The Yukon has entered into a partnership with the federal government in Phase 2 of the Regional Energy and Resource Tables.

Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal minister of Natural Resources, announced last Thursday that five more provinces and territories, including the Yukon, are formally joining the Regional Energy and Resource Tables initiative.

That’s a partnership among the federal, provincial and territorial governments to support strong communities and job creation in every region of Canada.

Eight provinces and territories are now participating.

Ottawa is setting up these tables during the next several months with the goal of establishing them in all 13 provinces and territories by early 2023.

“The focus is really on sitting down and agreeing on some of the key economic priorities for that particular province or territory and identifying what we need to do to advance those,” Wilkinson said in an interview with the Star last Wednesday.

“It’s important for us in the context of thinking forward to what must be a lower carbon future that we are thinking about how we build an economy that will be strong in context and so that’s what these tables are intended to do: to help us to align resourcing, identify additional resources we may need to align regulatory permitting processes so we can find ways to go faster with respect to some of these prototypes, all the while respecting our constitutional obligations and ensuring we are doing it in an environmentally sustainable way.”

Energy, Mines and Resources Minister John Streicker also weighed in on the agreement with the Star last Thursday.

“The federal government has been talking about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s really about how we transition our energy economy towards net zero and the fact that Canada has a lot of natural resources, and I think that’s true here in the Yukon,” Streicker said.

“And we want to sit down and talk about where we want to go here and how we can contribute to that pathway in a positive way.”

The Yukon government has been talking with Wilkinson for some time, Streicker said, “and we’ve known about the regional round tables.

“There are certain things I’m sure we’re going to do, like renewable energy, like critical minerals, but I’m looking forward to the conversation that we have within Yukon Government, with First Nations governments and with the feds about how we can really shape this future.”

The collaboration will significantly advance the realization of economic opportunities that could range from mining critical minerals for made-in-Canada electric vehicles and batteries, to hydrogen in several regions across the country, to building small modular reactors.

Other initiatives might include developing biofuels, making greater use of technologies such as carbon capture, utilization and storage, or advancing wind projects on the east coast to generate clean electricity.

“The goals of the agreement are essentially to advance areas of economic opportunity going forward,” explained Wilkinson.

“In the case of Yukon, one of those, obviously, is critical minerals, which is looking at how we can actually create a structure from a regulatory perspective, how we can use financial tools to help us expedite some of the work that needs to be done to bring more critical minerals on stream.”

As for what impact this will play in carbon-reduction goals, Steicker said, “I think broadly they have to do with that transitioning to a net zero economy, so clearly, that includes how we move off of fossil fuels, so emissions will certainly matter, but also, you know as we try to make that transition, that you’re gonna need things like copper for more transmission lines and zinc for our batteries and luckily here in the Yukon we have a lot of minerals, and so I think it would be: how can we make sure that we are part of the supply chain here in Canada to support that transition?

“So I think our part in that conversation is part of the whole work that we do as a country to get to net zero. So emissions are part of it but so is the new economy that is coming out of it,” Streicker said.

Wilkinson added, “Ultimately these tables are really an economic tool. Constitutionally, we have very separate spheres of authority.

“There are some areas where we overlap, but ultimately, we need to work together if we are going to achieve the kind of economic results that we need to achieve.

“You could achieve ambitions, goals tomorrow if you just shut everything down in this country, but of course nobody would think that’s a very good idea,’ Wilkinson said.

“What we want to do is ensure we are building an economy for the future that is going to be prosperous and will provide jobs and economic opportunity for folks in every region of this country.”

Wilkinson was asked if it’s realistic to think Canada can meet carbon reduction goals and have a strong economy.

“I think we absolutely can do that and, to be honest, we absolutely must do that. Climate change is real.

“Climate change represents an existential threat to the future of the human race, and there is no place in this country that is going to feel the effects of climate change more than in the North, so we need to ensure we’re doing that, but we have to do it in a manner that people can be sure that there will be jobs and opportunities and a standard of living that is similar to what people enjoy today.”

Wilkinson added, “We are very interested in finding pathways to advance the economic interests of folks who live in Yukon, and I am very keen and happy that we’re going to be launching this process.”

As for funding for the project, the tables will help ensure that federal funding from existing sources are directed toward top regional priorities and projects.

Those include the $8-billion Net Zero Accelerator, the $35-billion Canada Infrastructure Bank and the $3.8 billion allocated in Budget 2022 to implement Canada’s first Critical Minerals Strategy.

Striecker expects Wilkinson and his team to come to the Yukon sometime this fall.

“We had a meeting set up but then it got cancelled because of Queen Elizabeth’s passing (on Sept. 8),” he said.

“I’m sure we’ll have meetings shortly and I was excited to see that Northwest Territories is in this round as well and the Maritime provinces. ”