The settlement of a modern treaty includes payment of a predetermined amount by the Government of Canada to the modern treaty organization. These funds are invested in a variety of ways for the benefit of future generations. Depending on the investment choices made, regional economies can benefit greatly.

An excellent example of settlement funds benefitting a regional economy is the Vuntut Gwitchin investment in Air North. In 1999, shortly after the Vuntut Gwitchin Final Agreement came into effect, Vuntut Gwitchin member Greg Charlie and Vuntut Development Corporation Director Esau Schafer approached Joe Sparling, owner of the Whitehorse-based company Air North with an offer to purchase a major stake in the company.

The Vuntut Gwitchin, whose community of Old Crow can only be accessed by air, were interested in gaining some control over this critical link to the rest of the world. At the time, Air North was a small company with 40 employees, no jets, and only flights to Old Crow, Inuvik, and Fairbanks, Alaska.

Within the year a deal was reached for the Vuntut to purchase 49% of the company and a period of rapid growth began. Since that time Air North has expanded dramatically to provide jet service, at low rates, from Whitehorse to cities such as Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. Yukoners have responded to the lower prices and increased access with impressive loyalty and increased travel.

By 2020 (pre-COVID), Air North employed 400 people (the vast majority of whom were Yukoners) and was sharing profits with shareholders and Yukoner customers via $50 customer loyalty travel credits. Air North continues to play a major role in making Yukon more accessible to travellers, and in enabling Yukoners to travel outside the territory affordably.

Behind Air North’s success is a story of Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaboration. Over the years, the Vuntut Gwitchin and Joe Sparling’s team have worked well together to make Air North the business it is today; an airline that all Yukoners are proud to call their own.