Jim Kenyon says he never threatened to resign when he discovered Premier Dennis Fentie was considering privatizing Yukon Energy.
“I’ll say it again unequivocally: no such thing happened,” Kenyon said Wednesday. “I was in the room. I think I would have noticed.”
Others remember things differently. Among them are three former directors of Yukon Energy and Brad Cathers, Yukon’s former Energy minister.
They all agree that during a meeting held in December, Kenyon, who was minister responsible for Yukon Energy at the time, was shocked to learn that Fentie had begun talks with Alberta-based ATCO that considered privatizing the public utility.
Upset by this discovery, Kenyon threatened to resign, according to the directors and Cathers.
For three months, Kenyon remained silent about this. He’s refused to discuss the matter with reporters.
Shortly after the ATCO scandal broke, Fentie took over the Yukon Energy portfolio.
Kenyon issued an earlier rebuttal during question period on November 2, but it was unclear what, exactly, he was denying.
“The discussion ... referred to never happened. It did not happen. It was referred to in the media in a location that we weren’t even in. None of it is true,” he said.
He would not clarify what he meant when asked in an interview. But the remark was enough to enrage Greg Hakonson, one of the former directors.
“He’s calling us liars,” he said.
Kenyon suggested as much again on Wednesday, when he dared Gary McRobb, the Liberals’ energy critic, to repeat the resignation story outside the legislature.
Saying this is a thinly veiled way to accuse an MLA of lying. It refers to how members are protected from defamation lawsuits when they speak in the House.
But McRobb has already said as much outside the legislature. And so have the former directors and Cathers.
Contact John Thompson at
johnt@yukon-news.com.