Yukon first nations and the federal government have agreed to extend their financial transfer agreements for two years, says Chief Joe Linklater of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.

Linklater said Tuesday that before the first nations can re-negotiate the transfer agreements, they first need to have a thorough understanding of how implementation of their land claim and self-government agreements is proceeding.

The first nations need to know the cost of their relatively young governments before they can sit down with Ottawa to negotiate new transfer agreements, Linklater explained in an interview.

The chief pointed out that a mandatory review of how well the implementation of the land claim and self-government agreements is going was built into the agreements.

'The review itself is coming along but it has taken a lot longer than we thought it would take,' Linklater said.

He spoke following a weekend meeting between the Yukon chiefs and Jim Prentice, the federal minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, in Whitehorse.

'The actual implementation, from the self-government perspective, there is a lot of inadequacies in terms of government funding,' the chief said.

The agreement to extend the transfer agreements and provide a five per cent increase over the two years was done last weekend with the assistance of the federal minister, he said.

Linklater said until the review is complete, it's difficult to put a number on how much more financial support is required to satisfy first nation concerns with implementation dollars.

'We are saying as aboriginal governments we should have the ability to do x-y-z, and the federal government is coming back and saying, You do have the ability to do x-y-z, you just have to do it this way.' '

He said it's expected the implementation review will be wrapped up in nine months, while the two-year extension to the financial transfer agreements runs to March 31, 2009.

Prentice, said Linklater, comes across as a straight shooter.

'It is kind of refreshing to meet with a politician who does not give you all kinds of positive signals and not follow up on them. He seems to say what he means.

'He likes to see governments working together, and where he sees cooperation, he wants to be part of it,' Linklater continued.

'Where he sees infighting, he said he does not have a lot of time for that.'

Prentice was in town to represent Ottawa at last Saturday's closing ceremonies of the 2007 Canada Winter Games, but met separately with the chiefs and Premier Dennis Fentie.

Also raised during the meeting between the chiefs and Prentice was the insistence by first nations that program money from Ottawa meant for use by first nations be sent straight to the first nations, and not funnelled through the Yukon government.

Linklater said the issue was prompted by the recent allotment of $50 million for northern housing in the Yukon.

The money was sent to Whitehorse and held in trust until a sharing arrangement between the Yukon government and the first nations could be reached, the chief explained.

Prior to Christmas, Fentie and the chiefs agreed the Yukon's first nation governments would be allotted $32.5 million, and $17.5 million would be allocated to the Yukon government for housing.

Linklater said in the case of the housing money, it was relatively straightforward, with first nations able to access the money once a sharing arrangement was reached.

The chiefs, however, wanted to impress upon the federal minister that when federal program money is to be spent by first nations, in these times of new government-to-government relations, the money should flow directly to the first nations, with no stop in Whitehorse.

The chief also noted that it remains unclear what account the $50 million came out of whether it was a federal account designated for aboriginal affairs, or a more general account designated for all northern affairs.

Fentie emphasized in an interview Tuesday the federal bill approving the northern housing money does not say the money is to be directed to the Yukon first nations.

The territorial government and first nations, he reiterated, have come to a balanced agreement on how the money is to be allocated, which is what is important, Fentie said.

The premier said he expressed to Prentice the Yukon's support of the position taken by the first nations regarding their financial transfer agreements.

Also discussed was the issue of unfinished business, particularly that of outstanding land claim and self-government agreements with the two Kaska first nations of Ross River and Watson Lake and the White River First Nation.

Fentie noted the special envoy assigned to probe the issues surrounding the outstanding claims is expected to complete his work in two or three months.

Gavin Fitch was assigned in late December. He has met with the affected first nations and the government's land claim secretariat, and he's done a number of things to get the job done, said Fentie.

'I am encouraged by the progress made to date.'