Land use and public policy in northern Canada ...

• Main Author: Naysmith, John K.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2010
• Subjects: Arctic; Northwest Territories; Yukon
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0100102; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0100102

Northern Canada was first occupied by man at least 25,000 years ago. The fur trader, the first European to live in what is now the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories, arrived less than 300 years ago, and northern land use, not related to subsistence living or the fur trade, has a history of less than 100 years. The north has experienced three distinct waves of land use activity within the past seventy-five years. The discovery of gold in the Yukon and the subsequent placer mining operations at the turn of the century marked the beginning of the 'development era'. During the second world war, roads, pipelines and airfields were constructed north of 60. Finally, the extensive oil, gas and mineral activity, which today extends across the north, including the Arctic Islands, began in the 1960s. The purpose of this study is to analyze northern land use and related public policy in Canada north of 60 degrees north latitude and to propose a course of action for the administration and management of the ...