Highlights of History from The Whitehorse Star

Published by The Whitehorse Star on December 31, 2015.

Dateline: May 16, 2024.

    Choosing the Yukon's top 10 stories of the year is, to a large extent, an arbitrary task. It's a mixture of our judgment, of the stories which have attracted considerable media coverage, or those with the most significant effects on the largest number of Yukoners.

    Here, then, are the Star's top 10 stories of 2015.

1

    It's another year of front-page stories regarding the future of the Peel River watershed, starting from day one. The Yukon government had announced on Dec. 31, 2014 it was appealing the decision by Justice Ron Veale of the Yukon Supreme Court. Two First Nations and two environmental organizations had filed a lawsuit in early 2014 against the government after the government had substituted its own land use plan for the plan recommended by the Peel planning commission.

    Veale found the government had not conducted itself properly during the planning exercise. He orders the government to throw out its plan and adopt the commission's recommendation for wilderness protection over 80 per cent of the watershed, along with very restricted road and rail access.

    The Yukon Court of Appeal supports Veale's finding of improper conduct by the government, but overturns his order forcing the government to adopt the commission's recommendation. Instead, the superior court orders the parties back to the planning process, to the point where things had gone off the rails.

    Earlier this month, the two First Nations and environmental organizations convene a press conference to announce they will be asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal of the Court of Appeal decision.

2

    The territory is flooded by the same sea of red that cascades across the country in the Oct. 19 federal election, with Yukoners returning former Liberal MP Larry Bagnell to the House of Commons. Bagnell earns overwhelming support, with 10,715 – or more than 53 per cent – of voters endorsing him. He handily ousts single-term Conservative MP Ryan Leef, who takes 4,800 votes (24 per cent). Another 3,890 votes (19.5 per cent) go to NDP candidate Melissa Atkinson and 577 votes (2.9 per cent) are earned by Green Party candidate Frank de Jong.

    "This election was dedicated to those who were fearful if we had four more years," Bagnell says during his election celebration at MacBride Museum. "There's some people (that) didn't make their first choice tonight, but they made the choice they thought was best for Canada."

    The Liberal had also served as the territory's MP from 2000, when he ousted single-term New Democrat Louise Hardy, to 2011.

3

    Following lengthy consultation across the territory in 2014, the legislature's select committee on the risks and benefits of hydraulic fracturing tables its report in mid-January. Most of the recommendations call for more research to provide a better understanding of fracking and the risks and benefits associated with the controversial method of extracting oil and gas.

    The report says the all-party committee could not reach consensus on the issue of whether hydraulic fracturing can be done safely. It was also unable to reach consensus on whether approval from Yukoners in general should be required before fracking is allowed, though committee members did agree fracking should not be allowed without the approval of the affected First Nations. Division on the issues is along party lines.

    In its response to the report in March, the Yukon Party government announces it accepts all 21 recommendations, but will be leaving the door open to hydraulic fracturing in southeast Yukon while fostering continuing research.

    Yukoners Concerned About Oil and Gas Exploration/Development voices its disappointment with the government's position, but notes it was not surprised by it.

4

    Drive-by shootings and waves of break-ins and vandalism make 2015 a memorable year for crime for residents of Whitehorse. At about 11:45 on the night of Feb. 19, a 21-year-old woman is shot while walking near the Yukon Inn on Fourth Avenue. She is taken to Whitehorse General Hospital and listed in stable condition. The man she was walking with isn't hit. No charges have been laid by year's end.

    In mid-October, another shooting takes place in a condominium complex off Range Road North.

    At about 2 a.m. on Nov. 14, a 19-year-old man and a man in his twenties, who RCMP describe as non-Yukoners, are shot near Sixth Avenue north of Main Street.

    Meanwhile, the spate of vandalism and break-ins committed against local businesses, organizations and public property during the second half of the year include the Whitehorse Boys and Girls Club. Items worth up to $5,000 are stolen on June 4, and the building's interior is ransacked.

    Days later, the damage toll from vandalism to city property over the previous three weeks tops $10,000, led by major damage to the water cannon of the Whitehorse Lions Splash Park off Second Avenue.

    The fall and the closing weeks of the year prove particularly frustrating for several local downtown businesses and groups, with police investigating a string of break-ins and thefts.

5

    A 16-year-old youth pleads guilty to manslaughter Dec. 17 in the December 2014 death of 17-year-old Brandy Vittrekwa. Her body had been discovered Dec. 8, 2014 on a trail in the Mt. McIntyre subdivision. The youth, whose name cannot be published under federal law, had been arrested April 28 for unrelated matters.

    Doris Bill, the chief of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation, says the development is a relief for the young woman's family.

    The youth is due back in court Jan. 28, 2016. The Crown plans to seek an adult sentence.

    Meanwhile, the case of the death of Allan Waugh, found dead in his Mount McIntyre subdivision home on May 30, 2014, remains unresolved as this year concludes.

6

    A 17-year-old woman responsible for a deadly crash in August 2014 learns Dec. 7 she won't serve any jail time for her actions. The woman, whose name cannot be published under federal law, was 15 when the Honda car she was driving was hit by a transport truck after she turned into its path.

    Killed were a 15-year-old student of Vanier Catholic Secondary School, and 20-year-old Brendan Kinney. Derrick Gibbons, 18 was badly injured.

