Outside city hall Monday night, a number of parked vehicles and one bicycle bore bumper stickers calling for a Frack Free Yukon, while inside, the call was issued for a frack-free Whitehorse.

Council chambers were packed as JP Pinard, a local consultant and engineer who has a doctorate in wind energy, made a presentation to council members proposing a resolution that it not allow "extraction of fossil fuel and, in particular, natural gas from hydraulically fractured sources and that it also not accept any new electricity generated from hydraulically fractured natural gas.”

The proposed resolution would also see the city urge "the Yukon government and Yukon Energy to meet the growing demand for electrical energy through renewable energy only, and to pursue demand side and load management programs to help meet the city's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.”

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as it's commonly called, uses high pressure to break up rock and release natural gas.

It is a highly controversial method of extracting gas with many opponents pointing to environmental issues that arise from it, such as groundwater contamination and creating instability in the ground, among others.

While it was Pinard who presented the proposed resolution, he brought it forward on behalf of himself and Yukoners Concerned About Oil and Gas Exploration. The resolution also carried the support of the Yukon Conservation Society, Peel Youth Alliance and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's Yukon chapter.

In the lead-up to the resolution, Pinard pointed out that for the city to meet its 2030 carbon-neutral goal, it needs to reduce its use of fossil fuels for all city infrastructure, diversify its renewable energy sources and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

The proposed resolution also states that the city recognize "fossil fuel dependency is causing climate change, which is a present and increasing challenge for the North and, in particular, that climate change is an increased risk to the city's infrastructure.”

With natural gas potential, including in the Whitehorse Trough, if it were exploited, would likely be done through hydraulic fracturing, which could worsen the impacts of climate change and affect the city's drinking water and wilderness.

"And whereas the city recognizes that the Yukon's main electrical utility, Yukon Energy, plans to transition to using natural gas to meet growing demand for electricity, and that new natural gas supplies from outside the Yukon are likely to come from hydraulically fractured sources, and that as gas prices increase, the Yukon will eventually be forced to exploit it locally to meet local demand....” the proposal went on.

It then noted municipalities across the territory and country are recognizing their responsibility, capacity and leadership role to address climate change.

Leadership, however, is also needed by the territorial and federal governments to move to using renewable energy, Pinard noted.

Pinard noted that natural gas is often touted as a "transitional” energy source in moving toward renewable energy.

He added, however, that if you look at a "cradle to grave” scenario, even diesel is a cleaner material than natural gas.

He noted there's a number of potential renewable resource opportunities, including a space heating system that's becoming more common in places like Europe.

The system is an electrical thermal storage system where heat can be stored for up to a few days at a time.

Under questioning from Coun. Mike Gladish, Pinard stated his belief that the territory's energy needs could be met using a combination of wind and hydro.

Coun. Betty Irwin was also quick to note impacts on water quality and ground instability from fracking as she posed questions to Pinard on the matter.

Pinard argued there's no evidence showing that fracking is safe.

He said he hopes if Whitehorse adopts the resolution, it may influence other communities to follow suite.

As Mayor Dan Curtis said, having just returned from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' sustainability conference, the issue of fracking seems to be one of the biggest challenges facing municipalities across the country.

"There's a lot of unknowns; a lot of concerns,” Curtis said.

The mayor added he appreciates the proposed resolution, which council will consider at a later date.

As Pinard concluded his presentation, he was applauded from the gallery, with many leaving after the delegate portion of the council meeting.

Coun. John Streicker was absent from Monday's meeting.