Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Peter Johnston has refused to clarify what he meant when he said he was leaving leadership during a press conference last week.
“I’ve been in this political business for 22 years in my life, and I’m getting tired of just the excuses, the run arounds,” he said.
“I’m leaving leadership because I need to do something different.”
The News reached out to the Council of Yukon First Nations to clarify the comment, but Johnston is not open to speaking about it.
The comment came in response to a question from the News about Yukon government spending during the release of the government’s strategy to address the substance use health emergency on Aug. 23. Johnston sat on a panel with Justice and Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee, chief medical officer of health Dr. Sudit Ranade and Yukon RCMP Chief Supt. Scott Sheppard.
“We can’t rely on government; we’ve got to build entities and organizations and support our communities once again from the bottom up,” Johnston said.
“Right now, it’s a top-down approach, and we’re losing the element of what we built these communities on.”
Johnston, a citizen and former chief of the Teslin Tlingit Council, was first elected to his position with the Council of Yukon First Nations by acclamation in 2016, when he was the only candidate to put his name forward. He was re-acclaimed in 2019 and again in 2022 for another three-year term.
READ MORE: Yukon government releases strategy 19 months after declaring substance use emergency
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
