What comes in the next few days leading up to a meeting between the Kaska leaders and Premier Darrell Pasloski will be telling, suggests the chief of the Liard First Nation.

Liard McMillan said this morning it's no secret the relationship between the Kaska and the Yukon government has been rocky.

In accepting an invitation from the premier to meet on Dec. 7, the Kaska have recommended "certain good faith steps that the government and Kaska can take to facilitate positive relationships,” says a press release issued today by the Kaska leaders.

The Kaska leaders indicate they'll not discuss at this time exactly what they've asked of the premier. Nor will they be disclosing the nature of a seven-point action plan they agreed to when they met last week.

McMillan did say the Kaska have been quite public with their concerns over plans to use hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas exploration and production in the southeast.

Similarly, they've been vocal about the Yukon government's plan to repeal Section 13 of the Oil and Gas Act which requires consent from the Kaska before oil and gas activity can occur in the southeast, McMillan pointed out.

"It would definitely be good to see some action taken by the government prior to our meeting on Dec. 7,” the chief said.

"Over the next week, whatever action the government may or may not take would be quite important to the road ahead in terms of whether we can bring the relationship between the Yukon government and the Kaska back to stable ground.”

Pasloski was travelling this morning and unavailable to discuss any action his government plans to take in light of the Kaskas' request, and whether he will be proceed with repealing Section 13.

The amended Oil and Gas Act received first reading on Nov. 1. The government has yet to bring it back for second reading and review by the committee of the whole.

The agreement to provide the Kaska and other Yukon First Nations with a veto over oil and gas activity on the traditional territories dates back to an agreement signed in 1997.

In exchange for supporting the Yukon's quest to take over authority for oil and gas from Ottawa, the Yukon First Nations were given the power of veto.

Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Brad Cathers has said repeatedly in the legislature this fall the 1997 agreement was meant to be a temporary arrangement while First Nations negotiated the final aboriginal land claim and self-government agreements.

The Yukon government, the minister has insisted, has tried repeatedly to reach a new arrangement with the Kaska in light of the Kaska not having a land claim settlement, but to no avail.

Cathers has also said that providing the veto to the Kaska and not the other First Nations which have settlement agreements creates an unfair imbalance.

The Kaska of Ross River and Watson Lake, however, have warned Cathers and the premier that should they proceed with removing the consent clause from the oil and gas legislation, they would take legal action.

The government does not have a leg to stand on when it comes to deciding all by itself that the 1997 agreement is no longer valid, the Kaska maintain.

Lawyers for Ross River and the Liard First Nation have indicated there is nothing in the 1997 agreement that provides a sunset for the consent requirement.

The Council of Yukon First Nations, (CYFN) the Kwanlin Dun First Nation, the Ross River Dena Council and the Liard First Nation sent out a joint statement on Nov. 14 condemning the government's decision to repeal Section 13.

"To now see YTG try to blatantly undermine that agreement is unacceptable,” CYFN Grand Chief Ruth Massie said in the Nov. 14 release.

"Should YTG choose to break agreements so willingly, it calls into question why anyone would want to enter into good faith agreements with the Yukon government.

"CYFN stands by the agreement we made with the Kaska in 1997, and so should YTG.”

Massie said settling the matter requires negotiations, not litigation.

An internal government document stamped "confidential” was tabled in the legislature last week by the New Democrats.

The document indicates the government has known for over a year about a company planning to take over controlling interest in the Kootaneelee gas field, with an aim to pursue production of natural gas from shale deposits. Production of shale deposits typically requires hydraulic fracturing.

The New Democrats have called for a moratorium on fracking in the Yukon until there's been a full public discussion about the use of fracking.

NDP Leader Liz Hanson said in an interview Friday the practice of fracking has raised concerns around the world.

The Yukon government announced last week it will be leading an education and consultation process regarding the oil and gas industry in the Yukon, including the practice of fracking.

See letter.