said, “there is no process to protect the Yukon from predatory mining companies. Under the current act, YESAB can’t consider anything that happens outside of our border, so when corporations commit human rights violations abroad, they don’t fall within the scope of what YESAB can assess,” the New Democrat noted.

“Even when the allegations are as serious as murder, systemic rape, and genocide, corporations get a free pass in the Yukon.”

YESAB’s hands are tied, Tredger added.

“Any abuses by corporations abroad simply vanish when they come into the Yukon, which is why we were so glad to hear from the premier that he was working with Yukon First Nations and the federal government to amend YESAA ªYukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act).

“Will these amendments include human rights violations under the scope of what YESAB can consider?”

Streicker acknowledged the government is working with First Nations and the federal government to improve the regulatory process.

“Second of all, we have successor legislation underway, so when it comes to the regulatory side — our side of that — it will be through new mining legislation.

“With Newmont, as a company, I know that they are in other projects across Canada, including in British Columbia, which has an NDP government,” Streicker pointed out.

He will soon meet with federal officials to discuss the regulatory process.

“I can ask them what is typically done when a company is coming into Canada and how we ensure that they have a strong international record,” he said.

“That isn’t something that we work on. We have focused on making sure that the companies that come here and work in the Yukon are doing so, working well and supportively with and for First Nations, with and for communities, with and for the environment, and we will continue to do that.”

In a tense media scrum afterward, Streicker continued to hammer on his perception that it isn’t the Yukon’s responsibility to vet mining companies’ international records before permitting them to do business here.

There simply is no means of doing so, he said, adding it’s more of a national responsibility than a territorial one.

He bristled at the idea his argument amounts to “passing the buck”.

“Do we want to blacklist companies?” he asked.

He doubled-down on his point that as long as mining companies have a good track record in Canada and the Yukon, he and his government are satisfied to work with them for the moment.

Streicker said he had never seen such a question about a company’s reputation arise during his career both as an engineer and as a politician.

If it was an issue, he suggested, it would be incumbent on First Nations partners and/or the federal government to draw attention to it.

Tredger also spoke to reporters, reiterating her point that a company such as Newmont might not be the type of good corporate citizen desired by the territory.