Open letter to Premier Dennis Fentie and the Yukon Party caucus:
Congratulations and thank you for the fiscal responsibility your government has shown in 2009.
I have attached a Globe and Mail article dated April 28, which states the Yukon had the best gross domestic product of any province or territory in Canada in 2009.
We had no recession. No job losses, no businesses going bankrupt and work for anyone who was willing to take a job.
Every other jurisdiction, except PEI, was into negative growth. No government can do better than that.
I do not know you personally, having met you only a few times, but I have kept up with the projects and decisions made by your government over the past six years. Very few decisions have been, in my opinion, wrong. Batting 95 per cent is
good enough for me.
Keep up the good work!
It is forever true, most people believe everything written in the newspapers and do not question the accuracy of the story.
The news media are still claiming you mistreated your caucus, and especially Brad Cathers, as well as the public over the ATCO offer to buy our electrical assets and those of NWT.
I ask, how could ATCO figure out a price to offer and complete its due diligence without getting the information from your staff? Meetings were obviously necessary.
I have reviewed the list of meetings held with ATCO and the people in attendance. Cathers and/or his staff and other ministers were always in attendance. Caucus was aware of the offer. As the proposal by ATCO was never presented to caucus, how can anyone claim our premier was acting inappropriately?
The news media and voters should learn how the democratic process works. Caucus is supreme and must approve all proposals.
Willard Phelps, chairman of both government electrical companies, caused a huge brouhaha claiming he was left out of the meetings, and that our premier was attempting to sell the assets without telling anyone.
He resigned with great fanfare.
As a former premier (short-lived) he knows that it is impossible for anyone but the legislature to sell Crown assets.
So what was the real reason he resigned?
You would think he should appreciate the positions granted by the party he represented years ago. Instead, he is now trying to organize a new political party to split the conservative vote to defeat our premier.
So, why did Cathers leave caucus? Surely not because he suddenly found our premier had lied. After all, he has been in the premier’s caucus for six years and never once suggested the premier was dishonest. Cathers says he did not like the premier because Cathers was not given the kind of respect he felt he deserved.
Cathers is inexperienced and does not appear to have learned that the boss, or the leader, makes the final decisions. Normally, when one person in a group claims he/she is not respected it is because they have not yet earned that respect. Another 10 or 15 years of maturing will make a big difference in Cathers’ attitude.
I bought a law firm and moved to the Yukon in 1969. From then on I have been involved in territorial and federal politics, mostly in a support role.
Your government is the best one we have had since the power was taken away from the commissioner and transferred to the elected representatives.
I hope the electorate will review the good work done by your government for the past six years and take the rantings of a disgruntled few with a grain of salt.
Every party runs into the same problem when they get into power. Certain arrogant, self-centered members think they should be treated better or believe they can do the job better. Others are naive and think they know more than they actually do.
We, who have been here through the 1970s, and beyond, have seen the track record of Phelps as he messed up the party and the Yukon when he was premier.
Cathers must learn, through experience, he does not take advantage of a situation to shaft his leader because of personal feelings.
Now you, premier, are being bombarded by a very biased news media that appears to be convincing voters a change of government is necessary.
I have only one question for them.
Who do they think will do a better job for them than the Yukon Party has done over the past six years?
Let us hope the voters will look at your government’s accomplishments and agree we are doing very well.
Allen Lueck
Whitehorse