Highlights of History from The Whitehorse Star

Published by The Whitehorse Star on December 29, 2017.

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 2017.

1

    Years of debate over the future of the Peel River watershed ends Dec. 1 with the release of the decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. First Nations and environmental groups are ecstatic. The mining community wonders about the future of the industry in the Yukon, should more and more land become off-limits for development. The Peel watershed alone represents 14 per cent of the territory. The decision pushes the total area protected or withdrawn in the Yukon to more than 50 per cent.

    Canada's highest court rules that Justice Ron Veale of the Yukon Supreme Court was right in finding the former Yukon Party government had failed to act honourably in its involvement in the Peel land use planning process. It found Veale had been right in not allowing the Yukon Party regime to turn back the clock and repeat the whole process. It agreed the territorial government must accept the primary recommendations of the Peel planning commission, including the recommendations for 80 per cent wilderness protection with no allowance for roads nor railways through the protected area.

    Chiefs of the three First Nations and leaders of the two environmental organizations behind the lawsuit travel to Ottawa for the decision. Together, they host a press conference shortly after it's made public. There's elation broadcast from the country's capital.

    Here at home, an equally enthusiastic Premier Sandy Silver promises to forge ahead as quickly as possible to wrap up the Peel land use plan before moving on to planning initiatives for the other regions. From the day the planning commission delivered its initial land use options for the Peel watershed almost nine years ago, in early 2009, there's been division among Yukoners. There have been those who stood alongside First Nations in their fight for wilderness protection, and those who heralded responsible development as a means of creating an economy that's not dependent on the dole from Ottawa. There have been letter-writing campaigns from both sides, costly legal battles in the Yukon Supreme Court and then the Yukon Court of Appeal.

    While the high court provides the final answer to the ultimate question, it also provides insight on what is expected from the territorial government in the land use planning exercises that lie ahead. The Yukon Party's response to the ruling is its admission that "mistakes" were made in its handling of the Peel issue.

2

    Yukon RCMP report an unusually high number of murders in the territory this year. Eight homicide victims are recorded in the Yukon in 2017, the highest annual number on record since 1961. Comparatively, there are four homicides in 2016, one in 2015, three in 2014 and none between 2011 and 2013. The year's first homicide is that of Greg Dawson, 45, whose body is found April 6 at a home near Riverdale. The community is further devastated by the double homicide of Wendy Carlick, 51, and Sarah MacIntosh, 53. Their bodies are discovered April 19 at MacIntosh's home in the McIntyre subdivision. The body of Adam Cormack, 25, is found north of the old Alaska Highway on June 28. On July 2, Edward James Penner, 20, from B.C., is arrested and charged with first-degree murder in relation to Cormack's death. On June 19, Wilfred "Dickie" Charlie, 57, is reported missing by family members in Carmacks with concerns he has fallen into the Yukon River. His body is found July 5 near Fort Selkirk. Tyler Aaron Skookum, 27, is arrested in Whitehorse on Sept. 28 and initially charged with second-degree murder in connection with Charlie's death. Following further investigation, that charge is upgraded to first-degree in October. Mario Reuben Skookum, 25, is arrested in Carmacks on Oct. 6 and also charged with first-degree murder in relation to the death. The year's sixth homicide victim is Clayton Benoit, 51, originally from the N.W.T. He is transported by EMS to Whitehorse General hospital on Aug. 30 and dies from his injuries later that evening. Mohamed Nagiel Saddek Nagem, 25, originally from Surrey, B.C., is fatally wounded in a shooting Sept. 20 on the Alaska Highway near the Wann Road intersection. He dies as a result of his injuries the following day. A vehicle seen leaving the crime scene is seized by the RCMP that day from downtown Whitehorse. A firearm is also recovered at the crime scene. The year's final homicide victim is Derek Edwards, 37, whose death is reported Dec. 13 in Pelly Crossing. In an interview with the Star on July 28, Sgt. Jane Boissonneault says RCMP officers, including those from other jurisdictions, have been working "flat-out" on the investigations. She adds that the entire territory has been affected by the murders.

3

    The Gateway project Justin Trudeau makes his first visit to Whitehorse as prime minister. Trudeau attends a walkabout outside the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre on the evening of Sept. 1 that attracts hundreds of admirers and the curious. The next morning, the prime minister holds a news conference overlooking Miles Canyon to announce Ottawa will contribute $247 million to improving road access to mineral-rich areas of the Yukon. Complementary territorial spending will bring the total amount to more than $360 million. Local industry will contribute another $108 million to the plan. The Yukon Resource Gateway Project will improve road access in the Dawson Range in central Yukon and the Nahanni Range Road in the southeastern part of the territory. More than 650 kilometres of road will be upgraded, including the creation or replacement of several bridges, culverts and stream crossings. Local environmental groups, however, express concern that the work will lead to "environmental fragmentation" in the Yukon. They fear for the futures of affected caribou, planned mining operation cleanups and the Yukon government's objectivity in permitting projects for which it has helped finance infrastructure.