    Judge John Faulkner sentences the driver to two years' probation, a three-year driving ban, and 240 hours of community service. Before the sentence is pronounced, the court hears emotional victim impact statements from the bereaved families. "I hope today will bring some healing to our broken hearts," says Linda Powers, Kinney's mother.

    "It should have been me," the young driver says in her statement to the court.

7

    The exploration and mining industry receives more bad news in January when the Yukon Zinc Corp. announces it's suspending operations at its Wolverine Mine because of financial problems. The company applies for and receives court protection from creditors in March, leading to a lengthy process of settling outstanding debts. While companies owed $5,000 or less receive the full amount under an arrangement approved by the court, companies owed larger amounts receive a fraction of what they had expected.

    The closure of the Wolverine Mine is the latest blow for an industry already struggling under the pressure of a sharp downturn in the mineral markets. The past fall's closure of the Cantung Mine by the North American Tungsten is yet another bitter pill to swallow for the territory's economy.

    The annual summary of expenditures on mineral exploration is released in November by the Yukon Geological Survey. It indicates spending is estimated at $61 million for 2015, down from $80 million in 2014 and the lowest in 10 years. But the survey also showed the placer gold mining industry was having a stellar year.

    Another positive for the industry comes in August when the Minto Mine receives its amended water licence that allows for stripping of the new open pit. As a result, scores of heavy equipment workers employed by Pelly Construction are recalled following a lengthy layoff of several months.

8

    It will be the largest capital project in the territory since the Alaska Highway. Despite vigorous push-back from both the territory's opposition parties and Yukoners themselves, planning for the continuing care facility planned in Whistle Bend proceeds throughout the year – and looks to become a reality by 2018. The facility comes up in the Star's headlines many times this year, starting with MLAs' fuzzy perceptions of how large the facility will be.

    Statements last year called for requests for proposals concerning the construction of a 300-bed facility. In the spring of 2015, the Yukon government back-pedals – it was to be a 150-bed facility with the possibility to "expand it at a later date." Opposition parties call it a "warehouse."

    Then, a longtime Whitehorse resident publicizes internal documents that raise eyebrows as to why the Whistle Bend subdivision was selected as a location for the continuing care facility. A government official goes as far as to warn others that selecting Whistle Bend would "haunt" the government. Among the documents is a report that showed Whistle Bend had geotechnical concerns that could escalate the cost of the project. Another ranks locations in order of best to worst. Whistle Bend is at the bottom – and within the trail of documents and emails, it is unclear as to why the other three locations were eliminated at the end of it.

    In the fall, the Yukon NDP holds a town hall discussion where many echo concerns over the consultation for the project, location and size. Doug Graham, formerly the minister of Health and Social Services, tells the crowd he agrees the chosen location is not good.

    Shortly after the NDP's request to have the government halt the project is shut down, a contractor for the $158-million project is announced. Construction of the facility by PCL Construction is expected to begin next year.

9

    The Oct. 15 municipal election sees Mayor Dan Curtis elected for a second term, in an easy victory with 4,640 votes. Challengers Wilf Carter and Mandeep Sidhu come out with 835 and 437 votes respectively.

    The biggest race in the city vote comes for the sixth and final councillor seat up for grabs. Samson Hartland (who had served on council from 2000 to 2003) dislodges former colleague Dave Stockdale, who had spent more than three decades – or 11 terms – on council. With 1,913 votes in his favour, Stockdale lands just 46 votes behind Hartland, who takes 1,959 ballots for the final seat on council. Incumbents Betty Irwin and Jocelyn Curteanu are re-elected.

    Rounding out the new council are newcomer Roslyn Woodcock; Dan Boyd, a councillor from 1994 to 2000; and Rob Fendrick, the city's former director of corporate services (who had been fired without cause from his job with the city earlier in the year along with Brian Crist, then the director of infrastructure and operations). The new council is tasked with serving until the 2018 election. The former directors' firings by Christine Smith less than a year into her tenure as city manager prompt then-councillor Kirk Cameron's resignation. Cameron states he is quitting on a matter of principle, "a necessary statement I have to make." After mulling running in October's election, Cameron opts to remain on the sidelines.

10

    Zoning to allow for a proposed outdoor sports complex – including soccer pitches and a running track slated for the first phase – in Whistle Bend is turned down twice by city council in 2015. A 3-3 vote by council in April defeats the rezoning for the facility the territory is proposing to pay for and which the Yukon Outdoor Sports Complex Association would operate.

    Concerns are expressed over the possibility of the facility being passed down to the city if the operational model doesn't work. Supporters suggest it would benefit the community in much the same way the Canada Games Centre and other recreational facilities have.

    Initial estimates peg the cost to the territory at $8 million, with more recent figures bringing it down to $5.5 million.

    The first defeat on zoning sees Stockdale storm out of council chambers and sparks a protest on the steps of city hall three days later. Supporters also continue to raise the issue during the fall civic election campaign. Just about a month after the new council is sworn-in, Hartland tables a notice of motion to bring the issue back. In a 4-3 vote held this month, council again defeats Hartland's motion to bring it back. Those voting against it argue greater consultation by the territory is needed before it can proceed, and that there is nothing new nor different to the proposal. Those in support argue the value of recreational facilities in the community and note the matter should at the very least be considered again.

    Following council's defeat to bring the motion back, soccer groups express disappointment with the decision.