Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, I am grateful to the creator for this day, humbled to be speaking from the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe and honoured to be of service to the people of Canada.

The Yukon Regional Chief Kluane Adamek shared with me that during strategy discussions with her team and the Yukon chiefs, they coined the phrase “A Yukon that Leads” to describe our region and the First Nations leadership and advancement.

We lost one of our leaders. Paul Birckel was born on the shores of Kluane Lake in the traditional territory of the Kluane and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. His father, Paul Eugene Birckel, came from Rombach-le-Franc in the Alsace region of France. His maternal grandfather, Hutshi Allen, was Upper Tanana near Tetlin and Tanacross, Alaska.

Honourable senators, Elijah Smith and a delegation of Yukon chiefs, the authors of the document Together Today for our Children Tomorrow, tapped Paul Birckel to be the first Executive Director of the Council of Yukon First Nations, or CYFN, during the amalgamation of three organizations: the Council for Yukon Indians, the Yukon Association of Non-Status Indians, and the Yukon Native Brotherhood. The document Together Today for our Children Tomorrow, accepted by Canada in 1973, became the basis for the Umbrella Final Agreement, signed in 1993.

Paul went on from CYFN to serve as chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. Elected for five terms, he led his nation to be among the first to finalize a land claim agreement under the Umbrella Final Agreement. In 1996, he successfully negotiated an agreement to co-manage the Tatshenshini-Alsek Park, which covers over 6,000 square miles and spans the border of Yukon and British Columbia.

Instrumental in establishing the Yukon Native Language Centre and negotiating a child welfare agreement between his First Nation and the Government of Yukon, Paul was also an astute businessman, leading his First Nation and others to key business purchases and developments. In 1995, the Yukon Chamber of Commerce recognized Paul as Businessman of the Year.

Yukoners and Canadians are indebted to Paul’s family and friends for sharing with us his time, energy and dedication to ensuring a better future. Love, tolerance, patience and collaboration were the hallmarks of his own path to reconciliation. His family also said the most enduring legacy that Paul bestowed were a few simple teachings: give more than you take, treat people and animals kindly and trust that there are no limits to how much you can love.

On July 8, 2021, Paul Birckel travelled to the spirit world followed shortly after by his wife of 61 years, Kathy Birckel.

Honourable senators, Paul Birckel, a Yukoner who helped to blaze a trail in a “Yukon that leads,” has led us, the Yukon and Canadian society to a better place.

To quote the memorial service program, “gunalchéesh.” Thank you. Mahsi’cho.