Fabian Socialism or Comprehensive Planning?

 Michael B. Decter

THE YUKON 2000 ENDEAVOUR provides an instructive example of a community-based comprehensive planning exercise being undertaken, not as a marginal activity, but as the central economic policy thrust of a government. In a survey of various planning endeavours across Canada for the Economic Council of Canada, Yukon 2000 stood out for two reasons: first, it is an activity in the mainstream of economic planning and development; second, it is ambitious and comprehensive, including all sectors of the Yukon economy. As well, the participatory approach of Yukon 2000 has important implications for the notion of "community" in regional development.

The Yukon 2000 approach can be seen as a reaction to the seriousness of the recession, which came near to eliminating approximately 40 per cent of the territory's income. Additionally, the historical concern of Yukoners at the degree of their dependence on imported materials and goods was a driving force in the conception of the Yukon 2000 project. Possibilities for diversification and import substitution are central to the launching of this initiative.

 This article examines the progress of Yukon 2000 to date and seeks to evaluate its applicability to regional development in other situations. The ideas and opportunities identified by the process, as well as the conflicts among various groups, are the real data for this review. Although the impacts of the process will not be fully evident or measurable for some time, important lessons, ideas, and concepts can be drawn from the Yukon 2000 experience to date.

The Yukon

 To situate the Yukon 2000 initiative in its proper context, it is necessary to understand the economy of the Yukon. The Yukon is an enormous land mass, about the size of Spain and larger than seven of Canada's provinces, with a very sparse population of 25 281 as of December 1985. Two-thirds of that population live in the capital city of Whitehorse.

During the early 1980s, a major economic downturn was experienced by the Yukon as the recession made itself felt in the territorial economy. The Cyprus Anvil mine, along with the other two hardrock mines, dominated private-sector employment, and the White Pass and Yukon Railway was the main transportation mode. During the recession, all three mines and the railway closed. With the mining sector closed, the Yukon economy became driven, for a time, largely by federal transfer payments supplemented by tourist expenditures. Although the Cyprus Anvil mine reopened in 1986 and future mining prospects are positive, particularly for gold mining, the shift in the Yukon economy toward diversification and tourism remains a central issue.

The economic impact of the recession was so severe that the population of the Yukon, as of 1985, had still not recovered to 1981 levels. The labour force also showed significant decline, and the number of individuals in full-time employment was 1000 less in 1985 than in 1981. With the reopening of the Cyprus Anvil mine under the management of Curragh Resources in 1986, further recovery has taken place. The tourism sector has displayed growth in recent years, and, although data is limited, the general view is that there has been more activity. There is a large government sector because of the regional role of the Yukon and limited primary resource production, including agriculture, forestry, fishing, and fur.

The Yukon economy has been characterized as one held for many decades in the grip of a handful of large companies and oligopolies. Against this backdrop, the election of a New Democratic Party government in 1985 was particularly significant. Economic diversification and import substitution featured prominently in the public policy pronouncements of the newly elected government. Upon assuming office, the government sought the means to implement its economic strategy while building an alliance with business, union, native, and other sectors of the Yukon economy. Yukon 2000 was developed as a mechanism to achieve both objectives.

The Yukon 2ù00 initiative was seen by Government Leader Tony Penikett as a way of bringing together his party's philosophical views with those of a broad spectrum of the Yukon population, supplemented by analytical work done by a number of experts and summarized in 15 sectoral or issue papers.

 The Yukon Department of Economic Development has provided staff support to the Yukon 2000 process; however, the Yukon Economic Council, an agency at arm's length from the government, has been the monitoring group.

 The June 1986 launch of the initiative was followed by consultations with communities and industry sectors, culminating in the November 1986 conference at Whitehorse. One of the key speakers at that conference was futurist Robert McConnell of Canadian Trend Report in Montreal. McConnell, while giving a broad overview, suggested that delegates focus on four key questions in reviewing the materials of the Yukon 2000 process: Who is this for? How much does it cost? Where is the money going? Does it work? In his summary, he observed: "You've the advantage of being a relatively small community-one that because of isolation, a difficult climate, a considerable economic challenge, and a very cohesive community, tends to share experiences, common challenges, and concerns."

To date, Yukon 2000 has comprised a series of consultative meetings ranging from sectoral workshops to full-scale conferences. Among the central questions is why Yukoners, generally considered "over-consulted", have invested their time in this process. Although no absolutely clear answer is available, individuals interviewed considered the Yukon 2000 project to be of importance and cited this as their reason for participating.

Analytical Process

Another measure of the productivity of Yukon 2000 to date is in the several dozen papers prepared for the process. A wide array of talented Canadians from across the country have contributed to the analysis of the Yukon economy and, therefore, to the process of Yukon 2000.

