Government appeals waterfront injunction

The territorial government is appealing Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale's decision that granted an injunction on the tender for two pieces of property on the Whitehorse waterfront.

The territorial government is appealing Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale’s decision that granted an injunction on the tender for two pieces of property on the Whitehorse waterfront.

The appeal was filed last Wednesday. It calls for the July 28 injunction, that was sought by the Ta’an Kwachan Council, to be set aside.

The Ta’an have argued Premier Dennis Fentie had stated there would be discussions with the first nation about it before the disposition of the land.

Instead, a tender was issued on the two pieces of land - a 0.89 hectare parcel near Ogilvie Street and a 0.18 hectare site between First and Second avenues.

The Vuntut Gwitchin Limited Partnership was the highest bidder on both properties with a numbered company that was a partnership between the Ta’an and Kwanlin Dun First Nation being the only other bid to come in.

The first nation argued there should have been sit-down discussions with the premier.

The government argued it was dealing with the Ta’an as a developer, so was owed the common courtesies afforded to developers as opposed to first nation government.

The land wasn’t available to the Ta’an during land claim negotiations because it was owned by the city at that time.

The main arguments in the case were scheduled to be heard later this month.

The injunction was granted with Veale determining in his written decision that the Ta’an’s case was serious enough to be tried, the first nation would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction wasn’t granted and the balance of convenience favoured the first nation.

The appeal now seeks an order that Veale’s decision to grant the injunction be set aside, with costs going to the Ta’an.

The court documents don’t go into detail on the reasons for the appeal, only to check off constitutional/administrative as identification in what’s involved in the appeal.

The Ta’an have 10 days from when it received notice of the appeal to respond with a Notice of Appearance.

If it fails to do so, the first nation is deemed not to take a position on it. That would mean the government wouldn’t be required to serve any more documents related to the appeal to the first nation.

Fentie declined to comment on the appeal this morning, stating it would be inappropriate to do so when the matter is before the courts.

Ta’an Chief Ruth Massie could not be reached for comment.

Chief Joe Linklater of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (which owns the Vuntut Development Corp.) said this morning it didn’t come as a surprise the government appealed Veale’s decision.

If the government wants to continue to do business in the territory, it had to file an appeal, he said.

While he hasn’t spoken to the lawyer and said he’s unsure exactly what it means for the Vuntut Gwitchin Limited Partnership’s plans, Linklater said if the injunction is quashed, “the clock starts ticking” for work to get started on the sites.

Not seeing the value of working things out through the courts, he noted he’d like to see the issues settled outside of the courthouse.