Dennis Fentie, now is the time to do the right thing and resign.
Look to the south, Fentie à Premier Campbell from BC did the right thing by resigning and calling for new leadership.
At this point, you and your followers have put the Yukon in debt to over $200 million and growing daily. (Most of this debt is the result of spending $100 million on Mayo B, hospitals in Dawson City and Watson Lake, and the building of a high-end office/apartment building in Whitehorse.)
Who will pay this debt off? It will be the taxpayers who fund all government operations.
What will this debt mean to the services we already receive? Will the government cut back social service support for the poor, or educational cuts to our schools, such as they are now doing in Nunavut?
One does not have to go far back in history to remember the 1990s when the Yukon public service was put on reduced work week schedules and salaries were cut.
At that time, the Yukon government had no outstanding debt and yet cuts were made throughout the public service.
How will this debt be paid back to the banks and lending agencies without cutting future services and programs?
On November 8, Fentie made a comment on the CBC morning show that borrowing money for infrastructure was like taking a mortgage out on a home.
I strongly disagree with this comparison in that, when you as an individual take out a mortgage to buy a home, you have agreed to do this.
My question to you, Fentie, is"Have you asked Yukon taxpayers to mortgage their future?”
The obvious answer is no.
I would suggest Yukon Party MLAs stand up to Fentie. As of November, your pensions are locked in and you will now receive full benefits for time served.
I am astounded all Yukon Party MLAs have supported Fentie in his spending spree except for one à Brad Cathers.
Why have you not questioned and challenged him publicly for putting the Yukon into debt?
In 2002, I personally went door to door with at least three Yukon Party MLAs because you told me you were going to be a different type of government.
You were proposing a government that would be honest, open, transparent and accountable.
From my point of view you have not followed any of these principles and, if anything, have done the opposite by not giving us the truth, being closed, and we have a nonaccountable government
My biggest concern as a taxpayer over the next 25 years is that this outstanding debt will have to be paid for, and it will be left on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren. At this time we know that the economies of Canada and the world are very fragile and that, in the near future, there will be less transfer money coming from Ottawa.
It does not take long for a mine to shut down when the demand for minerals slows down.
Who then will be paying for the debt that has been created from 2002-2010?
I would recommend to you, Fentie, that you and your followers resign now so that a fiscally responsible group can take over and put our financial house in order.
Don Roberts
Whitehorse