First Nations governments in the territory will receive $600,000 in total as part of an agreement between the two governments announced Monday at this year’s first Yukon Forum.

Peter Johnston, the grand chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations, was on hand along with Premier Sandy Silver to announce that the parties had reached an agreement to clarify how resource royalties in the territory are to be shared.

Silver said the understanding has furthered the spirit of reconciliation in the territory.

“The resource royalty sharing implementation agreement is just one tangible example of how we can advance reconciliation when we work together on the interpretation and implementation of Final Agreements,” said a release on the forum.

The section causing confusion was chapter 23 of the Umbrella Final Agreement.

It lays out how royalties from placer and quartz mining, as well as any oil and gas activities, are to be split between the territorial and First Nations governments.

The Yukon government is in charge of administering the process, and the premier hoped this agreement would help avoid any continued confusion.

In the case of the Selkirk First Nation and the Minto Mine, for instance, the previous interpretation of the agreement would have seen royalties from Category A land deducted from the royalties already shared with the First Nation under “encumbering rights” – that is, rights that were in place before the Final Agreement.

Category A settlement land refers to land where the First Nation owns both the surface and subsurface rights, including minerals, so all mining activity is governed by that government. As a result, the First Nation receives the full royalty from Category A land.

Meanwhile, Category B refers to just the surface land that the Yukon First Nation owns, so the mining activity falls under the Yukon government’s jurisdiction.

This means that, for instance, in the case of “the Minto mine, which is on Category A settlement land, the amount of royalties shared with other First Nations was limited in that capacity,” Silver told reporters.

The agreement announced Monday clarified that royalties from "encumbering rights" (rights in place before the Final Agreement) will not be deducted from royalties shared with First Nation as it relates to the existing formula.

A May 8 story incorrectly stated what the agreement clarified, as Chapter 23 of the Final Agreement already stated that the first $2 million in resource royalties would be split between the governments. It also already made clear that the Yukon government would pay 10 per cent of any additional royalties received, on top of the first $2 million, to the Yukon First Nations.

This means that: once the first $2 million in Crown royalty has been received, the Yukon First Nations and territorial government will split the revenues, receiving $1 million each.

Once the Crown royalty hits any additional amount – for example, $20 – the First Nations will receive 10 per cent of this $20 difference – bringing the First Nation’s total to $1 million plus $2, while the Yukon government receives $1 million plus $18.

The one-time payment of $600,000 is to be split amongst the self-governing First Nations that have a Final Agreement.

A spokesperson for the government’s Aboriginal affairs branch confirmed that it would apply to the 11 First Nations with a Final Agreement.

Likening the figure to a “symbolic number,” Silver said it was agreed upon “in good faith” from both parties.

“For years, there were disagreements amongst governments as to how we interpret those chapters, and this government has decided as opposed to continuing to disagree, let’s work together,” he told reporters.

Fiscal relations between the governments was one of the priorities laid out in the Yukon Forum Joint Priority Action Plan.

Among the others are multilateral processes for engagement and land claims and self-government implementation.

The plan committed to dialogue between the governments in hopes of reaching a settlement about the interpretation of Chapter 23 of the Umbrella Final Agreement, which addresses royalty sharing, by October 2017.

The document shows all 11 First Nations with a Final Agreement signed on in March of this year.

The three remaining First Nations without a Final Agreement are White River, Liard and the Ross River Dena Council, and are not listed in the agreement.

Among the 11 First Nations that did sign on to splitting the $600,000 figure: Kwanlin Dün led the way, receiving more than $87,000, Carcross/Tagish will get more than $73,000 while the Ta’an Kwach’an Council is set to receive more than $35,000.

Silver added that discussion at this year’s Yukon Forum also focused on mental health hubs, infrastructure funding received from the federal government, and investments in education.