I would like to thank Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in council for welcoming us into their traditional territory.
Mr. Chairman and honourable members, thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee to speak to Bill S-6, concerning proposed amendments to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act. We appreciate the opportunity because, as a Yukon success story, Kaminak wants to ensure that we are governed by an accessible and stable regulatory regime.
My name is Allison Rippin Armstrong, and I am vice-president of lands and environment with Kaminak Gold Corp. Kaminak is a Canadian exploration company that has owned and explored mineral properties in all three of Canada's northern territories. We are currently focused on exploring and advancing the Coffee gold project located in central Yukon within the traditional territory of Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in.
Kaminak is committed to being a good neighbour to all stakeholders, including Yukon first nations, and to that end has engaged local first nations at every stage of the Coffee gold project. Kaminak continues to work closely with our local first nations leaders and communities to minimize project impacts and to create innovative educational and employment opportunities for first nation citizens. Going forward, Kaminak remains committed to being an industry leader in aboriginal engagement.
Kaminak supports regulatory reform that creates efficiencies, stability, and predictability in assessment and regulatory regimes. Stability and predictability create certainty that influences our investment decisions as a company and also attracts outside investment in our company and in the Yukon territory. That being said, Kaminak is concerned that the process through which YESAA is being amended is creating increased distrust between governments and uncertainty in the assessment and regulatory process for current and future projects in Yukon.
Specifically, the YESAA five-year review resulted in a number of recommendations, most of which were supported by the parties involved in the review, including Yukon first nations. We understand that some of the proposed amendments do not accurately reflect comments and recommendations raised during the five-year review, and as a result, instead of celebrating a historic alignment between the governments and Yukon first nations on most of the proposed amendments to YESAA, Yukon first nations have expressed a common position that they intend to take the federal government to court, if Bill S-6 is passed as proposed.
Kaminak is very concerned about this development, because court cases create assessment and regulatory uncertainty in addition to extraordinary delay, all of which erodes investor confidence.
Investment in mineral exploration and development is very mobile, and Yukon and Canada are competing in a global market. While investment in a low sovereign-risk country such as Canada is attractive to many investment institutions, the reality is that the mineral exploration industry has never been more globalized.
Since 2009 Kaminak has spent $91 million on exploring the Coffee gold project. Recently, Kaminak completed a preliminary economic assessment and transitioned into feasibility, which we aim to complete at the end of this year. A positive outcome could see Kaminak entering the assessment and permitting phase by mid-2016 and on track to build a gold mine by 2019-20.
Our Coffee gold project has yet to enter the YESAA process. If Bill S-6 is passed and challenged in court, the Coffee gold project and our presence in Yukon is uncertain. Kaminak urges the federal government to resume discussions with the first nations to work collectively toward reaching consensus on the proposed amendments to YESAA and avoid a court challenge.
Mr. Chairman and honourable members of the committee, thank you for the time and opportunity to share our views.