4

    MMIWG Inquiry On May 30, the already problem-plagued National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) begins its first day of hearings in Whitehorse. Over three days, participants share accounts of lost loved ones, residential' schools and the '60s Scoop, abuse, addiction, distrust for government and the RCMP and intergenerational trauma that continues to resonate in their lives. They can choose to share their stories privately with a statement-taker, or publicly in a white tent adorned with blankets. More than 40 people are slated to do so, The Canadian Press reports. Whitehorse is the first stop for the cross-country inquiry. Despite criticism for delays and a lack of transparency, Jeanie Dendys, the minister responsible for the Women's Directorate, voices support for its mandate and continuation. The MMIWG inquiry pledges to return to Whitehorse to hear more testimonies. In July, Marilyn Poitras – one of the inquiry's five commissioners – resigns. Doris Anderson, the president of the Yukon Aboriginal Women's Council, laments her decision. She also points to glaring problems with the inquiry's Whitehorse hearings. These include lack of preparation and communication with the families who testified and the failure to include everyone who wanted to participate. The inquiry moves on to other provinces and territories amidst high-profile employee firings and resignations, delays, miscommunication and alleged overspending. Having officially begun its work Sept. 1, 2016 with a $54-billion budget, the inquiry is expected to produce a final report by the end of 2018. Doubt about its ability to do so has been reported nationally.

5

    After months of work, two engagement phases and a draft and final report, the financial advisory panel tasked with an arm's-length assessment of territorial finances makes a series of recommendations to the Yukon government on Nov. 15. To address impending years of deficits and to right its financial footing after years of overspending, the Yukon government could implement a harmonized sales tax (HST) – "the most cost-effective tool available," according to the panel. It could also look at reining in the behemoth that is the public service. Providing jobs to an estimated 5,600 people, the civil service constitutes 40 per cent of total employment in the territory and well over $500 million a year in salaries and benefits. The government could also consider increasing placer mining royalty rates to generate revenue, the panel members say. While the panel makes numerous additional recommendations, these are the three that Silver takes off the table the same day they're announced. "Yukoners have said no to a sales tax. There will be no sales tax," the premier tells the legislative assembly. Silver's Liberal government had announced the panel with its budget last spring, and allocated $250,000 to the financial planning project. While the panel's proposed HST option had played poorly with most Yukoners while it was on the table, a placer royalty raise wouldn't go over well with the mining industry. Many of those consulted by the financial advisory panel, however, favoured improving public service efficiency as a means of curtailing spending. Yukoners perceive a "two-track economy" operating in the territory, according to the panel report, with a distinction between Whitehorse-based government employees with high and stable incomes and private sector employees and those living in the communities with lower and more volatile standards of living. While Silver says public service layoffs are not being considered, he notes that the government could look at "right-sizing" and attrition as aging employees retire. Two weeks earlier, in tabling the 2016-17 public accounts, Silver had told the legislature that the previous Yukon Party government had failed to budget for $15 million it had spent – leaving the new government with a $5.4-million deficit for that fiscal year. The Liberals had taken office on Dec. 3, 2016 with the understanding that the outgoing Yukon Party regime had left the territory with a surplus, the premier reminded MLAs.

6

    The Yukon government unveils its proposed framework for legalized cannabis in November. Meanwhile, the federal legalization date – sometime next summer, the prime minister now says – draws ever closer. As in the sale of alcohol, Yukoners will have to be at least 19 years old to purchase and consume the legalized drug. They will only be able to smoke or eat cannabis in a private residence or on adjoining property with the owner's permission. Retail will be the territorial government's domain – at least in the beginning. Yukoners will be able to buy cannabis in the territory online or in a Whitehorse brick-and-mortar store when the drug is legalized across the country. The exact location of the store remains unknown – as does the price that legal pot will sell for. Both opposition parties point out that the framework is short on details, while the government emphasizes that it's a starting point. Earlier this month, Ottawa comes to an agreement with the provinces and territories regarding a federal cannabis excise tax. Silver, who had decried the original 50/50 tax split as insufficient, expresses satisfaction with the agreement. A dollar per gram of legalized cannabis or 10 per cent of the sale price will be taxed – whichever is higher. Revenues will be split 75/25, with the provinces and territories receiving the larger share amid Ottawa's capping-out at $100 million annually.

