The Yukon government will talk with the Council of Yukon First Nations on its plan for the native teacher training program after the minister announced changes.

Following a meeting on Friday between Premier Dennis Fentie and the chiefs of CYFN, it was announced there would be further discussion on the Yukon Native Teacher Education Program (YNTEP).

The discussions between Fentie and the chiefs came just over a week after Education Minister John Edzerza announced he was opening YNTEP up to non-natives.

According to the minister's announcement, six of the 15 spots in YNTEP would be for non-natives starting this fall. In September, Edzerza went to the chief's meeting and floated the idea, asking for their input.

But when he announced the plan last month, Edzerza said he had heard from two or three chiefs, who supported the idea. He had not heard from CYFN as a whole.

Schultz noted there had been discussions between first nations and the minister over a few months.

'The last dialogue we had at this forum (the chiefs' meeting) with the minister, there was no consensus from this table on his desire to open up the seats for others to participate in YNTEP,' said Schultz.

'A number of the communities today restated their concerns associated to that action and re-voiced them.

'So, as a result, it has been generally agreed the chiefs committee on education will sit down with the minister of Education and look at the entire program of YNTEP and report back to the premier and to this board as to how they would like to proceed.'

However, Schultz then said he doesn't think Edzerza's program has necessarily been put on hold.

During the same press conference, Fentie said definitively that Edzerza's plan to open up six seats for non-aboriginals will go ahead as planned.

The premier also accepted his minister may have not consulted enough with the first nation governments.

'We accept criticism that maybe the consultation level was not sufficient for some of the first nations,' said Fentie.

The premier said the two sides will look at possible changes to the YNTEP program.

'We're not adverse to ensuring that every first nation who wants to partake of this program will have an available seat. We're not adverse to increasing the seats,' said Fentie.

While Fentie maintained the plan is still full steam ahead, the president of Yukon College said in a written statement the institution, which administers YNTEP, will wait and see what the sides agree on.

'The discussion between the Yukon minister of Education and the leadership of Yukon's first nations is a government-to-government matter, and we await the outcome of those discussions with interest,' president Sally Webber said in the statement.

'In the meantime, we will work with the YNTEP program advisory committee to develop revised application forms and processes in anticipation of a decision to open the program to a wider community of students. We will be prepared to implement the final decision, whatever form it takes.'

Both opposition parties feel Fentie was reacting to complaints from some of the chiefs.

'He reacted to the chiefs instead of sitting down with the minister,' NDP Education critic Eric Fairclough said this morning of Fentie.

'He seems to be making it up as he goes.'

Fairclough added the fact Edzerza was not even at the chiefs' meeting on Friday demonstrates how Fentie feels about his own minister.

Liberal Leader Pat Duncan called Fentie's actions typical for the governing Yukon Party óact first, consult later.

She thinks Fentie probably heard loud and clear from the chiefs during Friday's meeting.

Each year, YNTEP costs the Yukon government $520,000. The money is mainly for 15 seats with the University of Regina's education degree program.

The government spends that amount each year regardless of how many students sign up.

In recent years, there have been vacancies in YNTEP, between four and six each year, despite the fact YTG has paid for all 15.