Thank you, Heather.
Groundwater is a critical resource in the Yukon. Ninety-seven per cent of Yukoners depend on groundwater as a potable water source, making us the second-most groundwater-dependent jurisdiction in Canada, after Prince Edward Island. Of course, groundwater is not only critical to humans, but it sustains ecosystems by maintaining water levels, regulating temperatures and delivering nutrients to rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands.
In recent years, the population of the Yukon has grown faster per capita than that of any other jurisdiction in Canada. Groundwater monitoring and aquifer mapping and characterization are increasingly important as our groundwater use increases and as various pressures increase the potential for adverse impacts to groundwater availability and quality.
Our branch of the Yukon government is fortunate to have long-standing, effective agreements with the Government of Canada concerning surface water quality and quantity monitoring. Despite the critical importance of groundwater, our government has no such agreement with the Government of Canada concerning groundwater monitoring or aquifer mapping and characterization.
Our first recommendation is for the governments of Canada and Yukon to enter into an agreement under the Canada Water Act to provide for programs to collect, process and provide data on the quality, quantity, distribution and use of groundwater. This is consistent with the recommendation made in a brief that this committee received from the International Association of Hydrogeologists.
Our second recommendation is to consider a cost-sharing agreement with the geological survey of Canada to support aquifer mapping and characterization in the Yukon.