The Liberal Party has deleted digitalized staking from its platform.
Last week, after Liberals announced they would introduce legislation allowing prospectors to stake claims online, Klondike Liberal candidate Sandy Silver took some heat.
Constituents said it would cost the territory jobs and economic growth, said Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell.
“So we decided if it’s not beneficial, we’re not going to pursue it,” he said.
“We’ve removed it from our platform.”
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There were fears digitalized staking could prompt “a massive desk-chair staking rush that would not reflect the realities on the ground,” said Mitchell.
And there were also concerns it would pull money out of the communities, he said.
Right now, people working in the mining industry spend at least some their paycheques in the community they are based in, said Mitchell.
There were concerns digitized staking would mean people would no longer visit the communities.
Originally, local geologists approached the Liberals to champion digitalized staking.
If there is an error with a claim, it would have been easier to fix - you wouldn’t have to hire a helicopter to go back out in the bush and fix it, said Mitchell.
“Digitalized staking would have solved this problem, but it exacerbated many others,” he said.
As soon as this was pointed out, “we listened,” said Mitchell.
“Unlike the current government, we’re not afraid to admit when we make mistakes.
“I didn’t get 100 per cent in every exam all through school.”