7

    After serving more than eight years as the Yukon's Conservative senator, Dan Lang announces June 22 he will resign in August at the age of 69. Lang had been appointed to the Red Chamber in late 2008 by then-prime minister Stephen Harper on the recommendation of then-premier Dennis Fentie. He had succeeded Liberal senator Ione Christensen, who had resigned for personal reasons. Lang had chaired the Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence. Under his leadership, the committee had published a number of reports. Those included a 2013 examination of sexual harassment and bullying inside the RCMP, and studies of the Canada Border Services Agency, ballistic missile defence and the terrorism threat to Canada. Lang had kicked off a lengthy political career at the age of 26 when, in 1974, he'd been elected to the former territorial council as the member for Porter Creek East. As the year ends, the Yukon's sole Senate seat continues to be vacant. The committee that will recommend the next senator remains unappointed.

8

    Michael Nehass' high-profile criminal case ends after a legal battle that had lasted more than half a decade. On Sept. 8, the Yukon Crown files a stay of proceedings in the Yukon Supreme Court matter, releasing Nehass from the criminal justice system. In May 2015, he had been found guilty of several charges by a jury related to the alleged assault of a woman at knife-point in Watson Lake in 2011. But a mistrial had been declared in February after Nehass had been declared mentally unfit. It was the first time in Canadian history that someone has been found unfit after already having withstood trial. Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale calls the case a "sad state of affairs" for the Yukon. It brings into question how the territory treats accused people with mental illness, including the use of separate confinement at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC). Nehass had made national headlines after a video court appearance in January 2014 where he'd been forced to appear naked from his cell. It has also been documented in court that Nehass' mental health had deteriorated over the years, and that the WCC had been unable to address his needs. His transfer to a mental health facility had been considered as early as December 2013. However, it wasn't until November 2016 that Nehass was transported to a mental health facility in Ontario by court order. During his time at the WCC, Nehass had also incurred further criminal charges for incidents at the correctional facility. Nehass no longer faces any criminal charges, but is awaiting a hearing for a peace bond application in Fort St. John, B.C. He has been released on bail conditions, and details of the matter are under publication ban. The case prompts Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee to call for an inspection of the WCC focusing on mental health issues. David Loukidelis is appointed to conduct the WCC inspection beginning Jan. 1, 2018. The Department of Justice says it will release its final report to the public by June 29.

9

    Argentinean climber Natalia Martinez is rescued from Mount Logan after a rare solo attempt of Canada's highest peak is foiled by earthquakes on May 1. The 6.2 and 6.3 magnitude quakes between Haines Junction and Haines, Alaska, trigger avalanches and cause substantial amounts of ice to break loose, blocking Martinez's route up and her way down. An experienced mountain climber, the 37-year-old is stranded at the 3,680-metre (12,073-foot) elevation, but is uninjured and has shelter, an ample supply of food and fuel. Weather, however, doesn't allow for a rescue attempt by Trans North Helicopters until late in the day on May 4. Pilot Ian Pitchforth and a crew from Parks Canada catch a break and take advantage of a window of opportunity to lift Martinez off the mountain's East Ridge. It's a bittersweet moment for the climber, who is glad to be safe and sound but disappointed that she is unable to continue her ascent. The back-to-back earthquakes rock southwest Yukon and Alaska. Buildings are checked for structural damage, as are bridges and other essential infrastructure. Retail shops report goods being rattled off shelves. There are no reports of injuries, but some schools are closed temporarily to allow for inspections by engineers. The Lynn Building on Steele Street remains closed for a prolonged period of time, but is eventually cleared for occupancy. At 5,959 metres (19,550 feet), Mount Logan is the second-highest mountain in North America. Alaska's Denali is the highest, at 6,190 metres (20,310 feet).

10

    On Oct. 2, Judge John Faulkner acquits David Laxton, the former Yukon Party MLA for Porter Creek Centre and Speaker of the Yukon legislature, of sexual assault. The allegations had arisen up in May 2016, when Laxton abruptly resigns as Speaker and leaves the then-governing Yukon Party caucus to sit as an independent MLA. He does not seek re-election in November 2016. Throughout the trial, Laxton admits to having hugged and kissed a woman twice on the lips in the Yukon Government Main Administration Building in February 2016. He also argues his actions had not been sexual, and had represented how he typically greets women with whom he is friendly. The complainant, however, argues Laxton's behaviour had been inappropriate, not wanted, and had constituted sexual assault. In his decision, Judge Faulkner rules that Laxton's actions had not constituted sexual assault. He does note that the ex-politician's actions had been "unwise, even foolish, especially for a man in his position."