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Istchenko apologizes for drinking beer on ATV

Istchenko apologizes for drinking beer on ATV Kluane MLA Wade Istchenko has apologized after a photo circulated on social media showing him holding a beer while sitting on an ATV.

Kluane MLA Wade Istchenko has apologized after a photo circulated on social media showing him holding a beer while sitting on an ATV.

“I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to Yukoners for an incident this past weekend,” he said Monday, reading from a statement

“I was taking part in a local charitable event, which I have helped organize and participated in for the past 20 years. While we were stopped for lunch on a wilderness trail, I made an error in judgment and consumed a beer while seated on my parked ATV.”

He went on to repeat the statement two more times Monday and three times Tuesday, as he was peppered with questions from the Opposition NDP.

“If the minister can’t make the right judgment call at a public event, how can the public trust him to make the right call when he’s at a meeting or negotiations that will affect the territory as a whole?” asked MLA Kate White on Tuesday.

“What kind of message does the premier send when a minister who has repeatedly made serious errors in judgment retains his position in cabinet without facing any discipline?”

Premier Darrell Pasloski did not answer any of the questions directed at him on the matter, opting instead to have Istchenko continue to repeat his prepared statement.

(Jacqueline Ronson)