John Thompson

Assisted suicide ruling is a landmark for Canadian rights

Before the introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, many of our laws were anachronisms from a bygone era when the freedom of individuals were of lesser concern to policy makers.

Motel 6 mix up aside, let’s hope Yukon’s new ads work

If Yukon's tourism boosters want to find a vivid metaphor for the territory, a budget motel chain was probably not what they had in mind.

Pizza parlor apologies to job applicant

Pizza parlor apologies to job applicant The owner of a Whitehorse pizza shop has apologized to a woman who was not considered for a job because of her gender. The incident happened in November.

Ta’an Kwach’an citizens shouldn’t be kept in the dark

We wouldn't wish upon anybody the job of being chief of the Ta'an Kwach'an Council. The fractious First Nation comprises of five families that seem to be in perpetual battle with one another.

Log buildings are energy hogs, let’s not pretend otherwise

Charles McLaren Re: Yukon to exempt log homes from energy efficiency rules, Jan. 16 The Yukon government has taken a reasonable stand, and level of exemptions, for log building construction in the territory.

Assessment board gets new boss

Assessment board gets new boss The federal government has appointed a new chair of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt appointed Wendy Randall to the top spot this week.

To the ramparts!

In case you haven't heard, democracy in the Yukon is under attack. Unelected, unaccountable planning commissions are running amok with crazy ideas about turning the whole territory into a park.

Half measures won’t help our hinterland

Geography geeks have lots of fancy words to describe landscape features. Let us propose a new one: An ugly spiderweb of all-terrain vehicle ruts that scars Yukon's fragile hinterland may be known as a "currie."

Here we go again

To nobody's surprise, the Yukon government has decided to appeal the court decision over the fate of the Peel watershed.

A modest proposal for Whitehorse’s jail

International experts are in agreement that prolonged spells of solitary confinement are just as psychologically harmful to prisoners as other, more grisly types of torture.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

One particularly high-minded reader expressed surprise that last Friday's editorial dared to conclude that cabinet ministers Brad Cathers and Scott Kent may have deliberately uttered mistruths.

Premier can’t escape golf course fiasco

Premier Darrell Pasloski stands in the centre of the scandal involving the secretive $750,000 bail-out of Mountain View Golf Course like a golfer stuck in a sand trap.

The real threat to the Yukon’s economy

There are a bunch of extremists in the Yukon who appear to be hell-bent on wrecking the economy, and they may not be who you think.

The many faces of Stephen Harper

Lots of people are upset with Yukon Premier Stephen Harper, along with our young MP, Stephen Harper, and the territory's unelected senator, Stephen Harper.

A wonderful thing called democracy

A wonderful thing called democracy I'm a little perplexed by a summation of the problem the Yukon Party has with the final recommended plan for the Peel.

The real question about fracking

Reasonable people can disagree on whether or not the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing can be safely regulated. That, however, isn't the real question at hand in the Yukon.

Ministerial accountability? What a terrifying thought

Premier Darrell Pasloski says that Whitehorse city council's unanimous decision to ask him to remove Brad Cathers from the housing file is "unusual" and "controversial," and it is so.

Give the poor a floor to stand on

You've got to hand it to Jayden Soroka for putting his money where his mouth is. He has a hunch that if you give poor families more money, they make smarter life choices, and he's willing to sell many of his worldly possessions to prove the point.

Canada needs some credibility on the climate file

Anyone who's been paying attention and hasn't fallen prey to nutty conspiracy theories understands that climate change is a big deal that the world must, at some point, address. Most Canadians get this.

Help our candidates help themselves

We could be a whole year away from the next federal election, but already a long, protracted campaign in the Yukon may have begun.