BodySad times for the Yukon
I have lived in the Yukon for the past 34 years. The reason that I live here is probably the same reason that you live here. I came and stayed for the weather and the jobs. You may detect a note of sarcasm. No, I, like most Yukoners, live here because I love the beauty of the unspoiled pristine wilderness surrounding us fortunate few. We have been, up to now, very fortunate to live in one of the last great, vast wilderness areas on this small planet.
It is a great shame that the people that we elected to govern and protect our interests have decided (behind closed doors) to sell us out to big money. The Peel issue and the southern lakes oil and gas issue are examples, I believe, of the government pushing its agenda despite the wishes of the people they are supposed to represent.
The Peel wilderness area and the Whitehorse Basin oil and gas exploration issues are a huge concern. These issues and the decisions made today will affect all of us, and more importantly, our grandchildren and their grandchildren, forever. There is no taking this back. We are talking about the Albertafication of the Yukon.
It may now be obvious that I believe the Yukon’s greatest resource is just being the Yukon. I believe that it is worth cherishing and protecting both the idea and the reality. I may be the only one who feels this way, but I think not.
Progress is not always progress.
The issues confronting us today are huge and will potentially forever change this place in which we live. The Yukon government, which seems to be acting independent of the wishes of the people it was elected to represent, must not be allowed to decide this monumental and irreversible decision.
If, and it’s a big if, the government is not acting illegally, it is certainly acting unethically. The Peel and Whitehorse Basin issues should be voted on in a referendum. The wording of the referendum must be very clear and decided upon by representatives of both sides of the issues.
The wishes of the people who live here must not be dismissed.
Ron Ryant
Dawson City/Body