We represent the Government of Yukon's water resources branch, which is responsible for water monitoring, policy, flood forecasting and providing water-related expertise to mitigate impacts to Yukon's water.
I'm Heather Jirousek, director of the water resources branch with Yukon's Department of Environment. Joining me is Brendan Mulligan, the senior scientist for groundwater with the water resources branch. As mentioned, we will co-present.
We are joining from the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council. We partner with all Yukon first nations on various water initiatives.
We would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to provide our input to this process today.
In the Yukon, climate change is resulting in significant impacts to water systems. One example is flooding, where we have seen three consecutive years of record flooding in the territory, resulting in real impacts and hazards for people living in the Yukon. With climate change-induced increases to extreme weather patterns, ongoing changes to flood risk are expected across the territory.
The brief that we've submitted outlines seven theme areas as opportunities to tailor the federal role to best advance collaborative stewardship of water in a way that we think benefits the Yukon and all Canadians. Today, we will shed water on four of these themes, starting with supporting the understanding of groundwater.