Northern Indigenous leaders meet with banks over investment in Arctic energy

Dec 17, 2019 | 9:29 AM

TORONTO — Yukon First Nation leaders are meeting with bankers in Toronto today to try to persuade them not to invest in energy development on the range of a vital caribou herd.

The United States government is about to sell exploration leases on the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd, which crosses the border into Canada from Alaska.

Gwich’In in Yukon and Alaska have long fought repeated attempts at oil exploration that would affect the herd, which they say is crucial to their way of life.

The Yukon group is to meet with representatives of RBC, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust and CIBC.