The controversial Bill S-6 received third and final reading in the House of Commons Monday by a vote of 148 to 125.

The federal legislation involves scores of amendments to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act.

Yukon First Nations have vowed to fight Bill S-6 in court if it passed in its current form, as it did yesterday.

It’s expected the bill will be given royal ascent by the Governor General and then proclaimed into law by the Harper government in the next couple of weeks.

First Nations maintain they had no input into four specific amendments that they say threaten the independence of the assessment board, threaten the quality of environmental assessments and open the door to political interference.

The First Nations say the controversial amendments are an affront to their aboriginal land claim agreements which are enshrined in the Constitution of Canada.

Chief Eric Fairclough of the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation said this morning he expects Yukon First Nations will announce the direction they’ll take in the near future.

“Number one on our mind is to protect our final agreements,” Fairclough said. “We are going to have to get together and discuss this but the court option is there.”

Fairclough said the response by the First Nations to third and final reading of Bill S-6 may be in the form of a resolution at the annual general assembly of the Council of Yukon First Nations later this month. Or it may be sooner, he said, adding that whatever the response is, it likely won’t be long coming down the pipe.

The chief said First Nations are very disappointed their voices and the voices of a great number of Yukoners were not heard. First Nations put a tremendous amount of time and effort into explaining their objection to the four amendments, he said.

Fairclough said they attended Senate hearings in Ottawa, they attended House of Commons committee hearings in Whitehorse, they met with federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt, they had countless meetings and discussions.

“All our voices, and the voices of Yukoners did not make a difference,” the chief said.

First Nations were actively involved in the extensive mandatory five-year review of the assessment act, and had agreed to some 70 amendments. They say they did not have any input into the four controversial amendments, amendments they maintain were slipped under the door without their knowledge.

The federal Aboriginal Affairs minister told the House of Commons last December that two of the controversial amendments were advanced by the Yukon government.

Premier Darrell Pasloski and industry in general support Bill S-6 because they say it will streamline the assessment process and make the Yukon a more attractive and competitive jurisdiction to do business in.

Pasloski has said the government’s involvement in the five-year review has been completely upfront, and any correspondence they had with Ottawa was shared with all parties.

Yukon MP Ryan Leef has also expressed his firm support for S-6, and was in the House of Commons for the vote Monday. He was unavailable for comment late this morning.

A motion by the NDP advanced last Friday that would have defeated the bill was voted on and defeated Monday prior to third reading.

In somewhat of an unusual procedure, Bill S-6 was presented to the Senate for approval before it was put before the House of Commons, which usually deals with legislation before the Senate sees it.

The Senate gave unanimous approval of S-6 last October.

See statement.