The Yukon's Constitutional Foundations Volwne n A Com.]pendium. of Docum.ents Relating to the Constitutional Developm.ent of the Yukon Territory Kirk Cameron Graham Gomme REF 342.7191 Cam c. 1 YA THE YUKON'S CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS Volume 11 A Compendium of Documents Relating to the Constitutional Development of the Yukon Territory CopyrIght ©Klrk Cameron & Graham Gomme, 1991 Published by Northern DIrectorIes Ltd. Whltehorse, Yukon Canada, 1991 Copy preparatIon and prInt lay-out GOOSH EnterprIses Cover desIgn and artwork Douglas Bell and Mary Prudden In memory of Harry lohannes who, over four decades in the Yukon, contributed much to its development. He held an undying capacity for hard work which he gave unsparingly to his passion, the Yukon. These texts have been provided free to the people of the Yukon. However, in recognition of a highly important developing institution in the Territory, we would ask that contributions be made to the Yukon College Scholarship Fund from which a scholarship will be awarded periodically to a Yukoner who wishes to pursue studies in the political and constitutional development of the Yukon Territory. T ABLE OF CONTENTS Foreward Patrick L. Michael, Clerk of the Yukon vii. Legislative Assembly Preface Kirk Cameron viii. Introduction a. A Perspective on the Constitutional Status 1 . of the Yukon - Opening the Debate b. Statements on the Yukon's Constitutional Development 13. I Pre-1898 Constitutional Documents 22. - Rupert's Land Act, 1868 23. - Temporary Government of Rupert's Land Act, 1869 26. - Order in Council Transferring Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territories to Canada 29. - North-West Territories Act, 1875 36. - Order in Council Affirming Canadian Ownership of Islands Adjacent to North America 43. - Order in Council Dividing the North West Territories into Four Districts, Including the Yukon 45. - Proclamation Creating Yukon Judicial District 47. IT The Yukon Act 49. - Yukon Act, 1898 50. - Yukon Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1952 57. - Yukon Act, 1953 9l. - Yukon Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985 114. - Yukon Act Amendment, 1988 134. ill Letters of Instruction to the Commissioners 135. and Privy Council Orders - Offices of Commissioner and Administrator Abolished, 1918 136. - Office of Gold Commissioner Abolished, 1932 137. - Change of Title: Comptroller to Controller, 1936 138. - The Yukon's Seal, 1956 139. - 1970 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner 140. - 1974 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner 143. - 1976 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner 144. - 1977 Green Paper - a Fourth Elected Member Appointed to Executive Committee 150. - January. 1979 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner 152. - October. 1979 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner (the "Epp Letter") 159. - Administrator of Yukon to Fulflll Duties of Commissioner. November. 1979 163. - Clarification of 1979 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner. November. 1979 164. - Reservation of Assent to 1982 Territorial Legislation 165. - 1982 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner 166. - 1985 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner 168. - 1989 Letter of Instruction to the Commissioner 169. - 1989 Letter to the Government Leader on Signing of Intergovernmental Agreements 170. IV National Constitutional and Institutional Legislation 171. - The Yukon Territory Representation Act. 1902 172. - Constitutional Recognition of Yukon Representation in the House of Commons 185. - Yukon Representation in the Senate of Canada 187. - The Constitution Acts 189. • The Constitution Act, 1867 189. • The Constitution Act. 1982 201. - The 1987 Constitutional Accord 217. V Yukon Territorial Legislation 223. - Human Rights Act, Yukon 225. - Executive Council Act. 1982 235. - Legislative Assembly Act 239. VI Agreements and Federalfferritorial Relations 255. - The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Act 257. - Formula Financing Agreement 260. • 1985 Formula Financing Agreement 261. • 1989 Federal Letter of Commitment 264. - Program Devolution 267. - The Northern Accord 273. - Bilingualism in the Yukon 277. • 1984 Federal Press Release 278. • 1984 Draft Amendments to the Yukon and Northwest Territories Acts Respecting Bilingual Services 279. • Proposed Official Languages Act Amendment, Iune 1987 284. • Official Languages Act Amendment, July, 1988 286. • Canada-Yukon Language Agreement, 1988 288. • The Yukon's Languages Act 290. - Yukon Representation on Federal-Provincial and Inter·provincial Committees 293. - Catholic Schools Agreement 295. VU Yukon Indians and the Land Claim 300. - Royal Proclamation, 1763 302. - Constitution Act, 1982 307. - Yukon Comprehensive Land Claim Umbrella