Yukon is home to approximately half of all land claim and self-government agreements in Canada, with 11 of 14 Yukon First Nations having signed final agreements with the Government of Canada and the Government of Yukon between 1993 and 2005.
Yukon First Nation Self-Government Agreements recognize that self-governing First Nations replace Bands under the Indian Act, and set out the First Nation’s responsibilities, structures, resources, taxation and law-making powers.
Self-Government Agreements also enable self-governing Yukon First Nations to assume responsibility for programs and services from the governments of Canada and Yukon. To do this, Programs and Services Transfer Agreements (PSTAs) are negotiated at a pace determined by the First Nations.
Between 2007 to 2014, various PSTAs were negotiated with all 11 self-governing Yukon First Nations for federal programs including post-secondary education; Aboriginal language initiatives; and health programs around home and community care, alcohol and drug abuse, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, HIV/AIDS, youth suicide prevention, diabetes, and maternal and child health.
Self-Government Agreements also require that Administration of Justice Agreements be negotiated. To date, one Administration of Justice Agreement has been concluded, negotiations are ongoing with three additional First Nations, and the remaining self-governing Yukon First Nations are in various stages of engagement.
AANDC delivers a variety of other programs and services in Yukon, and in three northern British Columbia communities also served from the Department’s Yukon regional office.
Since 2007, AANDC has invested over $1.12 billion in Yukon, including funding for:
- self-government grants for the 11 self-governing Yukon First Nations through Financial Transfer Agreements;
- the remediation of contaminated sites;
- social and education programs;
- capital infrastructure including housing, water and wastewater projects, and facilities operations and maintenance; and
- governance funding for both self-governing and Indian Act First Nations.
Through AANDC's programs and services, and its support for self-government implementation, the Department is fulfilling its commitment to supporting Aboriginal people and Northerners to improve community well-being and prosperity, and participation in Canada’s political, social and economic development.