Highlights of History from The Whitehorse Star

Published by The Whitehorse Star on December 30, 2016.

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 2016.

1

    On Nov. 7, Yukoners elect a Liberal government for the first time since 2000, ending 14 consecutive years of Yukon Party rule. Sandy Silver goes from being the lone Liberal in the legislative assembly to premier with a majority, 11-member caucus and about 39 per cent of the popular vote.

    Seven incumbents lose their seats in the election, most notably then-premier Darrell Pasloski. The Yukon Party leader is beaten in his riding of Mountainview by Liberal Jeanie Dendys, the former justice director at Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) and first-time MLA candidate. The New Democrats also suffer heavy losses, being reduced to two seats and third-party status.

    Scandal plagues the election. First, KDFN council sends a letter to the political parties, cautioning them against using "questionable tactics" to get out the vote after intoxicated electors are reportedly driven to early polls under the false impression it was election day. Elections Yukon looks into the matter and finds no wrongdoing.

    Then, the RCMP launch an investigation into a possible violation of the Elections Act over the use of proxy votes in Whitehorse Centre. The police are asked to step in after Elections Yukon learns that Tamara Goeppel, the Liberal candidate in the riding, organized proxy ballots for 10 homeless or precariously housed people in the area. Proxy votes are reserved for people who have reason to believe they will be outside the territory on election day and advanced polling days. The investigation is ongoing.

2

    Goldcorp – one of the world's largest gold mining companies – announces in May its intention to purchase the Coffee gold project from Kaminak Gold Corp. for $520 million. The mining community reacts favourably, suggesting a company with Goldcorp's financial muscle was not purchasing the property just to sit on it. A whopping 99 per cent of Kaminak shareholders approve the sale in July.

    In an interview with the Star last month, Buddy Crill, Goldcorp's general manager for the Coffee project, insists the company will spend the $400 million to build the open pit mine. Crill candidly acknowledges the target of being in production by the end of 2020 may be aggressive, but it's the target the publicly traded company has set and conveyed to the stock markets.

    With a purchase price of $520 million and a construction cost estimated at $400 million, it's going to be tough to profit from the Coffee project as it sits now, says Crill. He says the primary reasons for purchasing the property was for the additional potential it holds, as well as establishing Goldcorp in the Yukon to demonstrate the company's commitment to the community. A group of mining executives, geologists, government officials and elected representatives hear the same thing from Crill during last month's annual Yukon Geoscience Forum. Crill says the intent is to have the proposal before the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board in April 2017.

3

    For the first time in history, Canada's premiers and indigenous leaders descend on Whitehorse for a three-day summit in late July. Pasloski chairs the talks, which conclude with the provincial and territorial leaders agreeing in principle to a new deal on internal trade. The Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which is struck in the 11th hour, will replace the more than two-decades-old Agreement on Internal Trade. The deal comes amid fears that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will seek to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, or back out of it entirely. Trump also wants no part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to which Canada is a signatory.

    The summer meetings also see the premiers agree to make child welfare a top priority as a first step toward addressing the overrepresentation of indigenous youth involved in child welfare systems in Canada.

    Though it's overcast for most of their stay, and foggy conditions delay a visit to Haines Junction, many of the premiers remark on the physical beauty of Whitehorse and the Yukon.

4

    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge travel to the Yukon for their first royal visit to the territory and the first since Prince Charles' 2001 foray. Prince William and Kate land at the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport on the evening of Sept. 27 and are greeted by the Canadian Rangers and Junior Rangers. Reem Arafat, a young daughter of Whitehorse's first family of refugees from Syria, gifts the duchess a bouquet of flowers on the tarmac.

    That evening, the royal couple is treated to a story from storyteller Louse Profeit-Leblanc of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun, and performances by Yukon bands including Old Cabin, Anger Management and Ryan McNally.