Final Agreement 310. - Inuvialuit Final Agreement 320. VllI Conclusion 330. IX The Authors: Biographical Notes 332. vii. FOREWARD In his preface to this two-volume set Kirk Cameron mentions that its production was inspired by the comments of Yukoners who desired a general reference source describing and providing the text of the many documents that make up the constitutional framework of the Yukon. The efforts of Mr. Cameron and his colleagues, Steven Smyth and Graham Gomme, to meet this demand have produced a work that will be of great assistance to all those interested in Yukon constitutional matters. Educators, scholars, politicians, lawyers as well as the general citizenry will all appreciate the existence of this easily accessible compendium of constitutional documents and the chronology of events. There is little doubt that it will stand as an essential reference source for anyone with an interest in the Yukon's constitutional past. present, or future. The authors and compilers of this work will undoubtedly be their own greatest critics; they will be the fIrst to wish that it could be more complete. to wonder whether they have made the right judgments about what to include and what to exclude. and to question the descriptive notes and analytical portions of the test. Some of those worries may prove to be justifIed but they cannot overshadow the end result which deserves recognition as providing a great service to us all. For this. Messrs. Cameron, Smyth and Gomme are to be congratulated and thanked. Patrick L. Michael Clerk of the Yukon Legislative Assembly February 12, 1991 viii Preface PREFACE During the summer of 1989, I met Graham Gomme who at that time was undertaking research for the completion of his Master's thesis on the Yukon Land Claims settlement. During our discussions, Graham mentioned that a number of Yukoners whom he had interviewed during the preparation of his thesis had expressed frustration in not having a reference containing the documents which have influenced the present constitutional character of the Yukon Territory. I, too, have had a long standing interest in the constitutional and political evolution of the Territory. Graham and I decided to pool our resources and work on a manuscript that would provide the Yukon with this kind of reference. Later that year, I was approached by another long-time resident of the. Yukon, Steven Smyth. He expressed his own interest in the writing of a book on the history of the Yukon's constitutional development. During our conversation we decided we would bring together the document Graham and I were working on with the history provided through Steven's efforts. It is as a consequence of these discussions that the initial design was drawn among the three of us for this two volume set. Shortly after the original concept for the compendium was developed, I had the good fortune of meeting with the Yukon's Senator, the Honourable Paul Lucier, and during very pleasant and lively debate over a wide range of national and Yukon issues, I happened to mention the project which we were planning. As a consequence of those discussions, the Senator offered his support in the development of the texts you are now reading. With this assistance we have been able to interview many who have had an important role in the development of the Yukon, both from within the Yukon and from the corridors of power in the House of Commons and the Senate of Canada. We greatly appreciate Senator Lucier's contribution, and wish to acknowledge with thanks his unwavering commitment to our project. If these books are in any small way of assistance in the public debate over the constitutional future of the Yukon, Senator Lucier is to be thanked for his support. We are in the most fortunate position to produce a number of copies to meet our primary goal, to stimulate debate among Yukoners on the important question of the Yukon's constitutional development; these we are providing without charge to the people of the Yukon. What do we hope to achieve? Our objective is to increase public awareness in the Yukon respecting the constitutional relationship between the Yukon and "the outside", the society and governing institutions of the rest of Canada. Preface ix To meet this objective, the rust volume is dedicated to giving the reader a history of the evolution of government in the Yukon. The economic and political events which shaped the road toward responsible government in the territory will be traced, including events which have led to setbacks in the Yukon's constitutional evolution. In volume 1 events are highlighted in bold print which relate to documents found in volume 2, and a code is included in order to allow readers to quickly identify related events. A bibliography is included to assist those who wish to delve further into this facinating area of Canadian constitutional history.