Land use planning, Peel top NDP priorities: Hanson

Land use planning and protection of the Peel watershed would begiven top priority if the NDP forms the next Yukon government, partyleader Liz Hanson told a news conference Monday.

"Bringing certainty to the land base is one of the most important things a government can do to promote long-term prosperity and sustainable economic development," said Hanson.

One of the first things her government would do would be to act on thefinal recommended Peel land use plan, she said.

Like the Liberals, the NDP would also consider compensation for the owners of existing mineral claims in the Peel, she said.

"You determine the principles in a public process for determining what compensation is in the best interest of both the public and the private sector," Hanson said. "It's been done elsewhere."

The NDP would also put a moratorium on mineral staking in residential areas and within municipal boundaries to reduce potential conflict,she said.

Land use planning under the NDP would include implementing the planning provisions of the First Nations land claims agreements, committing to a timetable for the completion of regional land use plans and identifying approaches for land use planning where land claims are not yet settled, she said.