 The analysis of the non-wage economy in the Yukon was supplemented by a workshop which met on two occasions. Its orientation was definition, and it succeeded in identifying three components of the non-wage economy in the Yukon: the country food harvest, volunteer work, and housework.

 With regard to the harvesting of undomesticated food for subsistence, the report notes that three recent case studies, in Ross River, Old Crow, and Teslin, have emphasized the continuing importance of the country food harvest for the Indian community. The report suggests a rough monetary value for the total Yukon country food harvest of close to $10 million. The harvest comprises between 27 per cent and 60 per cent of the community food basket. Overall, this represents a startling importance for a sector of the economy hitherto regarded as minor.

 The 1986 conference on the tourism sector represented one of the major industry meetings within the Yukon 2000 strategy. The outcome of the tourism consultation was a broad set of ideas and initiatives, which emphasized strategies designed to make the Yukon a destination for the upscale tourist market. However, in the reports of the tourism strategy discussions, there seems to be an unwillingness to abandon the traditional approach-capturing part of the tourism traffic to Alaska-in favour of new strategies.

 Proceeding from a very weak and tentative data base, the analysis of hunting, trapping, and guiding identifies constraints and evaluates some of the opportunities that might exist. It concludes by stating the need for a much better data base and improvements to the industry's activities rather than any dramatic change in policy. The importance of hunting, trapping, and guiding to aboriginal people is clearly identified.

 Based on income multipliers from the Yukon input-output table, the analysis of the mining sector placed the industry's contribution to total territorial income at approximately 40 per cent in 1981 but only 12 per cent in 1985 when the three major mines were closed and placer mining accounted for three quarters of mineral production. Major constraints to expanded mining activity in the Yukon are noted, including limited access to the land base for exploration, high energy and labour costs, and a generally negative public perception of mining.

These represent only a sampling of a large number of analytical reports produced. They have been selected because of their interesting insights or strategic importance to an understanding of the Yukon economy. Based on discussions with individuals in the Yukon, it is clear that in those sectors in which a consultative process was assisted by the production of an analytical document, the policy advice generated seemed more precise than in cases where the combination of consultation and analysis was not present.

Ambitious Attempt

The value of Yukon 2000 is that it represents one of the most comprehensive and ambitious attempts to undertake a broad consultative process directed toward development in recent times. It is also the case that, due to financing formulas between the Government of Canada and the Yukon Territorial Government, the latter has at its disposal a significant array of resources to bring to bear on issues of economic development.

 Although it is true that the cost of the Yukon 2000 exercise in consulting fees and time invested might be prohibitive to a region without the benefit of a territorial or provincial level of government, there are relatively inexpensive aspects of the process with interesting applicability. For example, some of the most useful work within the Yukon 2000 process has been the examination and discussion of areas not generally considered by mainstream economics. The examination of the non-wage economy, particularly the country food harvest, brought to light an aspect of the economy not counted in territorial income figures and yet of enormous value to the substantial native community of the Yukon. Perhaps in other regions of Canada this country food harvest consists more of fish than of game, but, nevertheless, it may be an important aspect for examination. As well, the sectoral workshop format-bringing together people in government and business-is a methodology more often employed in national consultations than regional planning.

 Between 1965 and 1985, more than 450 studies were carried out on various aspects of the Yukon economy; few have had the impact of Yukon 2000 in actually communicating with Yukoners themselves. In this sense, a major contribution of Yukon 2000 may be the bridging of the gap between bureaucratic, analytical approaches to planning and the social development, "bottom-up" planning models. Yukon 2000 represents a hybrid attempt to bring together elements of a central planning approach, a sectoral planning approach, and a community participation approach. This synthesis seems to have merit as an approach to planning at the regional level.

 In the preface to The Things That Matter, the government leader offers the following message:

In short, we are still listening. Over the fall, my ministerial colleagues and their departments will look at what we need to do to implement the development strategy. And where we are confident there is general agreement, we will begin to act. The Yukon Development Strategy itself, incorporating our research, public opinion and our government commitments, will be published in the new year.

Great Expectations

A rising tide of expectations is common in such consultative processes and often leads to disillusionment on the part of those who have participated. The major challenge of implementation will be to keep intact the goodwill generated during the consultative process while achieving the implementation of specific programmes. The second and related major challenge will be to place as much of the burden of implementation as is feasible at arm's length from government. Many of the ideas proposed are ones that might be implemented equally well- perhaps even more effectively-by the banding together of particular sectors of the economy. Yet this may prove difficult to accomplish given the expectation that government will assume the full leadership role.

 The creative leadership required for Yukon 2000 to succeed must allow groups such as the Council for Yukon Indians to participate fully once their ideas are more fully formulated. Needed as well is leadership that will insist on a pace of implementation and specific measures to create steady progress reassuring to all participants.

 Michael Decter is a public policy consultant in Winnipeg.