Tim Koepke
Tim Koepke moved to the Yukon around 1970.1) He is a professional engineer and land surveyor. He was associated with the Underhill Group of Companies for twenty-four years and was a senior partner for eighteen of those years. His work included resource development projects in British Columbia, Yukon, and the NWT. He was active in the community and sat on the boards of Yukon corporations, professional associations, and service groups.2)
Starting in 1987, Koepke was the Chief Federal Negotiator during the Yukon land claim negotiations. He was involved in eleven completed agreements in the Yukon and transboundary files in northern British Columbia. He represented Canada in negotiations for long-term benefits between governments, First Nations, and Athabasca oil sand producers. He was the Chief Federal Negotiator for the Tsawwassen First Nation treaty settlement that came into effect in April 2009 and was then assigned the ‘Namgis First Nation file for the Alert Bay area in northern Vancouver Island.3)
In 2012, Koepke was appointed to the five-year position of Yukon’s Ombudsman/ Information and Privacy Commissioner.4) In the fall of 2012, the Yukon government pushed through changes to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act against Koepke’s recommendations. In 2013, he submitted a report to the Yukon Legislation on recommended changes to the operations of the office. Key recommendations included the need for formal communication channels and protocols between the office and the government, and the need for the position be changed to full-time. Koepke’s predecessor in the position, Tracy-Anne McPhee, had long called for the position to be full-time. Koepke resigned his position in February 2013 to clear the way for his proposed changes.5)
Tim Koepke is a Life Member of the Association of professional Engineers of Yukon and the Association of BC Land Surveyors and is also an Honorary Life Member of the Association of Canada lands Surveys for which he also served as a Special Examiner.6)
In January 2024, Tim Koepke was named to the Order of Yukon for his 50-year dedication to the cultural, socio-economic, and political development of the Yukon. Upon receiving the Order, Koepke acknowledged a huge team that worked with him through the negotiation process.7)