The Association of Yukon Communities (AYC) passed two resolutions at its second virtual annual general meeting held last Saturday.

“I thought it was a really great AGM,” association president Gord Curran said in an interview Monday.

“There was lots of great discussion on a lot of levels about things that are important to us.”

Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn, Grand Chief Peter Johnston of the Council of Yukon First Nations, and Garth Frizzell, the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, also participated in the meeting.

Johnson was involved in the discussion around the importance of collaboration between Yukon communities and First Nations, Curran pointed out.

“It was just a general discussion but a very optimistic one about how we have to work together,” he said.

“Especially for our smaller communities, it is essential that we work together.”

Curran said new strategic direction for the association was also discussed.

“It is a chance to look at our organization to see if we are heading in the right direction,” he said.

He said they talked about affordable housing, solid waste, infrastructure and municipal financial sustainability.

The members are also looking for a transformative change in the association, Curran explained.

He said members really want to make the AYC a stronger and more consistent voice.

The membership talked about hiring a policy analyst, though they still need to figure that out, said the president, who is in his second year of a two-year term.

Curran said the membership talked about becoming more involved in the major issues, which would reduce the workloads of senior municipal staff.

The membership passed two resolutions, and one was withdrawn.

The first, a joint resolution put forward by Whitehorse and Dawson City, was about ensuring inclusive leadership in Yukon communities.

The resolution says the Yukon’s history is being profoundly shaped by colonial occupations of Indigenous lands and with intense disruptions of Indigenous culture and ways of life.

It calls for the AYC to co-ordinate annual member education and training in anti-racism, inter-cultural competence, human rights and other topics to promote equitable and inclusive communities.

The second resolution, put forward by the Village of Carmacks, calls on the organization to work with other orders of government and major financial institutions to better support rural property owners in accessing mortgages.

It also calls for addressing barriers that lead financial institutions to unfairly reject mortgage applications for properties in rural Yukon communities.

The proposed resolution to ensure rural emergency responders are appropriately compensated was withdrawn by Carmacks.

After discussion, it was agreed to discuss the resolution further at board meetings which may generate multiple resolutions for the 2022 annual general assembly.

On the issue of mortgages, Carmacks Mayor Lee Brodie said Tuesday morning if you don’t live in Dawson, Watson Lake or Whitehorse, you’re not getting a mortgage from the banks.

He said they simply don’t give them out to residents in the smaller communities.

When Brodie built his home in Carmacks, he could not get a mortgage despite having a stellar credit rating.

On the recommendation of a local bank in Whitehorse, he contacted a branch in Kelowna, B.C., where he was able to secure the financing.

The inability of Carmacks residents to secure mortgages has created a housing crunch in the community, he said, adding anytime something comes up for rent, it’s gone immediately.

Similarly, he said, when houses come up for sale, they’re gone in no time.

Brodie said the Village of Carmacks just lost a valuable employee because the owners of the house he was renting returned, and he could not find a place to live.

It makes it difficult if not impossible to attract workers, he said.

Brodie said he’s hoping the resolution will prompt the Yukon government to have a discussion about it, and perhaps use its influence to sway the banks.

“I hope they can do something,” he said. “They have more power when they talk to the banks than we do .... We are anxious to see what the government will do.”

Brodie said the government knows of the issue – and has known of it for years.