We are Canadians. That idea used to send chills down my spine. Travels abroad opened my eyes to realize that the rest of the world admired our initiative to be the big brother they never had. Oh wait, that title, Big Brother, strikes a chord. The resulting sound begins to resonate amongst people throughout the territory.
As the decibel levels elevate, the level of awareness heightens to a point where individuals begin to question if others hear it too, or is it simply an inaudible pitch that they themselves created out of their own uncertainty? Yes, uncertainty.
Uncertainty is the key element to creating a society in which people fear to take action and express their own values and beliefs. Where is the epicentre for establishing this atmosphere in the Yukon? Why, it is organized by the people who we elected to run our territorial government.
The Yukon Party has taken it on amongst themselves to speak in code during press releases, legislative assemblies, and when responding to addressed letters written by the citizens of the Yukon. Great work so far!
When listening to your remarks and rebuttals, two things are obvious: 1) either you don’t have a clue what you are talking about so you assume that scratching the surface will suffice to convince others; or 2) this is all part of your plan to assume that we (the Yukon citizens) will blindly want what you propose behind closed doors.
Let me make one thing clear. Darrell Pasloski and his fellow cabinet ministers are trying to pin all people who advocate conservation and preservation of ecologically sensitive regions of the Yukon as uninformed, anti-development, granola-munching hippies. They couldn’t be further from the truth. Rather than delving down to the root of the issue, they feel that the anonymity of their decisions do not require the approval of their constituents.
What most of us are saying is that the dusty, out-of-date legislation governing natural resource development in the Yukon is working in the favour of the industrial investors. Unless we amend the short-sighted acts and legislation surrounding resource extraction, the vast landscapes of the Yukon as we know it will be fragmented and exploited.
In addition to these amendments, we need to heighten regulatory “third party” enforcement and hold all companies accountable for their actions. We need to make sure that Darrell and Co. understands that this is not a boom-and-bust economy; the resources will always have value.
The fate of the Yukon rests in the hands of its citizens. Now is the time to tell your government that you will not stand aside and have future decisions spoon-fed to you. Demand transparency and straight answers. Work collaboratively with your peers to create the change that you want to see.
Ask yourself what type of future you foresee for the Yukon. If you cannot answer that question within seconds, you do not know what our future has in store.
Jeff Jamieson
Whitehorse