    The next day, the couple visits the MacBride Museum and sends the first telegraph-to-Twitter message, which reads, "THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE, SEPTEMBER 2016, WHITEHORSE YUKON", after which they attend a street party on Main Street in their honour. The couple is whisked off to Carcross that afternoon. There, they watch traditional song and dance performances and are given a hand-made mask by master carver Keith Wolfe Smarch. In Carcross, Kate wears earrings made by local jewelry designer Shelley MacDonald. The Yukoner soon receives a deluge of online orders for the ulu-inspired earrings donned by the Duchess.

    The royal tour of the Yukon ends on Montana Mountain, with a mountain biking demonstration by the young people of Single Track to Success.

    By all accounts, Will and Kate are friendly and kind.

5

    The Supreme Court of Canada agrees on June 9 to hear an appeal over the disputed land use plan for the Peel River watershed. March 22 has been set as the date for the hearing. The case has caused an enormous divide between the territorial government and three Yukon First Nations working in partnership with two environmental organizations.

    The land use plan recommended by the planning commission was rejected by the Yukon government because it called for 80 per cent wilderness protection over the 68,042 square kilometres, with next to no allowance for roads or railways. Instead, the former Yukon Party government develops its own land use plan which creates much greater opportunities for mining and other industrial development.

    First Nations whose traditional territories reach into the Peel watershed, and which want at least 80 per cent wilderness protection, join with the two environmental groups to challenge the government's rejection. They are successful, and Justice Ron Veale of the Yukon Supreme Court orders the Yukon government to accept the 80 per cent wilderness protection. The Yukon Court of Appeal agrees with Veale's findings of wrong doing by the Yukon government during the planning process. But instead of forcing the government to accept the plan, the Court of Appeal orders the parties back to the planning table. The First Nations and environmental organizations ask the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal. On Nov. 29, the high court grants the new Liberal government additional time to file its arguments with the court, given the change in government following the Nov. 7 territorial election.

    Silver has committed to adopting the planning commission's recommendation for vast wilderness protection. First Nations, however, are continuing their case as they maintain there's a legal precedent at stake.

6

    Plans by the city for a new structure to be built off of Range Road near Two Mile Hill continue to change and take shape over the course of the year. The scheme is initially billed as a "consolidation" project, estimated to cost approximately $56 million, meant to bring many city operations and services out of a number of locations around the downtown.

    Other city services used by the public every day will be moved to a separate services building on the same site as city hall and the downtown fire department (though there are no plans to alter city hall).

    As plans move forward, changes make it clear the project will focus solely on the construction of a new operations building at Range Road. That will allow the majority of staff and equipment at the current Municipal Services Building (MSB) on Fourth Avenue to be moved out of the downtown. Other staff in the MSB are expected to move into office space which may be leased elsewhere. The new operations building will be constructed so that other features can be added on in the future as the city moves closer to the possibility of consolidation. Estimates on the new operations building are now around the $44 million mark. City officials, however, continue to stress that the figures are estimates, and the city will only get a clearer picture when a construction and supervisor tender is awarded.

    In the meantime, council approves a number of contracts and work to prepare for the new building. Those include getting land use agreements in place for a section of the site that's not yet owned by the city, installing services, clearing the site and a more detailed design of the building. Coun. Samson Hartland stands by his argument against the construction of the building and the estimated $18.8 million the city will need to borrow for it, voting against each step and contract to prepare for the building.

7

    Brandy Vittrekwa's death devastated many Yukoners in 2014. This year, the sentencing of her killer proves equally emotional. In December 2014, the 17-year-old Whitehorse resident was found dead on a walking trail in the McIntyre subdivision. In June of this year, a 16-year old male youth is sentenced to three years after being convicted of manslaughter. The youth had invited Vittrekwa to a night of drinking at a friend's house. There, she laughed off his attempts to kiss her. Both were drunk when they left to walk home together.

    When Vittewkwa's body was found the next day, she had black eyes, a broken jaw, and blunt force trauma to her face. A pathologist ruled the cause of death to be intoxication, exposure, and asphyxia, along with her injuries.

    The day before sentencing, protesters stood outside the courthouse, asking for an option previously presented by the Crown – an adult sentencing of four to six years. In the end, Judge Peter Chisolm opts for a youth sentence, stating that no sentence is meant to assess the value of a human life. "Brandy Vittrekwa's family is devastated by her death," he says. "Their lives will never be the same, and Miss Vittrekwa's potential will never be realized."

    The youth is sentenced to serve 24 months in custody in a youth facility outside the territory, then return to 12 months' community supervision in Whitehorse.

8

    As governments around the world struggle to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis, grassroots efforts are underway in many communities to help refugees find a new home. In Whitehorse, those efforts are led by two groups, with Yukon Cares being the first organization to welcome a refugee family at the airport on Jan. 30.

    The Arafats are greeted on that cold night with toques, mitts, winter coats and other gear they'll need in a Yukon winter. In addition to government officials who turned out to welcome the family is a large crowd of Yukoners bearing balloons, flowers and even a couple of toys for the younger members of the family. Despite an obvious language barrier, the family expresses their thanks through a translator and in shaking hands with the many gathered to greet them before they are taken to their new home.

    In the months that follow, members of the family go to school or take English classes, begin working a few hours a week and continue to experience Whitehorse life – sliding at Shipyards Park, taking in events at the Canada Games Centre and so on.

    In the meantime, a group from the Riverdale Baptist Church continues its efforts to help another Syrian refugee family come to the territory. The family receives a warm welcome at the airport in September and begins the transition into community life in Whitehorse.

9

    Fentanyl overdoses become an issue across Canada in 2016. It isn't until this month, however, that Dr. Brendan Hanley, the Yukon's chief medical officer, declares it an issue in the territory. Hanley's announcement comes on the heels of four suspected fentanyl overdoses in the seven weeks leading up to Christmas (plus one confirmed case from the spring). "These are dangerous times when it comes to taking drugs, and all we can do is say what we know, as well as give some of that basic advice," he says Dec. 19.

    The basics? Fentanyl is a fast-acting synthetic opioid that's 50 to 100 times more toxic than morphine. It's difficult to detect in powdered drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, where it's often found. As well, because it's mixed by unregulated methods, there can be huge variations between doses.

    To help guard against additional overdoses, three organizations (the Blood Ties Four Directions Centre, the Taiga Medical Clinic, and the Kwanlin Dün Health Centre) offer naloxone injection kits. All three also offer training on how to administer the drug. While it's not a surefire solution to an overdose, it may help reverse the effects of fentanyl until an ambulance arrives.

10

    In May, David Laxton suddenly resigns from the Yukon Party caucus and as Speaker of the legislature to sit as an independent MLA, simply citing "personal reasons". He later releases a statement that an allegation of sexual harassment in the legislature building has been made against him, and calls for an investigation into the matter. The allegation stems from an incident that took place at the office, during business hours, he says.

    He acknowledges he had hugged and kissed a "long time (sic) acquaintance" when she was leaving his office, then walked her to the foyer, where he had hugged and kissed her again. "Numerous other people" were present in the foyer at the time, he says. "I would like to stress that I am deeply sorry if the woman in question was offended or made to feel uncomfortable by my actions," he adds.

    He describes himself as "shocked and distraught" upon hearing about the accusation on May 9, saying he stepped down the following day "out of respect for the government's zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment."

    In July, it's reported he and the woman involved had arrived at a "mutually agreeable resolution" with assistance from the Yukon Human Rights Commission.

    Laxton eventually chooses not to seek re-election last month, leaving the riding of Porter Creek Centre without an incumbent running. Ultimately, Liberal Paolo Gallina wins the seat. Laxton is eventually charged with sexual assault, with his next court appearance scheduled for the new year.