Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) is continuing to push Ottawa for an apology, compensation and economic opportunities tied to Giant Mine, five years after Canada and the Nation signed agreements meant to address the mine’s toxic legacy.

The Northwest Territories First Nation renewed its federal lobbying registration on Sept. 28, continuing its push for recognition of its rights, an apology and compensation from Canada for the impacts of gold mining operations at Giant Mine that released tonnes of toxic waste into the environment.

It also wants to make sure procurement policies related to the mine do not exclude Yellowknives Dene and is seeking support for economic opportunities tied to the cleanup.

Those asks are not new.

Similar Giant Mine lobbying requests have appeared in the Nation’s federal registrations for years.

Giant Mine operated near Yellowknife from 1948 to 2004. Gold processing at the mine left about 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide waste stored underground.

Arsenic trioxide is highly toxic and can dissolve in water. Early emissions from the mine caused cases of arsenic poisoning, including the death of a two-year-old child in 1951.

The YKDFN has long said the mine byproducts contaminated its land and water and displaced members from an important harvesting area.

In 2021, Canada and Yellowknives Dene signed three agreements aimed at dealing with the mine’s legacy.

One set out a process for Canada and the Nation to work toward negotiations over an apology and compensation.

Another provided up to $20 million over 10 years to support YKDFN’s involvement in the remediation project and related economic opportunities.

That process has continued in the years since.

In March 2025, Canada appointed former B.C Indigenous relations minister Murray Rankin as a special representative to assess Giant Mine’s impacts on historical treaty rights and explore possible paths toward a resolution.

His final report was expected in 2026, but has not yet been made public.

Yellowknives Dene were already publicly pushing for an apology and compensation before those agreements were signed.

And more recent research has added to the historical record.

A 2025 study looking at hundreds of archived letters and water samples from the early years of mining around Yellowknife found records showing federal and mining officials knew about arsenic pollution early in the mine’s operation.

Procurement has also steadily remained a part of the issue.

In 2023, Canada and YKDFN signed a procurement framework intended to increase opportunities for Yellowknives Dene and other local Indigenous businesses to take part in the cleanup.

More than $103 million in demolition and debris removal work was later awarded to True North Environmental, in a partnership that includes Det’on Cho, Yellowknives Dene First Nation’s development corporation.

As of May 2025, federal figures showed $394 million in Giant Mine contracts had gone to companies affiliated with YKDFN since 2005. That was part of $608 million awarded to Indigenous contractors out of $1.57 billion in project contracts.

More major remediation contracts are still being awarded.

And in 2026, a $428 million contract for on-site aggregate production was awarded to Ledcor-Tłı̨chǫ-Nahanni General Partnership, with the contract running until 2037.

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