Rod Snow, a longtime Whitehorse lawyer and former president of the Canadian Bar Association, is seeking the NDP nomination in Riverdale North for the coming territorial election.

Snow affirmed his decision to run at a small news conference held Tuesday afternoon on the Riverdale side of the Rotary Centennial Bridge.

The choice of location signifies his commitment to “rebuild bridges” with Yukon First Nations and communities, Snow said.

Advocating for First Nations rights and ensuring final and land claim agreements are respected will be central to Snow’s campaign.

“I want to work with (NDP Leader) Liz Hanson to rebuild bridges with First Nations, to restore trust, and to realize the promise of First Nations final and self-government agreements,” he said to the small crowd.

“We’re all treaty people, and I believe that the Yukon government must always act in good faith, and honour its obligations to Yukon First Nations. When we fail to do this, it’s at our collective detriment.”

Snow was troubled by changes made to the Oil and Gas Act by Premier Darrell Pasloski’s government that strip some First Nations of their right to veto development on their lands. This motivated him to enter the political fray.

“I have been very disappointed at the approach that’s been taken over the years, in the last administration, by the Yukon government in its relations to First Nations,” he said.

Some big names turned out for Snow’s announcement. NDP MLAs Jan Stick, Kate White and Jim Tredger were present, as was lawyer Dave Joe, a prominent fighter for Yukon First Nations’ rights and title and an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Heather McFadgen, a former director of the Yukon Human Rights Commission (and Snow’s wife), organized Tuesday’s event. As well, two of hers and Snow’s three grown children came out to show their support.

Snow moved to the Yukon from Port Maitland, N.S. in 1993, and has worked as a lawyer in the private practice in Whitehorse for more than two decades.

In that time, he represented a number of Yukon First Nations and worked for local and Outside companies doing corporate, commercial and mining law at the Whitehorse office of Davis LLP (now DLA Piper).

“As the managing partner of that office for 23 years, I was the one who worried about revenues and expenses, about making budget and making payroll, questions that all small business owners in Yukon always worry about,” he told the small crowd.

In 2010, Snow was made the first northern president of the Canadian Bar Association. In that role, he advocated for people living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) who are caught up in the criminal justice system.

“This is a difficult problem for us in our community. It’s a difficult problem across the country,” said Snow.

“We have a whole lot of people in our jails who are FASD, and being there is not the best place for them. We ought to be able to do better.”

The Yukon government is studying the prevalence of FASD in the territory’s jail.

Snow hopes all the information from that study becomes public soon, and said he sees enhanced awareness and education as key to addressing the severe and ongoing problem.

Snow said he is confident he can work across party lines, with Liberal MP Larry Bagnell, to make the issue of FASD a priority.

As for the government’s Mental Wellness Strategy, Snow said in his brief look at it, he found it to be “a bit light,” long overdue and a disappointment overall.

While he is critical of the Yukon Party government, the political neophyte said he intends to run a positive campaign.

Snow is a resident of Riverdale South, Stick’s riding.

“When you have a great MLA like Jan Stick as your own MLA, you can’t run in your own neighbourhood,” Snow said, adding that he feels like all of Riverdale is his home.

Shirley Chua-Tan, a local realtor and Sourdough Rendezvous Queen, said earlier this year she is also pursuing the NDP nomination in Riverdale North. The seat is currently held by Yukon Party cabinet minister Scott Kent.

Kent is running for the Yukon Party nod in Copperbelt South, held by New Democrat Lois Moorcroft.