The territorial government has extended the nomination period for those interested in joining the Dawson Regional Land Use Planning Commission – this time to Sept. 14.

In partnership with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, a release issued late last Friday morning announced the extension.

“It is important to have a large pool of candidates with a diverse range of experiences to select from to ensure the planning process is effective,” Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR) Minister Ranj Pillai said in the statement.

His comments were echoed by Chief Roberta Joseph of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, who noted that the extension of the deadline allows those interested parties to put their name forward.

“It’s important to get it right,” she added.

The extension comes after the government first extended the deadline to Aug. 3 in late July – after having received fewer than a dozen applications over an initial three-week period.

As reported in the Star on July 24, an EMR spokesperson confirmed that the department was taking more of a touch-and-go approach after having received a total of 10 applications.

Jerome McIntyre, the director of land planning with the department, had explained then that it was generally open to extending deadlines, likening invitations to apply to job ads.

But among those 10 applications received, there were “a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences” represented – including those within the mining sector.

The Yukon Chamber of Commerce had applauded that two-week extension.

Last Friday’s extension announcement also came after the Klondike Placer Miners’ Association issued a public letter (also published in the Star on July 13) calling for an extension.

The association’s president, Mike McDougall, had written that extending the deadline to a date following the relatively short but busy mining season was over would make it easier for those who were returning from the fields to consider applying.

The Yukon government had first rejected its request, with Pillai fearing it may lead to unpredictability.

But after consultation with the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, the decision to extend it was made.

Meanwhile, anybody interested in serving as a YG nominee can do so by submitting an application to Boards and Committees Secretariat, while Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in citizens can submit their applications to that government.

The commission will feature six people in total: three nominated by the territorial government and the other half by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in (though both parties agree on membership).

Members serve out a three-year term on the commission.

The original commission was halted in late 2014 and came with a $1.1-million price tag after beginning work in 2010.

At that time, both governments and the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation agreed to suspend it as the Peel Watershed case made its way through the courts. That decision, which laid the foundation for the planning commission’s coming work, was released in December 2017.

As reported in late July, the government expects the new commission’s plan to be approved by the fall of 2020.