An NDP territorial government would place environmental issues on equal footing with the economy and social programs, says party leader Todd Hardy.

Hardy and Oct. 10 candidates Nina Sutherland and Peter Lesniak unveiled the New Democrats' platform on the environment Thursday afternoon.

There will be no return to the Yukon Protected Areas Strategy that was initiated by the NDP in the late 1990s, muddled by the Liberals after they came to power in 2000, and immediately frozen by the current government in 2002, Hardy said.

There will be a permanent ban on coalbed methane extraction, he added.

Hardy told reporters he believes the Yukon Party initiative to provide big game outfitters with some sort of land tenure for their camp sites needs to be halted and examined.

The application by Lone Wolf Outfitting for exclusive rights to 44 different sites, some four hectares in size, and some for sites used frequently by the general public, has raised concerns from first nations, other wilderness businesses and the general public.

Those concerns need to be thought through to ensure there is no alienation of rights for the general public, or for other wilderness tourism operators who are also seeking assurances for the continued use of favourite camping spots, Hardy suggested.

Some of the spots, as Hardy understands it, are sites traditionally used by the first nations.

The party leader acknowledged by phone from his hospital bed in Vancouver that there are similarities in the environmental platforms of the three parties.

The difference, said Hardy, is that voters can count on the New Democrats to fulfill their commitment to environmental issues.

'It will be one of the top government priorities, on the same footing as the economy and social programs.

'And that is something we have not witnessed over the last six years with the two other parties.'

Those parties, he said, can make all the promises they want, but the electorate knows it's the NDP that holds the environment closest to its heart.

Sutherland is seeking the seat in Lake Laberge, where she's lived for 17 years. She said it's imperative that land use planning across the territory become a priority for government.

It's a key tool when making decisions about how land is to be disposed, she said.

'The territory has lacked overall land use planning,' she said. 'The result has been negative impacts on the use of land as well as the environment.'

Sutherland said not only is land use planning essential to properly address the growing pressure from an upswing in the territory's population, it's also a commitment contained in all 11 land claim settlements.

For far too long there has been an unco-ordinated, ad hoc approach for land disposition, with different departments working in isolation of each other, she said.

Sutherland cited the Fish Lake Road debacle as an example. A staking rush for large rural residential lots ensued in the summer of 2004 after one individual was successful in securing a 6-hectare parcel, after the Yukon government opened the door for rural residential land applications.

In the end, the government denied the 26 applications that followed for similar parcels, suggesting the rush was never expected nor planned for.

There needs to be a consistent and transparent process free of political and departmental interference, she said.

Sutherland said the approach to land disposition has been inconsistent.

'The commitment the NDP is making is the Yukon government departments will have the resources required to fully implement land use exercises and support first nations,' said Sutherland. She is on leave from her position as manager of claims implementation and aboriginal affairs for the Department of Environment.

Lesniak noted the Yukon Party's recent release of its strategy to address climate change.

The fact that it comes at the end of the party's four-year mandate is a reflection of just how committed the governing party is to the issue, he said.

Hardy said the New Democrats would develop and implement a climate change strategy immediately.

Lesniak said the NDP, like Alberta, British Columbia and Alaska, are strictly opposed to coalbed methane extraction because of what he described as its significant impact on the environment.

He believes Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang has provided a 'letter of comfort' to some parties that have raised the issue with the Yukon government, Lesniak said.

He said he suspects it's a letter of comfort because the government has refused to give the NDP a copy of the letter, which was also been denied through an access to information request.

Hardy said the New Democrats want to:

• promote the incentives for green jobs and green businesses;

• ensure protection of critical wetlands, watersheds and wildlife habitat;

• implement parks and habitat areas committed to in the first nation final agreements; and

• deliver species at risk legislation and pass an effective Animal Protection Act.

Government, said Hardy, can take a leading role in ensuring the construction of energy-efficient homes and commercial businesses.

There was a time, 15 and 20 years ago, when the Yukon was leading the world with its training of tradesworkers in the use of energy-efficient construction methods.

Not any longer, he said, suggesting there has been a slide backwards in the use of energy-efficient methods.

Hardy said the government can re-ignite the commitment to energy efficiency through the construction of its own buildings, and by ensuring properties it rents meet the same higher standards, or are brought up to those standards.

Developers, he suggested, will soon learn that if they expect to rent space to the government, their buildings will have to meet the higher energy standards.

See mini-candidates' profiles, pages 6-8; editorial, letters, pages 18-20.