Richard Mostyn

ethics trumps power

It reflects poorly on the Yukon Party that many people were surprised Brad Cathers turned down Dennis Fentie's invitation to return to caucus. However, that decision reflects well on Cathers.

Shine a little light

There are few certainties in life, but one is the Sun also rises. High-minded Canadians, like Margaret Atwood, ought to remember this as they sign petitions to block Sun TV. Quebecor Inc.'s new television station...

better enforcement needed

In Dawson City, the owners of the Slinky Mine started digging up a municipal road before obtaining the necessary permit. n Whitehorse, Energy, Mines and Resources officials did a shoddy job enforcing a city-ordered eviction of a caretaker from a gravel quarry.

using soldiers as shields

The line of veterans sitting before Stephen Harper on Thursday were conspicuous. Were they aware about how cleverly they were being used?

rouble lays claim to peel development

It is beyond perplexing why the Yukon Party government would actively underwrite claims in the Peel Watershed that otherwise would have expired this year. We await a cogent explanation of the policy from Mines Minister Patrick Rouble.

customer relations blackout

When the lights went out, I was sitting in a dentist's chair. How 'bout you? For somewhere between an hour and 80 minutes on Wednesday, the entire southeast Yukon power grid was shut down. Banks and businesses across the territory shut down.

the cloistered yukon

Maybe the Yukon doesn't need the internet. After all, in the last week, or so, we've had our sole communication line to the outside world severed three times. For awhile, the entire territory went completely off grid.

numbskulls1

What's up with the helmets? Or, rather, the lack of them around town this year? You'll have to forgive us because we're repeating ourselves here - but, of course, we wish we didn't have to.

Reason trumps blind fear and anger

There's a writer on the Globe and Mail website with the handle AP.1 There is scant information on this person. They are intensely private about who they are. And that is curious. Because the opinions they toss around on the Globe site are quite strident.

paint by numbers

Last week, we demanded action on the territory's worst social scourge - alcoholism. This week, Glenn Hart started playing to the cameras. Wearing a painter's cap and carrying a roller, Hart got down on his hands and knees to post a message to his peeps.

Alarming trends

When it comes to crime and punishment, you can't argue with Treasury Board President Stockwell Day. No, really, you simply can't argue with the guy. Government statistics show crime rates have been falling in Canada since a peak in 1991.

Message in a Bottle

The government calls them acutely inebriated people at risk. But most people call them drunks. And, as such, they are easy to ignore. In fact, Yukon society has been ignoring them for decades.

its time to stop stalling

It's often said society is best judged by how it treats its most marginal members. Viewed this way, Yukon isn't doing so well. Mocked and abandoned by his jailors on the cold concrete floor of the RCMP drunk tank for 13 hours, Raymond Silverfox died a "natural death"- alone and poisoned after sucking his own vomit and filth into his lungs.

Black eyes all around

As if it didn't have enough troubles, now there's a coup shaping up in the RCMP. And, when the dust settles, nobody is going to look good.

calling government time for straight answers

The Yukon government is asking citizens for their thoughts on ... ah, just a second ... ... phone's ringing ... hang on....... Alright, where were we ...? Right, the Yukon government is asking for opinions on distracted drivers.

ottawa adopts faith based strategy for regulating tarsands

Naphthenic acid sounds like nasty stuff, but you gotta have faith it probably isn't as dangerous as you might think. The Harper government has exempted it from a list of industry-produced chemicals that could be toxic or harmful to the environment.

the hypocrisy of conservationists

Once in a while, you have to wonder what's the difference between Big Oil and Big Native. To survive, Big Oil exploits resources buried deep in the earth. Big Native exploits resources that munch lichen and run freely in large herds across the North.

Get Out!

If you plan to hit Dawson City's waterfront for the annual music festival, bring your umbrella - the weather's looking sketchy. But that's not likely to dampen enthusiasm for this year's 26-band lineup.

Her business is your best interest

Some businesses measure success by giving their customers 100 per cent. Not Jill Pollack. She's happiest when she's giving customers less than 100 per cent.

in ottawa and washington moratoriums on drilling are necessary

Despite legal challenges from industry, complaints from local politicians and bad rulings from unsympathetic judges, Washington has rightly chosen to reaffirm its decision in May to suspend deepsea drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico.