I don't necessarily want to place blame.
The Yukon Placer Mining Act came into effect in 1906. It has essentially been unchanged since that time. Under the Yukon free entry system, miners can stake claims virtually anywhere—not on first nation land, but virtually anywhere else. There is a very strong connection between the right to work and the right to locate. In other words, once you stake a claim, you have very strong rights to proceed to mine that claim.
I think that arrangement has disappeared in many parts of the world. I don't think that's appropriate in 2024, in the 21st century. I think there is a lot of money to be generated from mining gold, but other than that, what benefit does it provide to society? I think if we're going to save our natural resources, we have to begin to prioritize conservation above making money.